Can Multiple Naps Replace Regular Sleep?
We are still in (drum roll) National Napping Month, August 2009, and I’ve been experimenting with a simple schedule of a core sleep plus a short nap of about 30 minutes in the 1-3 pm time slot. Usually I am slightlt groggy on awakening from the nap, but within a few minutes have increased energy. When I mentioned napping previously I was not aware of the people who experiment with different sleep schedules and all the research that has gone on. There is a good article in Wikipedia.
For the bold there is the Uberman Schedule, 20-30 minutes every 4 hours for a total of 2-3 hours sleep a day. A good source of information about it is from the pioneering puredoxyk in her polyphasic portal. “I’m one of the intrepid pair of college girls who lived on the Uberman Sleep Schedule (and gave it its name) back in The Distant Future, The Year 2000.” She relates that she has gone over to the so-called Everyman schedule with a 3 hour core and 3 20 minute naps, and has been doing it consistently for several years without problems.
Another polyphasic sleeper who recorded his experiments is Steve Pavlina. He has returned to monophasic sleep, apparently as it was difficult to mesh that life with ‘normal’ society.
Of course, little is known about the long term effects of this kind of sleeping pattern, so it must be viewed as a somewhat risky undertaking. We are still learning from the pioneers.
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