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!
December 14th, 2005 at 2:59 pm
Vince, I notice S.P.’s recent experiment with polyphasic sleep, and I’m taking it with a grain of salt. The reason I say that is because the internet is littered with endless accounts of people who have tried polyphasic sleep and failed. If this is possible, it’s at best very difficult to adjust to initially.
Given the nature of this sleep cycle, it’s a style of sleeping that wouldn’t work for a lot of people, especially anyone with a regular day job.
December 14th, 2005 at 3:46 pm
Just so it’s clear, my interest in polyphasic sleep has nothing to do with whether or not the average person would find it easy, convenient, or be likely to succeed. My true interest is in finding the habits that lead to more awakeness, awareness, and open-heartedness. It seems that based on my initial research, polyphasic sleep could quite possibly help nurture those qualities. And, that’s why I don’t take Steve’s account with a grain of salt….
All the same I appreciate your comment, and am aware of the many people who have failed at adjusting to the polyphasic sleeping pattern.
December 14th, 2005 at 4:32 pm
Weird, I just found out about this a few days ago and was curious to read more. Thanks for posting this:) I had similar thoughts about the possible effects on awareness in meditation, and of course, the thought of having 30 extra hours a week is alluring. Hmmm…I wonder how this plays in with dream yoga..
December 14th, 2005 at 5:10 pm
Vince, you bring up good points. I guess you could expand upon what you said and ask whether or not meditation and the pursuit of enlightenment is natural. It’s definitely not an easy endeavor, for sure.
Sleep is a natural function that we’ve evolved with for many millions of years. Given that the environment we live in is far from “natural”, it’s hard to really know what “natural” sleep would be like for humans.
I’ve done many experiments with my sleeping over the years and find the topic to be facinating.
December 14th, 2005 at 5:54 pm
yes i tried doing that when i was into lucid dreaming. it can also increased my chances of lucidity. i had some freakingly cool adventures. though i haven’t experienced any transcendence. thanks for this tip. will check it out and maybe practice it.
December 14th, 2005 at 6:17 pm
well… just to be more accurate. i didn’t actually practice polyphasic sleep per se but maybe just a subset of it. it’s called napping. based on experience i can say that that shit works. i had more lucidity during afternoon naps that at night. but after a while i got tired (er, lazy) so i stopped practice it. i figured that i was just substituting this samsara with another samsara. but polyphasic sleep got me curious again, it’s just too bad it’s almost impossible to practice for people who has jobs, family, and life
there goes homeostasis for me.
December 14th, 2005 at 8:10 pm
Zataod,
Yes, I’d definitely say that what Steve and others are doing, does seem quite unnatural, relative to natural sleeping habits. It would be neat to speak to some historians, who would have “the downlow” on the history of sleeping among humanoids (and not the lazy napping kind ;). I’d be interested to see if polyphasic or monophasic sleeping was more natural way way way back in the day, and see how sleeping habits evolved (or stayed the same) over time. I have no clue though. It would also be interesting to see some long-term study on polyphasic sleeping… Seems like there could definitely be some negative long-term effects, since certain phases of sleep don’t seem to be being accessed. Hmmmmm. Thanks for the comments dawgs!
December 16th, 2005 at 1:56 am
I’ve been polynapping for about 4 and a half weeks now… it’s quite a treat, though admittedly difficult. It does take some heavy determination and a healthy, positive attitude.
Despite the fact that many claim that rigidity is best, I’ve taken a much more lackadaisical approach, trying to train my body to flexibly polysleep. So far, so good. I’ve been able to maintain my full-time day job successfully.
I’d be interested in reading your attempts at it as well, or any research you come across. Please keep it coming.
–
Sean
…on Polyphasic Sleep.
…on Personal Development.
December 17th, 2005 at 3:10 pm
Hi Vince,
I kind of wonder what the long-term effects of not accessing ‘deep dreamless sleep’ would/will be.
I am sure you know that if you don’t go onto REM sleep you will start to experience ‘waking hallucinations.’ This is why my best guess would be that Steve’s seemingly ‘transcendent experiences’ as a result of polyphasic sleep are due to not accessing the causal realm via deep dreamless sleep. I would bet it is directly attributable to the same reason why people who go wihtout sleep at all for long periods begin to hallucinate–in other words, dream while waking.
December 17th, 2005 at 4:43 pm
Yeah, that is an interesting hypothesis, one I’ve considered as well. I wonder too if “accessing” the deep dreamless state has anything to do with time… In his 30 day journal, he mentions towards the end (around the same time he starts noticing the timeless observer) that when he falls asleep for 20 minutes, it actually feels like 2 or so hours have passed when he wakes up. Could it be that he is in fact accessing a deep sleep state, but from the outside it looks like it only last a certain amount of time, but interiorly it seems longer?
December 19th, 2005 at 11:18 am
Hi Vince,
That’s possible. I guess the only way to know for sure would be to hook ol’ Steve up to an EEG and get a reading on his brain-waves to know whether he is going ‘deeper’ than REM sleep or not. It would be an interesting study I think.
(another aspect of this is my wondering whether or not transcendental experiences could be made more conscious–the causal state could be allowed to ‘peek’ into waking reality if we are deprived access to that state through diminished sleep–and in that vein I would add in some more esoteric groups whose initiation rituals have included sleep-deprivation as a way to induce so-called ‘mystical experiences.’)
the up-side of sleep-less-ness, eh?? ; o ) something I’ll be discovering here very shortly with my imminent parenthood approaching! ; o )