Is polyphasic sleep really possible?!


Question: Is polyphasic sleep really possible?
Okay, just a quick rundown:

Monophasic - means one sleep phase in 24 hours.

Biphasic - means two sleep phases in 24 hours.

Polyphasic - means three or more sleep phases in 24 hours.

Personally, I'm monophasic. I never have naps. I don't think I've ever purposefully had a nap in my life. I have one sleep per day, like most humans. One sleeping phase.

Some say that polyphasic sleeping (having multiple short naps in 24 hours) will drastically reduce wake-time. So for example, it's possible to have six 30 minute naps in 24 hours. That's only 3 hours of sleep a day, but apparently it's possible to survive like that easily. Since you're having short naps every few hours, you can stay alert and healthy.

IS IT TRUE? If this is true, I will start right now in training myself to sleep polyphasically. I'm just not sure if it is, though. There are so many different views, beliefs, doctors, studies on sleep... it's almost impossible to find a true answer. I just need a true answer. Is polyphasic sleeping, (e.g., multiple naps per day to reduce wake-time), possible.

Please don't give a yes-no answer. I really need a long, in-depth answer that EXPLAINS polyphasic sleeping, how it works, how to do it, and the affects it has in your long-term health. If you've attempted this sleeping, letting me know what it's like will really help too.

Thank you !!!

Answers:

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Polyphasic sleep has no benefits to your health. Your brain needs the same amount of rest whether it is in one go or throughout the day. Three hours sleep is not enough, the average adult needs eight hours. Please do not try it, you will only get sleep deprivation and start hallucinating or collapse from exhaustion. It does not work, don't do it, and it will affect your long-term health by:

Causing you to hallucinate, as I said.

Causing you to collapse, as I said.

Causing your body to not heal properly. If you do not have a long sleep for at least six hours, your body cannot heal cuts and wounds properly.

Causing long-term memory loss. If you do not get enough sleep, the brain cannot change short-term memories into long-term memories very easily, so you will not remember very much.

Increasing your risk of infection. Your immune system is most active when you are asleep, so if you are not getting enough sleep, your immune system will begin to fail.

Causing muscle fatigue. If you don't sleep for long enough, you won't get REM, the phase of sleeping in which you dream. If you don't get REM, you will wake up tired and experience muscle fatigue and symptoms similar to that of fibromyalgia as a result of this.

Your concentration and attention span will be low. Sleep helps you to focus, and if you are tired, you won't concentrate during the day.

Overall, I do not recommend polyphasic sleeping patterns, they are bad for your health and well-being. Please do not try it.



I've never literally "taken up" such a thing, but I have experienced trying to get through the day working on several naps at a time. I wasn't used to it, so of course I was having a very hard time. I was lucid, but VERY sluggish, very hazy, and at some moments I felt like pulling my hair out because all I wanted to do was sleep for like. 43284743 hours straight. So if you're monophasic, I imagine it'll be quite hard breaking out of that routine. Of course, I don't know if it's worth breaking out of it - hopefully someone more experienced can shed some light on this.




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