Switching to polyphasic sleep, has anyone done it and can I meditate for a cycle

[jackg]

I've been looking into the uberman cycle of polyphasic sleep. I want to gain more time in my days and I sleep once every two days at the moment and can get by on 4 hours sleep for two days' worth of being awake (it's not unfeasible for me to get 4 hours and wake up naturally from it but I have varying levels of functionality after it).

I've recently discovered things like the uberman cycle and other polyphasic sleep cycles that might be more ideal for me to try and people have good experience of it (search it on YouTube there are quite a few reviews).

I also found on duckduck that meditation can replace sleep. Would it be possible therefore for me to meditate through 2 25 minute cycles (it takes me a couple of minutes to enter the trance) and sleep the other 4?

[Pmalek]

I have never heard of the uberman cycle of polyphasic sleep but depriving yourself from sleep can't be healthy in the long run, not in the short run either since you said that you are experiencing "varying levels of functionality". I wonder for what purposes would you want to do that?

It is a well known fact that a fully grown human being needs between 7-8 hours of sleep every night. Without that you will experience all kinds of physical disorders and you are putting your health in jeopardy. Fatigue, problems concentrating, back pain, loss of appetite are some of the problems I notice when I don't get a healthy amount of sleep.

Because of my job I sometimes have to be up after midnight. From 02-05 AM. Usually I take a nap between 23 PM - 01 AM. I have also tried not sleeping and staying up until 2 AM and it messes up my entire body. My neck and lower back hurts and I barely make it to 5 AM. Those two hours of sleep before I start working is just the energy boost my body needs apparently. 

Don't forget that during the night while you sleep your body regenerates itself and recovers/recharges for the day ahead. If your job is physical and involves moving/lifting heavy objects or if you workout you are just hurting your body if you aren't sleeping well.   

[jackg]

There are examples such as this which I think are interesting: https://youtu.be/Iq_VKY0L_BA

I've been looking at forums which say that the 7-8 hour figure is wrong (and some doctors saying the same thing) however I ran into an issue last night after being awake for about 36 hours as I accidentally took a nap for half an hour and couldn't get to sleep for a whole after that. Based on my calculations an uberman sleep would account for 10.6 hours of monophasic sleep (based on calculations ns of what I think affects me).  I'm normally healthy after getting 4 hours of monophasic sleep per day or 6-8 every 2.

[aplistir]

I've recently discovered things like the uberman cycle and other polyphasic sleep cycles that might be more ideal for me to try and people have good experience of it

I also found on duckduck that meditation can replace sleep. Would it be possible therefore for me to meditate through 2 25 minute cycles (it takes me a couple of minutes to enter the trance) and sleep the other 4?

Years ago I tried polyphasic sleep, and it did work. (kind of )

What I did was 15 min sleep every 3 hours, which makes just 2 hours of sleep in a day!
I tried it for a little less than a week, and it really worked. The idea was that you will never GET TIRED, because you have a little sleep every 3 hours, and since you never do get tired you also do not need a full night sleep. Actually it felt like you HAVE TO go to sleep all the time.

But what is interesting in your post is that you talk about meditation, which is what I did if I didn't succeed in falling asleep quickly enough. And it does work, although real sleep is better

I used silva meditation, which is a bit deeper than "normal" meditation, and an added bonus is that silva also teaches how to get to the meditative state quickly....

The reason why I  said it "kind of" worked, was that I tried it for almost a week, but it ended when I "accidentally" slept a full nights sleep and woke up a little before midnight  Totally screwing up my normal day/night rhythm. Took weeks getting it right again  

[jackg]

Thanks I did think that might be an issue. There are other plans where you sleep 30.minutes 4 times a day which seems a bit more reasonable.

It's funny about the sleeping all night thing too, a lot of guides I've been reading suggest you need a human alarm clock in order to pull off the method normally.

You can always sleep for half an hour in quite an uncomfortable position and the light on. I do that sometimes to help me remember to wake up soon when I only want a short nap.

[aplistir]

Thanks I did think that might be an issue. There are other plans where you sleep 30.minutes 4 times a day which seems a bit more reasonable.

According to what I read a long time ago, the more times you sleep in a day the less the total amount can be, For 4 times a day you  would probably need more than 30 min/each.

It is really interesting, that there are working alternatives to the normal sleeping pattern.

The biggest problems with this are social. When you do this, you will be off/sync with the rest of the world. Eg. you should be quiet during the night to not create problems with others (family&neighbours). And work/school do not usually make it possible for you to go to sleep during the work day.

For students it is great. you can  study at night without disturbing others.

[sheenshane]

There are 5 standard types of Polyphasic and one of them is the uberman. Their rest is Monophasic everyman, Dymaxion and biphasic.

I have found Interesting video from youtube regarding that, watch this video youtube link. "I Decided to Sleep for 4 Hours a Day, See What Happened"

If you have been watch and you are interested in this they called Polyphasic sleep cycle.
Honestly, Albert Einstein and the other geniuses practiced these cycles as well as stated in the youtube video, there actually a tribe in Brazil that believes that sleeping 30mins and above a day will lessen you to be yourself. Introspective, yes but it is a fact.!

[jackg]

@aplistir? Is silva meditation the one like this: https://youtu.be/JSGmBGOClQk?

I think I've been taught that one but I'll have to check. It's easentialky where you go through every part of your body and engage with it (or every group of parts)?

[paxmao]

Personally, everytime I´ve tried to change my usual sleep patterns have ended with a headache and little gain. A 6 to 7 hour at night plus a 45 siesta seem to work for me, unfortunately siesta is not possible for me currently.

[theymos]

I tried polyphasic sleep a few times many years ago, but after a few days the sleep deprivation would become utterly crippling to the point where I could barely form complete thoughts, and eventually I'd reach the point where I'd invariably drift off within seconds of sitting down anywhere. It's possible that only some people can do it, or that it's totally fake like the "breatharian" thing. If it is possible, then from my experience I think that you'd need a helper 24/7 during the "induction phase" in order to ensure that your mind is kept active, you don't drift off, and you wake up from your naps on time. (If you could figure out a way to reliably induct people into polyphasic sleep, you could make a business out of it...)

[Pmalek]

Can someone tell me are there any benefits for doing this? Not counting the fact that you are awake longer, what benefits are there in polyphasic sleep?
Honestly it sounds like a health hazard resulting in both physical and mental disorders sooner or later.

[jackg]

Apparently our monophasic sleeping pattern isn't very recommended or healthy either though.

Staying in the same place for a few hours hurts after a while, why wouldn't the same be an issue with sleeping? Not sleeping for more than an hour or two at a time would certainly have its benefits if you think about it that way... Apparently pee industrial revolution, people followed biphasic sleeping patterns for the most part.