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I'm considering switching to a polyphasic sleep cycle in the next few weeks, I've often found myself more productive on 4 hours + nap when I've had the opportun

I'm considering switching to a polyphasic sleep cycle in the next few weeks, I've often found myself more productive on 4 hours + nap when I've had the opportunity but my work schedule has precluded me from attempting it. There's been a few interesting studies and articles where the rise of monophasic sleep is a relatively recent addition to modern lives (I think ~Victorian era), but obviously we all have a distinct number of years of sleep patterning that our bodies are accustomed too.

jerf 13y ago
After all the discussions HN has had on this topic, I'm still waiting for someone to pop up with "Yeah, I've been doing this for two years now and I'd never go back." So far the stories have all been in agreement... "it sort of kind of worked for maybe a month or twoish (with rare people sticking somewhat longer), then I hit a wall because I was ever so slightly bumped off the schedule and I just fell apart. Also in hindsight I realize that I wasn't doing as well as I thought I was at the time." So far I'm not seeing any concrete evidence that the general idea of polyphasic sleep is anything but wishful thinking. I recognize that anecdotes are not data, but after a while the complete lack of even anecdotes of success, after the number of people trying it publicly, is itself evidence of a sort. "Biphasic", or "afternoon naps", by comparison, are indeed quite natural, though I'm not sure I've seen that much convincing evidence that night sleep+naps is universally better or worse than just night sleep. Individual differences are probably swamping any attempt to make sweeping declarations. Personally I do a lot of "just listen to my body" here and over the years and various growth and health stages I've swung all around on what I seem to need.
- outworlder 13y ago
  Exactly. Polyphasic sleep for a month means exactly nothing. I've been sleep deprived for periods longer than that, sleeping less than six hours a day. Doesn't mean that "sleep deprivation works", or that it is healthy, or that it can be sustained.
  - kybernetikos 13y ago
    I've been polyphasic for a short time (sleeping less than 4 hours per 24 hour period) and I've been sleep deprived for longer, having one sleep at night of five hours or less a day for a while, and they feel like two completely different things. Not to say that polyphasic is healthy or anything, but despite the slightly weird feeling, I feel much more functional when polyphasic than when sleep deprived.
- nicholassmith 13y ago
  I think I've seen one long term self-study that was ~18 months which said it worked for them. I've seen plenty of fallen off the wagon, or cautiously optimistic though. Maybe a mixed solution would work, biphasic sleep during the week when you're maximising productivity, monophasic when it's less important (holidays etc) to get around the constraints. Not sure, I might experiment with it.

jerf 13y ago

After all the discussions HN has had on this topic, I'm still waiting for someone to pop up with "Yeah, I've been doing this for two years now and I'd never go back." So far the stories have all been in agreement... "it sort of kind of worked for maybe a month or twoish (with rare people sticking somewhat longer), then I hit a wall because I was ever so slightly bumped off the schedule and I just fell apart. Also in hindsight I realize that I wasn't doing as well as I thought I was at the time." So far I'm not seeing any concrete evidence that the general idea of polyphasic sleep is anything but wishful thinking. I recognize that anecdotes are not data, but after a while the complete lack of even anecdotes of success, after the number of people trying it publicly, is itself evidence of a sort. "Biphasic", or "afternoon naps", by comparison, are indeed quite natural, though I'm not sure I've seen that much convincing evidence that night sleep+naps is universally better or worse than just night sleep. Individual differences are probably swamping any attempt to make sweeping declarations. Personally I do a lot of "just listen to my body" here and over the years and various growth and health stages I've swung all around on what I seem to need.

outworlder 13y ago
Exactly. Polyphasic sleep for a month means exactly nothing. I've been sleep deprived for periods longer than that, sleeping less than six hours a day. Doesn't mean that "sleep deprivation works", or that it is healthy, or that it can be sustained.
- kybernetikos 13y ago
  I've been polyphasic for a short time (sleeping less than 4 hours per 24 hour period) and I've been sleep deprived for longer, having one sleep at night of five hours or less a day for a while, and they feel like two completely different things. Not to say that polyphasic is healthy or anything, but despite the slightly weird feeling, I feel much more functional when polyphasic than when sleep deprived.
nicholassmith 13y ago
I think I've seen one long term self-study that was ~18 months which said it worked for them. I've seen plenty of fallen off the wagon, or cautiously optimistic though. Maybe a mixed solution would work, biphasic sleep during the week when you're maximising productivity, monophasic when it's less important (holidays etc) to get around the constraints. Not sure, I might experiment with it.