Experience with Polyphasic sleeping

Sy Mian, modified 10 Years ago at 6/10/13 2:37 PM
Created 10 Years ago at 6/10/13 2:37 PM

Experience with Polyphasic sleeping

Posts: 3 Join Date: 6/10/13 Recent Posts
Does anyone have experience with polyphasic sleeping

-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphasic

I myself am a beginner when it comes to meditation but when attempting polyphasic sleeping (the uberman protocol) at times I had a very vivid demonstration of re-'waking' (not an 'awakening') every instant followed by reality (my attention?) vanishing and then another 'waking'.

Curious if this form of sleep restriction could be helpful/harmful on the journey towards enlightenment.
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fivebells , modified 10 Years ago at 6/10/13 2:39 PM
Created 10 Years ago at 6/10/13 2:39 PM

RE: Experience with Polyphasic sleeping

Posts: 563 Join Date: 2/25/11 Recent Posts
I investigated it in 2007. Steer clear. Most people who have claimed to have practiced it have gone back to a normal sleep schedule within a few months. Some of the rest are bullshit artists.
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Beoman Claudiu Dragon Emu Fire Golem, modified 10 Years ago at 6/10/13 4:56 PM
Created 10 Years ago at 6/10/13 4:53 PM

RE: Experience with Polyphasic sleeping

Posts: 2227 Join Date: 10/27/10 Recent Posts
I tried it for a few weeks days. The conclusion I came to was: If you can only sleep 2 3 hrs a day, then the uberman schedule is probably the best way to distribute those 2 3 hours. But no way is it better than just sleeping like a normal person. At times I would feel actually pretty energized, while other times incredibly sleepy. But it's just a gradual path to sleep deprivation. The night I decided to stop I slept for like 18 hours, then stayed awake for a few hours, slept for another 8 hours, etc., and had a wonky sleep schedule for a few days until I got back to normal - which is exactly what happens as a result of sleep deprivation.

Here is a great article on Polyphasic Sleep, along with its followup 5 years later. I am indeed the "Claudiu" in that second article!
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PP, modified 10 Years ago at 6/12/13 6:28 AM
Created 10 Years ago at 6/10/13 5:54 PM

RE: Experience with Polyphasic sleeping

Posts: 376 Join Date: 3/21/12 Recent Posts
I'm a polyphasic sleeper but not an expert yogi, so I don't know if I can really help you. Due to my odd (sort of journalist) job, I sleep 3.5 hours in the night and usually have a 2 hours nap in the afternoon. I've been doing this since 2001. I feel fine, but need (and enjoy!) 7-8 hours of non-stop sleep in the weekends. Regarding the effects in meditation, sleep deprivation cuopled with qigong, had trigger many insightful A&P events (and DN events as well...). In the past, I had more problems with sleep and/or need(ed) a 3 hours nap. I think that my meditation schedule (45-80 minutes per day) has helped me a lot.
Bjorn Hjelte, modified 10 Years ago at 6/11/13 6:39 AM
Created 10 Years ago at 6/11/13 6:39 AM

RE: Experience with Polyphasic sleeping

Posts: 21 Join Date: 12/27/11 Recent Posts
Yes! I'm very interested in polyphasic sleep and have tried it before. There are many different variations of polyphasic sleep and some of them are easier than others to adapt to. I did experiment with it for fun and even though I went back to "normal" sleep later it was still worth it because I learned so much about sleep, sleep cycles, sleep stages and things like that.

By the way, there are people who question that the standard 8 hour sleep per night is not the natural way of sleeping. For exampel there is a book called "the slumbering masses" that suggest we slept in two periods during the night. You can also google "segmented sleep" or "biphasic sleep"

There is great information on this site http://www.polyphasicsociety.com/

Sleep is a complex thing if you consider all the variables that affect it so I think it takes a lot of knowledge and commitment to change sleeping habit, but I certainly think it's interesting to experiment and see what happens as long as you do it in a safe way for yourself and others.

Regarding meditation and sleep. One benefit of polyhpasic sleep is that it might be easier to practice lucid dreaming, if you are interested in that. I also think it might be easier to develope continous mindfulness with restricted sleep if you are on a retreat for example.

Sleepiness can also be used as an object of meditation. Shinzen Young have a youtube video on this.
Tom Tom, modified 10 Years ago at 6/11/13 3:57 PM
Created 10 Years ago at 6/11/13 3:31 PM

RE: Experience with Polyphasic sleeping

Posts: 466 Join Date: 9/19/09 Recent Posts
I tried this once one summer in college after I saw Kramer talk about it in a Seinfeld episode (30 minute naps every 4 hours or something). It was a resounding failure (I did it for about a month). I'm surprised there are so many responses, and so quickly, to this thread. If you tell people you're doing this most of them will find it quite strange and think that you've actually gone mad (and they're probably right).
Tom Tom, modified 10 Years ago at 6/11/13 3:38 PM
Created 10 Years ago at 6/11/13 3:37 PM

RE: Experience with Polyphasic sleeping

Posts: 466 Join Date: 9/19/09 Recent Posts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLTg2nHZEHQ

These clips from the Seinfeld episode accurately describe the experience.
Tom Tom, modified 10 Years ago at 6/11/13 4:01 PM
Created 10 Years ago at 6/11/13 4:00 PM

RE: Experience with Polyphasic sleeping

Posts: 466 Join Date: 9/19/09 Recent Posts
There was a book I checked out from the university library at the time by a guy named Claudio Stampi called "Why We Nap: Evolution, Chronobiology, And Functions Of Polyphasic And Ultrashort Sleep."
Tom Tom, modified 10 Years ago at 6/12/13 1:48 AM
Created 10 Years ago at 6/12/13 1:46 AM

RE: Experience with Polyphasic sleeping

Posts: 466 Join Date: 9/19/09 Recent Posts
Biphasic sleep (single siesta) seems much more realistic:. http://www.polyphasicsociety.com/polyphasic-sleep/overviews/siesta/
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PP, modified 10 Years ago at 6/18/13 9:25 AM
Created 10 Years ago at 6/18/13 6:26 AM

RE: Experience with Polyphasic sleeping

Posts: 376 Join Date: 3/21/12 Recent Posts
Tom Tom:
Biphasic sleep (single siesta) seems much more realistic:. http://www.polyphasicsociety.com/polyphasic-sleep/overviews/siesta/


There are two major drawbacks of a biphasic 5:30 hours sleep (my case):

1. Recurrent back-slide to DN.

2. Higher risk of injuries in sports, and time of recovery, or gaining weight.

So when I said that I felt fine with this sleep regime, I meant that it is "operational" from a daily life perspective (job and overall health), but it does have its drawbacks.

[ Added: I'm working on my schedule, to enable at 4.5 hours of sleep at night. ]

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