Techie Sleep Tips 5: Tweaks For Epic Sleep

When it comes to sleep, the common wisdom for industrialized societies is 8 hours of uninterrupted rest (or monophasic sleep).  However, scholars and numerous studies say monophasic sleep is a recent phenomenon of great exposure to artificial light after sunset. Before this, people engaged in polyphasic sleep of more than one session per day.  They more particularly slept in a polyphasic pattern of biphasic sleep (2 sessions a day).

1. THE BIPHASIC BOOST! - A study by the National Institute of Mental Health discovered biphasic sleep is actually more natural than monophasic sleep. The researchers placed relatively healthy monophasic sleepers in daily 14-hour dark periods for a month. Participants could sleep as much as they wanted and the first nights featured everyone repaying sleep debts with 11+ hour sessions. A significant reduction of participants' exposure to artificial light supercharged their pineal glands with greater melatonin secretion.

By the fourth week, researchers observed something quite unusual. Everyone adapted to a specific biphasic sleep pattern. Although participants still slept about 8 hours, they broke it up into two 3-5 hour sessions with a 1-2 hour wake session in between. The wake period was extremely blissful involving massive prolactin activity that doesn't occur in monophasic sleep.

To this day, biphasic sleep still occurs in pre-industrial societies lacking exposure to artificial light. Participants of biphasic sleep studies often say it provides a level of energy and mental clarity not experienced since early childhood or ever (they probably don't remember).

For those already on this cycle, your body maintains a more primitive circadian rhythm. To achieve more biphasic sleep, people need exposure to at least 10 hours of natural darkness. More natural light such as moonlight and fire (candles), in theory, should allow for a greater exposure to this natural nighttime darkness. Just be sure to put a plate under candles in case you fall asleep before blowing them out. Install thick curtains on your windows and wear an eye mask if you have to - for these all help encourage more natural darkness.

For many people, this type of biphasic sleep will require serious changes at night, but it's definitely worth a try for severe sleep issues that are ruining most days for you. It almost seems ridiculous to turn off all unnatural light after sunset, but that level of discipline may pay off with greater energy after sunrise allowing you to compensate with much greater productivity and well-being.  Probably so much that you'll give up night-owl habits most days except for parties and what not.

If you're a college student who sleeps more than once a day, you're already engaging some form of biphasic sleep, whether it's the melatonin/prolactin enhanced type above or an extra 1-3hour nap later in the day. However, if you think primitive biphasic sleep is a challenge; wait till you see the others below!

2. RENAISSANCE METHODS OF SLEEP - These next ways of sleeping involve scheduled naps that theoretically attempt to trade sleep duration for additional sleep quality to increase your total time awake. They include: Everyman, Dymaxion, and Uberman.  Many of these have been used by many famous historical figures of renaissance levels of talent. Today, numerous bloggers, youtubers, and participants of empirical studies have also tried these methods with incredible results.

 Some people can't handle them, while others have tried them for months and even years with great success and no ill health effects. Everyman is essentially the easiest while Uberman is the hardest.  Their theory goes, after you adapt to them, your body accepts and benefits from them.

2A. EVERYMAN SLEEP - First off, Everyman sleep is NOT for every man or woman. It requires you sleep a core rest of 4.5hrs with two 20min power naps.  Another involves a 3hr core sleep with three 20min power naps.  The goal is to get by with only 3-4hours of sleep.  The core rest makes this quicker to adapt to and provides a decent 4-5 hours of additional wake time.  Of these three methods, Everyman is perhaps the most realistic for most people, particularly those with the flexibility for those 2-3 naps.

Now imagine only taking short naps without a core sleep session. These next two strategies do just that!  

2B. DYMAXION - Dymaxion sleep asks for four 30min naps (every 6 hours) for a total of 2 hours of sleep.  Those who try this (along with Uberman below) often report a bizarre jet-lag feeling of living in a never-ending day.  This lasts until their internal clock fully adjusts and re-calibrates their awareness of time.

Renaissance man Buckminster Fuller designed the Dymaxion sleep schedule to help him achieve more productivity with his talents. He also named several of his own creations after the term including his Dymaxion house, car, world map, and life journal "Dymaxion Chronofile" which heavily detailed his entire life in experiment form.   Like Fuller with many things to occupy his time, the most successful attempts to use these strategies also involve a highly driven need for the strict schedules beyond desire.  You have to be very productive in many highly engaging activities of mental and physical activity - not just watching TV.

2C. UBERMAN - Historical records indicate Leonardo DaVinci himself used this form of sleep.  Uberman sleep requires six 20-30min naps (every 4 hours) for a total of 2-3 hours of sleep per day. The nap time varies person to person based on personal and environmental circumstances. Blogger Steve Pavlina tried Uberman sleep for 5-1/2 months and you can read about his experiences here.  

YouTuber Matthew Armstrong also tried Uberman sleep for 30 days, recording 10 videos of the experience.  It took him about two weeks to adapt to Uberman sleep which ultimately provided "razor sharp" mental clarity and wakefulness along with incredibly lucid dreams.  Even though the naps were 30mins for him, he began to feel like they were the equivalent of several hours.

All the hard work eventually pays off, however most lifestyles today in industrialized societies don't allow Uberman sleep to remain sustainable.  It's not so much these kinds of sleep are impossible and dangerous (perhaps for some), but they simply aren't widely accepted among the conventional ways of many lives.  

Armstrong theorizes that Uberman may be the next step for a society to achieve greater productivity and health.  With so many things, including monophasic sleep, not being entirely proven natural but rather conventional wisdom, perhaps people naturally have a lot more flexibility to sleep in ways that work best for them.  Everyman, Dymaxion, and Uberman are so rare because they require you to be extremely aggressive about getting your naps - perhaps being down-right rude about them during the transitional period.  For this, the only people who can currently use these methods are extremely productive & disciplined people with schedules flexible enough to almost always allow the naps.

See the full collection of Techie Sleep Tips