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I tried polyphasic sleeping for a while when I worked at an IBank. I remember it as one of the most productive periods of my life but it was incredibly anti soc

I tried polyphasic sleeping for a while when I worked at an IBank. I remember it as one of the most productive periods of my life but it was incredibly anti social and got the strangest looks from management. I'd do 35 minute naps with an alarm at 0430, 0830, 1230, 1630, and without an alarm at 2030 and 0030 (on the basis that I thought my body would sleep through if I was "doing any damage"). It made going out at the weekends or playing poker in a casino incredibly difficult so after 3 weeks I had to pack it in. I was lucky to live a 5 minute, folding, bicycle ride from the office but I also had a little card I'd leave on my desk for the corner that said, "I have not collapsed I'm having a nap." The one thing I've kept from those days is that I still wear a sleep mask to bed.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
hntrader 6y ago
You're blessed to be able to get to sleep so rapidly. For me, the stress of that type of job + coffee would kill that ability. Even without these two antagonists I would have no hope of being able to do that.
- ycombinete 6y ago
  Coffee is the killer here. I never ever used to nap. I quit caffeine almost a year ago, and within a month of quitting, I started enjoying the occassional mid afternoon nap. Not everyday, just when I was tired. It's nice to know when I'm tired actually.
- tubularhells 6y ago
  Have you ever tried? Coffee is easy to cut. Just don't have any at home.
  - hntrader 6y ago
    Yeah, it still takes me 60 minutes to sleep, because my mind is busy. I need meditation, medication, or something.
    - gamegoblin 6y ago
      YMMV, but I would also try cutting out sugar, and adding melatonin. I cut out caffeine and sugar about 5 months ago, and consistently take 3mg of melatonin 1 hour before bed and went from 60+ minutes to fall asleep to less than 5 minutes. Apparently insulin regulation plays a big part in sleep quality, hence the effect of sugar. Another nice side effect is I've lost about 7kg without counting any calories or making any real effort to.
      - lowercased 6y ago
        Throwing in a bit more with YMMV... Xmg of melatonin is hard to measure, because there's apparently not great accuracy in most OTC pills. And... it may take you days to confirm if a specific pill is 'working' well or not. If/when you find a combination, buy a bunch to have on hand. I recently received the book "why we sleep" and it discussed melatonin's process. If "1 hour before bed" works for you, that's good, but it never did for me. ~3 hrs did. Or... at least 2-3 hours at this time of the year. My routine has been taking a melatonin between 6 and 7ish, and by 10 I'm typically quite 'ready' for sleep, and it's usually a fast process. It doesn't seem like it in the moment, but my wife has noticed I'm "out like a light" (which I think is more just in comparison to months ago).
        ralphstodomingo 6y ago
        I would suggest you also look at the criticisms about the book you mentioned, Why We Sleep. I'd take the book's conclusions with caution.
        lowercased 6y ago
        Have read some - it's not a panacea for sure. It did recently renew some interest in the subject for me, but yes, take it with some caution, certainly. It did make me re-evaluate some of the things I was doing re: sleep, and I've generally had somewhat better results since making adjustments.
- pmiller2 6y ago
  I don't know if there's definitive research saying this, but this ability to fall asleep quickly may be due to sleep deprivation. However, polyphasic sleep is linked to lower academic performance and increased daytime sleepiness. [0] That makes me think that the "benefit" is possibly an illusion due to the antidepressant effect of sleep deprivation. --- [0]: Studies linked here: https://www.verywellhealth.com/pros-and-cons-of-a-polyphasic-sleep-schedule-4165843 https://www.verywellhealth.com/pros-and-cons-of-a-polyphasic...
- pinipedman 6y ago
  Enough exercise, or physical activity of any form, will fix this. The time and motivation to do enough is the challenging part.
gopalv 6y ago
> I remember it as one of the most productive periods of my life but it was incredibly anti social and got the strangest looks from management. The modern WFH culture has probably made it easier to do that than ever before (plus the lack of social schedules from the lockdown). I did a modified Uberman sleep schedule while I was home taking care of my dad & working - the forced isolation, the fact that I would have to wake up every 3 hours to check on him & living in India, while working US hours anyway messing up my schedules of sleep supported the transition. The process took almost two weeks to get into it, but lasted a whole two months & if I had to go back to it, all I would add to it is some exercise to sync up with the sun rising. I think we as a species are naturally capable of doing short nap rests, at least for periods of several months, because that schedule of ~1 hour of rest for every 3 hours is literally what taking care of a newborn demands.
xyst 6y ago
guess this is better than masturbating during the day and copious amounts of cocaine and prostitutes
granshaw 6y ago
I think this goes to show how many beneficial routines or habits are untenable simply because of the society we live in. See also certain diets, not drinking alcohol, etc
fsiefken 6y ago
Ah, I did it for a year and started before my first child was born. At 3 weeks my body finally transitioned to polyphasic sleeping (similar time as to the transition to dvorak typing) and I was finally functioning through all the sleep deprivation. Concentration was similar to monophasic sleeping. I could take care of the baby while my girlfriend was sleeping at night and I could go out or work on my hobbies all night (with 27m naps) without any problem. It was like I was a liberating experience, I watched the whole of society shutdown at night, but I was awake every day all by myself, it was very odd. I also realized I didn't really need a house if I could sleep anywhere, except in winter - but I started thinking I could just sleep 30m here and there (in trains, at work, in the park on a bench) perhaps with electric blankets. A real nomad lifestyle. I also noticed that I had to force myself being productive at night as my executive function wasn't quite there - it was like my mind was used to doing nothing consciously at night, an unconscious part didn't really see a point in being awake and doing things at night - so I mostly just was sitting there, contemplating or meditating. When I made a todo list it was better. As I also had to organize naps outside and at friends and family places it caused some tension and conflicts (I can tell some really wild stories) - and eventually, also because I didn't want to risk potential long term issues I went to 2 naps and eventually 1 nap each day. Regarding 35 minutes, you risk entering deep sleep with 35m, at least I did when I went over 30m a nap. Or did you mean 25 minutes?
- dualthro 6y ago
  > I also noticed that I had to force myself being productive at night as my executive function wasn't quite there - it was like my mind was used to doing nothing consciously at night, an unconscious part didn't really see a point in being awake and doing things at night - so I mostly just was sitting there, contemplating or meditating. When I made a todo list it was better. Very interesting. I wonder if this helps to explain why I'm not all that productive when experiencing insomnia, even on the occasions when I say "okay well if I'm gonna be wide awake, I'm gonna get some work done on xyz"
  - etothepii 6y ago
    Sleep Hygiene and Reading are my saviours here, I have a rigorous sleep routine. Phone on charge in different room, electric blanket on, ablutions, kindle for some fantasy (a change from heavy reading), then if I make it to 30 minutes (I set a timer on HomePod) I set a sleep timer with the Podcast "Sleep with me" on HomePod. I never get to the end of my 25 minute timer.
cma 6y ago
> I remember it as one of the most productive periods of my life > so after 3 weeks I had to pack it in. Since it was for such a short period of time it's possible you just had sleep deprivation, which can be used to treat depression and cause a big uplift in mood.
michaelcampbell 6y ago
I tried bi-phasic for awhile. It worked great for me, but not so much for my family. My son's off at college now and I mostly work from home so I may give it a go again.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

hntrader 6y ago

You're blessed to be able to get to sleep so rapidly. For me, the stress of that type of job + coffee would kill that ability. Even without these two antagonists I would have no hope of being able to do that.

ycombinete 6y ago
Coffee is the killer here. I never ever used to nap. I quit caffeine almost a year ago, and within a month of quitting, I started enjoying the occassional mid afternoon nap. Not everyday, just when I was tired. It's nice to know when I'm tired actually.
tubularhells 6y ago
Have you ever tried? Coffee is easy to cut. Just don't have any at home.
- hntrader 6y ago
  Yeah, it still takes me 60 minutes to sleep, because my mind is busy. I need meditation, medication, or something.
  - gamegoblin 6y ago
    YMMV, but I would also try cutting out sugar, and adding melatonin. I cut out caffeine and sugar about 5 months ago, and consistently take 3mg of melatonin 1 hour before bed and went from 60+ minutes to fall asleep to less than 5 minutes. Apparently insulin regulation plays a big part in sleep quality, hence the effect of sugar. Another nice side effect is I've lost about 7kg without counting any calories or making any real effort to.
    - lowercased 6y ago
      Throwing in a bit more with YMMV... Xmg of melatonin is hard to measure, because there's apparently not great accuracy in most OTC pills. And... it may take you days to confirm if a specific pill is 'working' well or not. If/when you find a combination, buy a bunch to have on hand. I recently received the book "why we sleep" and it discussed melatonin's process. If "1 hour before bed" works for you, that's good, but it never did for me. ~3 hrs did. Or... at least 2-3 hours at this time of the year. My routine has been taking a melatonin between 6 and 7ish, and by 10 I'm typically quite 'ready' for sleep, and it's usually a fast process. It doesn't seem like it in the moment, but my wife has noticed I'm "out like a light" (which I think is more just in comparison to months ago).
      - ralphstodomingo 6y ago
        I would suggest you also look at the criticisms about the book you mentioned, Why We Sleep. I'd take the book's conclusions with caution.
        lowercased 6y ago
        Have read some - it's not a panacea for sure. It did recently renew some interest in the subject for me, but yes, take it with some caution, certainly. It did make me re-evaluate some of the things I was doing re: sleep, and I've generally had somewhat better results since making adjustments.
pmiller2 6y ago
I don't know if there's definitive research saying this, but this ability to fall asleep quickly may be due to sleep deprivation. However, polyphasic sleep is linked to lower academic performance and increased daytime sleepiness. [0] That makes me think that the "benefit" is possibly an illusion due to the antidepressant effect of sleep deprivation. --- [0]: Studies linked here: https://www.verywellhealth.com/pros-and-cons-of-a-polyphasic-sleep-schedule-4165843 https://www.verywellhealth.com/pros-and-cons-of-a-polyphasic...
pinipedman 6y ago
Enough exercise, or physical activity of any form, will fix this. The time and motivation to do enough is the challenging part.

gopalv 6y ago

> I remember it as one of the most productive periods of my life but it was incredibly anti social and got the strangest looks from management. The modern WFH culture has probably made it easier to do that than ever before (plus the lack of social schedules from the lockdown). I did a modified Uberman sleep schedule while I was home taking care of my dad & working - the forced isolation, the fact that I would have to wake up every 3 hours to check on him & living in India, while working US hours anyway messing up my schedules of sleep supported the transition. The process took almost two weeks to get into it, but lasted a whole two months & if I had to go back to it, all I would add to it is some exercise to sync up with the sun rising. I think we as a species are naturally capable of doing short nap rests, at least for periods of several months, because that schedule of ~1 hour of rest for every 3 hours is literally what taking care of a newborn demands.

xyst 6y ago

guess this is better than masturbating during the day and copious amounts of cocaine and prostitutes

granshaw 6y ago

I think this goes to show how many beneficial routines or habits are untenable simply because of the society we live in. See also certain diets, not drinking alcohol, etc

fsiefken 6y ago

Ah, I did it for a year and started before my first child was born. At 3 weeks my body finally transitioned to polyphasic sleeping (similar time as to the transition to dvorak typing) and I was finally functioning through all the sleep deprivation. Concentration was similar to monophasic sleeping. I could take care of the baby while my girlfriend was sleeping at night and I could go out or work on my hobbies all night (with 27m naps) without any problem. It was like I was a liberating experience, I watched the whole of society shutdown at night, but I was awake every day all by myself, it was very odd. I also realized I didn't really need a house if I could sleep anywhere, except in winter - but I started thinking I could just sleep 30m here and there (in trains, at work, in the park on a bench) perhaps with electric blankets. A real nomad lifestyle. I also noticed that I had to force myself being productive at night as my executive function wasn't quite there - it was like my mind was used to doing nothing consciously at night, an unconscious part didn't really see a point in being awake and doing things at night - so I mostly just was sitting there, contemplating or meditating. When I made a todo list it was better. As I also had to organize naps outside and at friends and family places it caused some tension and conflicts (I can tell some really wild stories) - and eventually, also because I didn't want to risk potential long term issues I went to 2 naps and eventually 1 nap each day. Regarding 35 minutes, you risk entering deep sleep with 35m, at least I did when I went over 30m a nap. Or did you mean 25 minutes?

dualthro 6y ago
> I also noticed that I had to force myself being productive at night as my executive function wasn't quite there - it was like my mind was used to doing nothing consciously at night, an unconscious part didn't really see a point in being awake and doing things at night - so I mostly just was sitting there, contemplating or meditating. When I made a todo list it was better. Very interesting. I wonder if this helps to explain why I'm not all that productive when experiencing insomnia, even on the occasions when I say "okay well if I'm gonna be wide awake, I'm gonna get some work done on xyz"
- etothepii 6y ago
  Sleep Hygiene and Reading are my saviours here, I have a rigorous sleep routine. Phone on charge in different room, electric blanket on, ablutions, kindle for some fantasy (a change from heavy reading), then if I make it to 30 minutes (I set a timer on HomePod) I set a sleep timer with the Podcast "Sleep with me" on HomePod. I never get to the end of my 25 minute timer.

cma 6y ago

> I remember it as one of the most productive periods of my life > so after 3 weeks I had to pack it in. Since it was for such a short period of time it's possible you just had sleep deprivation, which can be used to treat depression and cause a big uplift in mood.

michaelcampbell 6y ago

I tried bi-phasic for awhile. It worked great for me, but not so much for my family. My son's off at college now and I mostly work from home so I may give it a go again.