How to Do Polyphasic Sleeping
How often have you said, “If only there were more than 24 hours in a day!” By learning to polyphasic sleep—meaning breaking up a night’s sleep into a series of shorter naps—you can squeeze an extra whole day out of the week.
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You Will Need
- Patience to adjust to your new schedule
- The flexibility to nap every four hours
Steps
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Step 1
Pick a schedule
Pick one of two polyphasic schedules: Uberman Sleep, where you take 20 to 30 minute naps every four hours, or Dymaxion Sleep, where you snooze for 30 minutes every six hours.
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Step 2
Start your new schedule
Start your new sleep schedule. Expect to suffer through sleep deprivation for the first two weeks, as your body adjusts to shorter sleep cycles.
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Don’t deviate! You are training your body to fall instantly into the all-important REM sleep that makes us feel rested. Missing even one nap—or oversleeping—will throw everything off.
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Step 3
Eat more
Enjoy more food! One bonus of the diet is you’ll need to consume more calories because your body will be active several more hours each day.
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Expect to experience vivid dreams once you adjust to your new sleep pattern.
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Step 4
Feel smug
Feel superior to all those slugs wasting 8 hours a night on sleep.
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Benjamin Franklin and Leonardo Da Vinci were believed to have been polyphasic sleepers.
