Polyphasic Sleep?

[Blues003]

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I just read abour polyphasic sleep. For those of you who don't know what it is, check http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/10/polyphasic-sleep/

I wanted to know if this is an effective method for getting more hours to study ;p

 

[Bartelby]

I read his blog of that experience a while back. Polyphasic sleep is some awesome stuff, but I don't think it would fit a med student's lifestyle. Do you feel like you can consistently stop and nap every three hours no matter what? I sure don't. If you can, though, it could be worth a shot (although who knows if it's actually damaging in the long run). Also keep in mind that Steve Pavlina tends to get really excited about the ideas he tries out, like raw food or most recently polyamory! You have to take those descriptions of amazing cognitive function with a grain of salt.

Still, it's great cocktail party chat!

 

[KempDrumsalot]

Haha, actually, I recently read a study about this. The problem with this method of sleeping is you never reach the most restoritive, REM, stage in sleep. People who use pollyphasic sleep are prone to being sick, depressed, and of course, tired.

 

[Blues003]

According to other studies (one of them is even on youtube), REM is achieved quicker with this method, thus supressing the sleep needs in a much more efficient way, time-wise...

And yeah, I gathered that I should always take Steve's opinion with a grain of salt after Polyamory xD

 

[KempDrumsalot]

While it is believed that REM may be achieved quicker, (as this happens when you do not get enough sleep), the pattern is still hard on the body, not giving it enough continuous restoritive sleep and rest.

 

[Blues003]

Oh. Could you please link me to that study?

 

[KempDrumsalot]

Most of this was discussed during class, so I really don't have a link to anything. Try googling it though.

 

[howelljolly]

So, when youre on Q3 cal for a rotation, whats a good way to regulate your sleep pattern? Assuming that you do get some shut-eye, whats a good length of time to sleep? And how many times in a 30 hour call? (assuming you have more control of your shedule than the night nurses)

If you try to get up in the middle of an REM cycle, you'll be useless.
Ive heard different lengths of an effective power nap... 20 min, 45 min, 90 mins (one cycle)....

If I want to be totally awake and useful on call... whats a good powernap pattern?

 

[Bartelby]

If I want to be totally awake and useful on call... whats a good powernap pattern?

Based on what we were taught in class a ten minute nap is the most effective duration. If you want to check out the study it's Brooks A, Lack L: A brief afternoon nap following nocturnal sleep restriction: which nap duration is best? Sleep 29: 831, 2006. I would assume that a nap in the afternoon (the classic biphasic "siesta" sleep pattern) would be most effective. As for the night that follows, you're on your own!

 

[gabeybaby]

ah, this sounds neatt... i'll try it out during summer break when my nap schedule is flexible 😉

 

[Excelsius]

Haha, actually, I recently read a study about this. The problem with this method of sleeping is you never reach the most restoritive, REM, stage in sleep. People who use pollyphasic sleep are prone to being sick, depressed, and of course, tired.

Not true. This method exactly gives you REM. Almost like REM only.

I tried this last year, but couldn't hold it through beyond the first week, which is supposed to be the most difficult. The reason is simple - it will almost never fit your schedule. You see, once you decide on a schedule, it has to be kept almost down to the minute. So if you are working or studying, this method doesn't work. I couldn't take a 15 minute nap when I was volunteering or if my lab took longer than it should have. Or while driving, for that matter.

I also tried a variation on this: biphasic sleep. It didn't work that well. I was able to average about 5-6 hours a night, but that's what I get naturally anyway. Biphasic will probably cut at most one hour from your regular sleep - not that significant.

 

[OncoCaP]

The sleep schedule that worked best for me the 1st 1.5 yrs (preclinical) was sleeping 1am or 2am to 6am (4-5 hrs) at night and then taking a 1-4 hr nap in the afternoon or evening. Usually I got 5 to 7 hours of sleep per day this way (ideally). During exams I could cut my night sleep to 2 to 4 hours during the night and keep my afternoon or evening nap to about 2 hours or so without really feeling tired at all. On days where I did not have class (e.g., weekends), I would increase my night sleep to 8 hours and skip the nap during the day. Now that I'm in clinics, I'm still using the same schedule, but I haven't had to work more than 8 hours at a time. My rotations for now are pretty humane. 3rd year life will probably get more difficult as far as sleep goes. Oh, and just in case you're wondering, I did not study all of my awake time. I studied 2 to 6 hours per day and class was an average of 5 to 6 hours per day. The rest of the time I spent with my family or did other things I enjoyed, like working out, for example.