Uberman too wussy for you? Try Tesla!
Okay, here’s a development I didn’t expect: Commenter “Sharif” and a friend have been doing a polyphasic schedule that’s even more restrictive than Uberman.
They’re calling it the Tesla schedule (a name I highly approve of — nice job! — if there’s anything more uber than an ubermensch, it’s gotta be the amazing Mr. Tesla ;).
The Tesla schedule involves 20 minute naps every six hours instead of every four, with no core-nap or other sleep. Click here to read Sharif’s description of the schedule.
It has one major upside that I can see: By allowing a six-hour break between naps, the Tesla is an uber-type schedule that may be easier for people with 9-5 jobs or other lifestyles that make naps every four hours difficult or impossible. Also, some of the euphoria and time-slideyness of Uberman seems to be preserved, though interestingly the adherents claim that these nifty mental effects are slightly less with Tesla than with Uberman. It’d be cool to get more opinions on that comparison, since obviously those effects are somewhat subjective in nature.
The downsides are predictable: Tesla has no flexibility, missing naps or oversleeping will slay you, and the adaptation period is, according to the adherents, much tougher than Uberman. (It seems on par with, or maybe even harder than, Dymaxion, which is typically defined as 30-minute-naps-every-six-hours, and which most people report as somewhat harder to adjust to than Uberman.)
I have to admit, if there’s one thing I didn’t expect to see from polyphasic sleepers, it was schedules even more badass than Uberman. But with two adherents at about six weeks of successful practice, I’d say that Tesla is pretty likely to be a proven addition to the polyphasic pantheon.
If anybody else tries it or knows of any other adherents, please let us know!
And congrats to the crazy pioneers who nailed this one. I shake your digital hands! ;)
19 comments
Could someone remark on the effect this pattern or Uberman has on your eyes? Is there soreness/redness to speak of?
Wow, I have read now really much about this whole polyphasic sleep thing, but this Tesla schedule sounds really crazy. Being a monophaser the most extreme thing I could imagine to try one day is the Everyman schedule.
Tesla means only 80 min of sleep for a whole day? I don’t want to be the big conventionalist here, but this does not sound healthy.
On the other side maybe this is just something for people with certain genetic (or something like that) background. As some monophasic sleepers need more and some less sleep, maybe there are also Uberman sleepers that simply can cope with longer intervals between their naps.
The only way anyone is going to get away with this is if they are one of those very very rare people who only need a couple of hours sleep anyway.
On a 6 X 20 minute schedule, I needed the night sleeps bang on time and could only extend the daytime ones by maybe 15-20 minutes before it started to make me tired (even after a rest).
This is going further for the sake of it.
Fascinating premise.
Like yourself, I am finding Uberman unworkable. I keep missing naps when work becomes busy and I end up oversleeping.
From 1.5 hours to a crash of 5 hours.
Yup, it’s very rare that I talk to someone with a full-time work-job who can maintain uberman. It just doesn’t let you flub it, at ALL. I discovered the same thing myself — though I’m glad I did; it was why I tested Everyman, which turned out to be a great schedule itself. Not really the same (I still miss Uberman), but pretty awesome for saving time.
Nick — Yeah, but if “going further for the sake of it” were never done, the world wouldn’t have a lot of its more interesting accouterments, would it? You’re absolutely right that Tesla will be insanely strict, and probably only suitable for a small fraction of people…but there’s Everyman and biphasic for the rest of us, so why worry? I say the more crazy people doing interesting things in this world, the better! ;)
Hi Andre; thanks for the comment! I agree that Tesla sounds extreme, but I can assure you that at this moment, there’s no evidence that it’s actually unhealthy. Uberman didn’t cause any damage to the health of myself, my friend, or the many people I’ve talked to in the decade since who’ve done it. As Tesla is only a slight change from Uberman, I would assume that, properly adapted to, it’s probably not dangerous either. It’s certainly true that the very extreme schedules like this are not for everybody, though — I don’t think I could do this one either! ;)
gary — Eye soreness is an individual thing. It can be caused by sleep-dep (so some people have it during the adaptation period, and it goes away when the sleep-dep is over), or it can be a result of spending more time in front of the TV/computer (which often happens when you’re awake more). I’ll write more about it later… Thanks!
Thanks, PD. ^_^ Your blog was what got me interested in polyphasic in the first place, so you’re partly to blame for this as well. :)
@Andre:
It might not be healthy, but I haven’t (past adaption) had any problems with it yet. If I do, I’ll be sure to put it on the Web. For Science!
@Nick:
You might be right – about me though, before starting this pattern I had been sleeping pretty close to the regular amount. Due to time constraints, I started sleeping less and less, down to maybe 3 hours a night – but I couldn’t cope with that and still function at anywhere near an acceptable level, which is why I switched to polyphasic. Tesla isn’t a just-because-I-can thing – Uberman wouldn’t fit in with my classes, no matter how hard I tried to make it.
Sharif
Sharif: Necessity is the mother of much craziness, innit? I guess I can’t help but take my share of the blame there. ;)
Keep us posted — for SCIENCE!
Sharif- I know what you mean. I had to drop Uberman when I got a job.
PD- I do agree. It was wrong of me to say that it’s not workable. I don’t like people who say things can’t be done.
I want more information !!! How long does it take before the worst part of adaptation end ?? day 4 was the worst for me under uberman..
Hmm, Tesla is so new that I’m not sure any information you got would be worth hanging your hat on…with only two people doing it, it’s likely that your experience would be different than theirs anyway, especially when it came to the specifics of which day was worst to adjust to. Then again, if you’ve already done Uberman, you know you can do something this hard, so why not just try it and tell us what you find out? Information from new adherents of Tesla is going to be really useful to people for a while, I think.
Thanks! -PD
Mattiew:
Good to hear. :) More information is coming – I plan to keep updating my blog as long as I’m polyphasing; there’s also a good chance that there’ll be a new adaption blog from my friend Daniel, who’s currently on Uberman, at http://morpheus.tesser.org .
In answer to your question, for me it took about ten days from ‘hey, it would be cool to try this’ to ‘okay, feeling less crap now’. The second successful adapter was faster – he started on Dymaxion (which took about a week), and moved to Tesla in a matter of days.
If there’s anything in particular you want me to write about, just say so. ^^
Good luck – if you decide to try it, I think it will be easier for having adapted to Uberman first.
Sharif
I just turned 14. I’m crazy. Sleep is for losers. I haven’t slept for a while and thus my mind drifts to (a) rectifying this nasty sleepiness, while (b) not succumbing to that wretched monophasic sleep. It stands to reason that I’m going to kill myself with one of these things, but if I can last a little longer and be more coherent than on the “just, like, don’t sleep… until you can’t not, man” schedule, all the better. The only question is, am I hardcore enough for Tesla, or am I merely a lowly Uberman? :)
Nobody:
Nice. :) That was exactly how I started.
First: obligatory disclaimer, no studies done, might inhibit growth, might kill you, et cetera, et cetera. That said, I was your age when I first tried Uberman, and only a little older when I first successfully adapted, and at 16 I’m not dead yet, so.
That said, physically you would need more sleep than me, as I’m two years older – how much more is variable. It’s possible that Tesla physically just isn’t enough sleep. Anecdotal evidence yes, but having adapted to Uberman at 15 I’d say you have a decent chance of success there.
My advice: try Uberman first. It’s easier, everyone fails at polyphasic the first time, and it will get you used to the type of pattern that polyphasic involves. If I’d tried Tesla without having adapted to Uberman previously I would have failed and failed hard. Besides, Uberman is plenty hardcore.
Sharif
Sharif, Nobody: A few comments. First, “everybody” certainly does not fail at Uberman the first time, and failing should be taken seriously — a failed attempt necessitates a long rest-period to get on a stable schedule before trying again. Attempts wreak havoc on your body (and sometimes mind) and need to be spaced out, and carefully prepared-for to minimize the risk of failing.
It’s not true that older teenagers need more sleep than younger ones. The medical recommendation is 8-10 hours for everyone under 18, and individuals differ, so you may need more or less than the average. Also, I’m sure you know this but I have to say it anyway: Polyphasic, or any restrictive, sleep schedules, as well as restrictive diets and other experimental lifestyles that may cause physical or mental damage are NOT RECOMMENDED for those who are still experiencing lots of physical growth. You can screw up your growth pattern, and there’s no fixing that once you do, so it’s not worth it just for the “cool” of doing Uberman (or whatever) now rather than later. Because of the scientific fact that you only get one shot and physical and mental growth, and that good growth takes lots of sleep and food, I’m 100% against people under 18 messing with polyphasic sleep, diets, fasting, or any of that, without taking the possible consequences very seriously. If there’s a problem that needs addressing, such as an inability to sleep normally, then by all means consider a polyphasic schedule as a possible solution…WITH medical supervision, AFTER all the more obvious things (like diet, caffeine, stress, depression, light & sound stimulus, etc.) have been looked at and corrected.
There, it’s my blog and I’ve officially given my opinion; do with it as thou wilt, and good luck to you both!
PD
PD: regarding need for sleep in teens, what you said is contrary to my experience, but you’re the expert. :)
My ‘everyone’ was hyperbole – but everyone I know who has tried it significantly oversleeps at least once during adaption. If you didn’t, then I think you’re more hardcore than the rest of us put together. :)
I completely agree with the rest. Don’t do it unless you need to. Regarding medical supervision though, I doubt any doctor would agree to it. I’ve told a few doctors of my sleep pattern; some don’t believe me, others say it’s doomed to failure and the rest want to hospitalize me.
Good luck. :)
Sharif
Thanks for jumping in, Sharif! It’s great to have your input. ;)