My Experiments with Polyphasic Sleep
Autor: Nikhil Wahi • January 20, 2016 • Term Paper • 603 Words (3 Pages) • 697 Views
My Experiments With Poly-phasic Sleep
Thesis
Despite the fatigue caused in the initial stages of adaption, poly-phasic sleep achieves the required amount of REM [[1]] sleep. Therefore, it increases our productivity since more awake time is attained.
The Types of Poly-phasic Sleep
Biphasic:
Biphasic sleep consists of one core 6 hour sleeping period during the night and a half an hour nap during the day to rejuvenate the body and the mind. The total sleeping time is about 25-27% of the total hours in a day. A study by the National Institute of Health showed that a midday power nap helps overturn the “burnout” that sets in as the day goes on. [2]
Everyman:
The everyman schedule consists of one core sleeping period of 3-4 of core sleeping during the night and 3 half-hour naps during the day. The total sleeping time is around 20-23% of total hours in a day. [3]
Uberman:
The uberman schedule consists of 6 twenty-minute naps spread through the day. According to reports, people who adapted to the uberman schedule included Da Vinci and Buckminster Fuller. [4]
My Experiment
I decided to adapt the everyman schedule for 3 weeks. I chose it over the uberman schedule because of the extremely rigid structure of the uberman regime. Everyman allows room for moving the sleep times around and it is also easy to cover up in case you miss a nap or oversleep.
Adapting the Everyman Schedule
I had to come up with a strict sleep schedule that would incorporate my classes. I decided to keep my core sleep period from 4-8 A.M. and take my naps around 11:30 P.M., 4 P.M. and 12 A.M. To avoid oversleeping, I had to use multiple alarms for each nap and also had to ask my roommate to wake me up.
Apart from the strict sleep schedule, it became important for me to eat healthy and at regular intervals. Since I had so much time on my hands, I had to find something to do. In these 3 weeks, I have read 3 novels, watched a lot of movies and have been taking an online course on CourseEra.
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