Polyphasic sleeping is a pattern of sleeping where one takes multiple naps throughout the day, instead of sleeping once per day (monophasic sleeping). Apparently by doing this one learns how to enter REM very rapidly, and is able to be fully energized and refreshed on only 2-3 hours of sleep per day! Based on what I’ve read, REM appears to be one of the most important stages of sleep (perhaps the only vital one), and so this pattern of sleeping—when one actually begins to hit REM in short naps—actually appears to work for many people. One such person I happened upon is a guy named Steve Pavlina, who only recently switched to polyphasic sleeping and chronicled the entire process. He did it as an experiment for 30 days, and ended having amazing results. His results were so great, that after the experiment was over he continued with this pattern of sleeping indefinitely. See his blog for a detailed description of the experiment, and detailed notes he took throughout the 30 day period, as it will likely blow you away…
In any case, what I ended up being most struck by was not the increase in productivity that Steve experienced (an extra 30-40 hours per week of waking time), or the total weirdness of being on a different schedule than everyone else, but rather the semi-mystical nature of his experience. At one point (around day 22) he began commenting on the way that his sense of time had become totally altered, since there was no longer any clear deliniation between day and night. He had this to say about the nature of that experience:
This is strangely becoming a transcendent, almost spiritual experience for me. I had gotten so accustomed to a certain sense of the passing of time, and now that sense has been stretched beyond repair. I may eventually develop a new sense of time based on my polyphasic sleep schedule, but for right now I have a more timeless feeling. Although I can perceive the passing of days and nights by watching environmental cues, internally I feel more like a timeless observer who’s no longer bound to that system.
And this is coming from a guy who’s primary interest isn’t in transcendence, but in self-actualization. Here’s another interesting by-product (?) of his polyphasic sleeping experiment, which he noted on day 21:
I used to mentally verbalize my thoughts by thinking in words, but now my mind isn’t doing that anymore. Apparently I’m now thinking without subvocalizing each thought, which is a lot faster because my mind can jump from one thought to the next without turning them into sentences or phrases. … I’m still getting used to this sensation, but I believe it to be a positive change. Now when I sit down to work, I feel as if I’m working with deeper focus, clarity, and speed of thought than ever before. I wonder if these were benefits Da Vinci experienced from polyphasic sleep as well.
There are many other benefits that Steve noticed from his new polyphasic sleeping schedule, but these were among the most noticable to myself. The first thought I had about this sleeping schedule was what a perfect fit it would be for someone on intensive retreat. On the vipassana retreats I attend, we’re asked to sleep only 4-6 hours in any case, but imagine being able to sleep only 2-3 instead. Much more time for practice!
Now, there are two things I should mention, before any of you rush into this experiment. One is that there isn’t much (if any) research on the long-term effects of this kind of sleeping pattern. One is clearly not going to experience some of the other stages of sleep that are normally experienced during an 8 hour sleeping session (what Steve starts calling hibernation), so there really is no way of knowing how this would effect one’s mind and body in the long-term. Secondly, there is an initial period of adaptation, the first week or so when one switches to this new sleeping schedule, which is very challenging. The first several days are characterized by a huge drop in mental clarity and physical energy, probably due to the fact that initially you are being totally deprived of REM sleep. This period is said to be one where the mind and body are being trained to enter REM very quickly during a short (20-30 minute) nap. But before that happens you’re completely miserable—or so I’ve read. There are many other bloggers who have done similar experiments, and failed miserably because they didn’t make it through this adaptation phase. Steve seems to be a special case for several reasons, but primarily because he’s a super-driven & disciplined mad-man.
All the same, I’m totally intrigued by the Polyphasic sleeping now, and plan on doing some more research. If you know anymore about it, or come across any cool resources, please drop a comment on this post. And props to Duff for turning me onto this!
