Posted on December 11, 2009 in Related Readings, Sleep
What is polyphasic sleep?
Polyphasic sleep is sometimes also known as Uberman’s Sleep Schedule, which is an aextreme form of polyphasic sleep. It deals with minimizing hours of sleep while trying to maximize the quality of sleep. It is different from monophasic and biphasic sleep that most of us are accustomed to.
Monophasic sleep is sleeping only once in 24 hours during night time. Biphasic sleep is sleep divided into two sessions over a period of 24 hours, usually night and a nap in the afternoon.
In case of polyphasic sleep, the individual sleeps only for about 3-6 hours and sometimes as less as 2 hours. This is divided into short sessions through the 24 hours of a day, similar to power naps. This is done by slowly phasing out the so-called unimportant phases in the sleep cycle and retaining the so-called useful phases only. Phases like the NREM phase or the light sleep phase are skipped and the individual directly goes into the REM phase, the phase of deep sleep.
It takes about two weeks and a strict schedule to adjust to polyphasic pattern of sleep. This stage is very critical and is extremely difficult to cope with. After that, the body slowly adjusts to this new pattern of sleep.
Is polyphasic sleep healthy?
There are arguments both for and against this extreme form of sleep. There are some who have followed this sleep pattern and said to have reaped benefits. But there are almost no health professionals who would recommend polyphasic sleep.
Pros
- Believed to increase productivity.
- Believed to have been followed by well-known people in the past like Leonardo da Vinci and Lord Byron.
- Believed to improve alertness and clarity.
- Believed to increase energy and motivation to perform.
Cons
- Can interfere with social life.
- Can affect health in case you have a hectic schedule and cause reduced alertness.
- Working for 20 hours or more in a day can become a bit too much for some.
- Missing naps can make it difficult to stay on schedule with the sleep cycle.
It is still not a proven fact whether polyphasic sleep is beneficial, harmful or does not make a difference in health and other areas of life. But it is extremely difficult to find a health care practitioner who will recommend this extreme sleep pattern to you.
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