Proof that I can answer questions

A nice girl named Shelly (at least I think she’s a nice girl) is doing a speech this Thursday about polyphasic sleep.  She posed some pretty good questions to the uberman Yahoo! Group to help bolster her presentation.  For your possible edification, here are my answers:

1. The National Foundation for Sleep states that people should
get up to 8 hours of sleep a night. How would you argue with someone
who challenged you with that statement?

I would point out that neither they nor any other major scientific organization has done adequate research on polyphasic schedules.  Therefore, that data isn’t capable of arguing with the people who are successfully keeping these schedules.

2. What would be some advice you would give to someone who was
thinking about trying this type of sleep out?

Read up on it; it’s not for everybody. 

3. Some people might also argue that your health could be
affected by this kind of sleep since a lack of sleep could be vital
to your health and immune system. For those of you who are doing
Polyphasic sleep, would you say that this could be true?

Of course it could be true, but the evidence so far gathered doesn’t seem to point to it being true.  For instance, I’ve been on polyphasic schedules twice for several months at a time, and never suffered any health effects that I could tell.  (The first time I wasn’t seeing a doctor regularly, but this time I am getting regular checkups, and there aren’t any problems.  My first run was 6 months on Uberman; this time is 4.5 months (so far) on Everyman.)  Many others have reported the same lack of health problems.  Until there is research to show a definite health concern linked to polyphasic schedules specifically, I would say the available evidence suggests that it’s safe.

4. Despite the fact that starting Polyphasic Sleep is a hard
process is it worth the effort?

For people for whom it’s a compatible lifestyle, absolutely.  It’s meant the world to me.

5. What kind of affects do you feel (if any) as you are napping
only a certain amount a time at different times of the day?

On my current schedule (3-hour core + 3 x 20-minute naps), I feel no effects whatsoever, other than not getting tired in the afternoon like I used to.  There is a slight psychological time-dilation effect that comes from having a longer day.  On Uberman (strictly 6 x 20-minute naps) I noticed this time-dilation was more pronounced, and I had noticeably more energy than normal, instead of just a lack of the usual sleepiness.  On Uberman I lost some weight, due to being up and moving more often and eating the same amount; when I first adopted Everyman I gained some weight, due to being awake and snacking more.  It’s my belief that the weight gain/loss some people report (and which is the only physical “effect” I’ve experienced) is due to the lifestyle change, rather than a direct result of the change in sleep-pattern.

6. What would be a strong point to state when I am up in front
of the room persuading people to try this out?

There is absolutely no evidence that polyphasic sleeping is harmful, and lots of evidence that it can be a beneficial lifestyle.

7. How has Polyphasic sleep affected your daily life (in terms
of your schedules for work etc) And do you need to live a certain
way or have a certain schedule set up to make this work?

Sure, but no more so than I had to “schedule” my life around sleeping at night before.  My job lets me take my naps in exchange for working an extra hour.  I’m on the Everyman schedule with a core nap, because it provides some extra flexibility that the strict Uberman schedule doesn’t, and which I need in case I have a meeting or something that moves one of my naps around.  Probably the most pronounced effect on my daily life is that I can work full-time, play with my toddler in the evenings, hang out with my husband and do my homework for school at night, and have time for myself to relax and pursue hobbies in the wee hours.  At least two of those things would be impossible without my polyphasic schedule.  Oh, and as I mentioned before, it has affected my daily life by removing the “afternoon sleepies” that used to drive me crazy, and also by solving some chiropractic problems I was having as a result of tossing and sleeping in weird positions at night.  Now I don’t sleep long enough to get sore.  ;)