The Polyphasic Sleep Experiment
March 2009: swapping a night's sleep for a day of short naps, and seeing what happens.
10 parts, 2009, in order.
- Part 1
Polyphasing Experiment: The Challenge
It was midnight and we were totally exhausted. We were sitting up late again, relaxing in the office at Makan, a cultural centre in Cairo. We’d spent the last…
- Part 2
Polyphasing Experiment: Testing, testing
Today I was analysed by my psychologist. One hour of intensive testing at the Starbucks in Covent Garden (Peppermint tea please). I’m not sure if I am normal,…
- Part 3
Polyphasing Experiment: Day 1
Today is the day it all begins. Or ends. No more bed for a week. I have just got up from a very relaxing 8 hour sleep. I feel fully rested, but a little fuzzy…
- Part 4
Polyphasing Experiment: Day 2
This is the start of my first full day of polyphasic sleeping. Yesterday was great, but on the back of a full nights sleep it was no challenge. Today is a…
- Part 5
Polyphasing Experiment: Day 3
The ‘day’ begins with me dragging three huge bags of clothes down to the Salvation Army collection point in the centre of the village. As I stuff the dense…
- Part 6
Polyphasing Experiment: Day 4
I hope I develop a taste for dark, cold streets because I feel like I’m going to see them a lot over the next month. I find myself looking forward to the 7am…
- Part 7
Polyphasing Experiment: Day 5
Not the worst nap ever. But I’m still waiting to wake up refreshed. I’m lurching from nap to nap with my body just getting enough to keep going. It’s like I’m…
- Part 8
Polyphasing Experiment: Day 6
I have had a change of tactics. Naptics you might say. Taking Pavlina’s idea and combining it with Buckminster Fuller’s technique: I’m just going to take a 20…
- Part 9
Polyphasing Experiment: Conclusions
These, I concede, could have disappeared if I had persisted through the adjustment period of about 30 days.
- Part 10
Online Polyphasic Resources
Here are some useful online resources if you want to find out more about polyphasic sleeping patterns.