hack your brain (polyphasic sleep)

[infestor]

i read an entry on http://dustincurtis.com/sleep.html

it is really interesting for especially people like me.
anyone ever tried polyphasic sleep?

http://dustincurtis.com/images/sleep/2_mans.png

but what the article doesn't tell is the side effects/issues if you skip your core sleeps and just "sleep" the REM sleeps. any opinions on that?

[aktiwers]

I remember reading this guys journey to and through a polyphasic sleep patern.
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/10/polyphasic-sleep/

You might want to read this before you begin :)
The first weeks sounds hardcore!

Edit: Oh you from København as well.. late up or did you wake up early? :P its 6 AM here. I better go to sleep soon.

[Deicider]

am sleepy =,=

[SomeGuyDude]

I've never known anyone who managed to stick with that program for anything resembling long-term. Godspeed to ya if you want to try it.

The big problem is that the world does not accommodate nappers. So yeah you're going to NEED those 20 minute naps every here and there, but chances are not every day is going to go by where you can take a snooze every four hours. Even if you work a normal job you'll have to fudge it.

[dragos240]

2 hours of total sleep? COUNT ME IN!!

[Exodist]

I have Sleep Apia and one of those breathing machines that pumps air into the user.
I can use it and wake up 4 hours later feeling like I got 7 to 8 hours good sleep.

[lovinglinux]

One of the ways to force your brain into REM sleep and skip the other phases is to make it feel exhausted. If you’ve gone 24 hours without sleep, you might notice that you drift away into dreams straight from being awake. This because your body goes instantly into REM sleep as a protection mechanism.

I'm not sure if the 20 min naps is similar, but when you go directly to REM due to exhaustion, you can experience something very weird like being awake but unable to move. It's kind of disturbing. This happens because during the REM phase, your body enters an atonic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atony) state that prevents your muscles from responding to dreams actions, like kicking someone else chair in the classroom because you felt asleep and dreamed you were playing soccer. When you skip the other dream phases and go directly to REM you tend to wake up more easily. Since your muscles are in atony, there is a brief period of consciousness without muscle responsiveness. I have experienced this lots of times and I never get used to it. I feel frightened and usually wake up screaming.

I'm not a doctor. I know this stuff because I used to sleepwalk and did some sleep monitoring tests on a medical facility. There was a nurse that explained this to me when I told him I had a sleep deprivation behavior during that period of my life.

Anyway, the polyphasic method really works. Sometimes when I need or want to stay awake but am very tired, for example after 20-24 hours without sleep, I go to sleep and usually get into the REM phase pretty fast. Then I wake up like a half an hour later, felling much less tired and can go on for at least more 8 hours without sleeping. This is definitely not a healthy behavior, but I have some creativity boost periods that I need to take the most of (for example when programming) :)



I've never known anyone who managed to stick with that program for anything resembling long-term. Godspeed to ya if you want to try it.

The big problem is that the world does not accommodate nappers. So yeah you're going to NEED those 20 minute naps every here and there, but chances are not every day is going to go by where you can take a snooze every four hours. Even if you work a normal job you'll have to fudge it.

Move to a country where the Siesta (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siesta) is part of the culture :)

[PariahVayne]

Can I have 12 hours sleep?

[lovinglinux]

Can I have 12 hours sleep?

I wish we could do this:


sudo renice 20 sleep

[infestor]

i decided it is risky to try, so no go...i am sure our body has a reason for sleeping those "waste" (core) hours, not just REM. at least now my logic tells me that.

[Psumi]

I would rather sleep the normal waste sleep, sorry.

[jespdj]

I know nothing at all about polyphasic sleep. But my first reaction to this is that I don't believe this will actually work.

If I sleep less than 6.5 - 7 hours every night for a few days, I get tired during daytime, especially in the afternoon.

It would be nice if we didn't have to spend so much time sleeping, but I don't believe this trick will work for most people.

[H4F]

I am already sleeping less than a normal average. I would like to sleep even less

[3rdalbum]

Wasn't this on Seinfeld? Kramer tried it and his body didn't get enough sleep, which resulted in him falling asleep when he was with a woman. She thought he was dead, and they threw him into a river.

In all seriousness, interfering with your sleep length can be quite dangerous. Definitely don't try any of these ideas unless they have been approved by your doctor. Even if they have, I still wouldn't try them.

[lovinglinux]

Wasn't this on Seinfeld? Kramer tried it and his body didn't get enough sleep, which resulted in him falling asleep when he was with a woman. She thought he was dead, and they threw him into a river.

:lolflag:

I wish you knew the season and episode numbers :)


In all seriousness, interfering with your sleep length can be quite dangerous. Definitely don't try any of these ideas unless they have been approved by your doctor. Even if they have, I still wouldn't try them.

I agree. Interfering with sleep could even cause death. Seriously! Sleep deprivation is a serious thing.

Now I realize this thread should be closed or deleted if possible.

[anaconda]

I tried it loooong time ago.
8 times 20 min sleep /day.

It felt like I had to go to sleep all the time. eg. just woke up and had to go to sleea again after 2h 40 min

didn't get tired, but quit it after 2 days, and ... screwd my normal rythm in the process..

[bodhi.zazen]

There is nothing to suggest in the body of scientific data we currently have that polyphasic sleep will work.

First, sleep is a biologic drive, like eating or breathing. If you sleep deprive an animal for long enough it dies, just as if you deprived of of food or oxygen. If you sleep deprive an animal of REM sleep it dies.

Second, we all have a variable need for total sleep time. The average is 8 hours, but it can vary. If you get less sleep you will become sleepy. This has been clearly demonstrated in the Stanford Sleep Center during a number of summer camps.

So while sleep patterns vary, and some people have unusual sleep patterns, there is noting to suggest you can function normally on 2 hours of total sleep in a 24 hour time.

You *might* be able to take 8 - 1 hour naps.

Please do not try this without understanding the risks to your health. Sleep deprivation is a huge risk factor for automobile and industrial accidents for example.

[koleoptero]

If I don't sleep for 8 hours in a row everyday I feel sick.

[Tomone]

That Seinfeld episode is "The Friar's Club," season 7, episode 18.

[MasterNetra]

Genetic manipulation would come in handy in this area, if we can engineer in the ability to self-repair 24/7 even at a rate of 25% of current rem we would still heal up more faster then we currently do per day. We could remove the need to sleep though it could remain as something to be done at will which would be useful for recovering from massive injuries.

I do agree though that all the phases of sleep have purpose otherwise surely we would of lost the phases earlier on in evolution, I would think they are probably prep for rem.

[Shpongle]

iv been on a sleep deficit for the past few weeks , its horrible !!! , im tired all the time , its college that has me like that tho , i dont get a minute. im tired all the time . . .its a killer!! , especially waking up feeling more wrecked than you went to bed and having to go out in the freezing irish weather . . . not recommended!! day after day , i just want a few days rest for christmas !!!

[handy]

Having lived with severe sleep pattern disturbance for over 26 years, I say, don't mess with your sleep pattern.

As you may just find yourself realising that you hadn't truly appreciated what you had, until you lost it. :(

[lovinglinux]

That Seinfeld episode is "The Friar's Club," season 7, episode 18.

Thanks :)

[nothingspecial]

The nature of my job means I have to sleep for 2 3 hour sessions a day.

I can`t do it naturally.

Therefore I force it.

Which is why, after 10 years, I`m quitting.

[infestor]

The nature of my job means I have to sleep for 2 3 hour sessions a day.

I can`t do it naturally.

Therefore I force it.

Which is why, after 10 years, I`m quitting.

what kind of job is that if i may ask'?