I never did manage to push through into fully polyphasic sleep, but my 1-2 week trial period also left me with an interesting sleep pattern: a 52-minute sleep cycle.
Most people have a sleep cycle of around 90 minutes, meaning that if you get less than 90 minutes sleep, you'll be tired and groggy. After my polyphasic experiment, I found that if left to my own devices, I would sleep for 52 minutes and then wake up. When I woke up in the middle of the night, it was at a multiple of 52 minutes after I went to bed. If I set my alarm for 52 minutes after bedtime, I woke up feeling good; somewhere between 52-minute multiples, and I felt terrible.
It's not quite as nice as polyphasic sleep, but it's had its benefits. Foremost among them is the fact that I can get a full-sleep-cycle nap in during my lunch hour. (Most people would only get 2/3 through their sleep cycle, and wake up feeling worse than when they went to sleep.)
Anyway, overall I'd say that there are a lot more variations on the sleep pattern than are generally announced, and you should experiment to see what's right for you. It's not just 8-hour monophasic or 20-minute polyphasic, any more than a diet can be only vegan or carnivorous.
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Amanda Himelein |