Why isn't Polyphasic Sleeping more popular here?

[Scipio]

Simple question. I mean apart from the people who have jobs, there's lots of us who have flexible schedules that could try it. Is the investment/risk of making a week unproductive if you fail too much?

[Brutha]

Even if you don't have a regular job organizing naps is still a lot of work. There's a reason why Steve quit polyphasic sleeping.

[rocksupreme]

'Cause I prefer sleeping with my wife, and I find that 17 waking hours is more than enough to to everything I want.

[Beuford]

I used to read the blogs and I've tried it myself. Most people fail, including myself. Of course I will try it again one day, now that my diet has improved. It may be a turn off to many that so many people fail it, but if you are determined, have mastered monophasic sleep, and have a great diet give it a try.

By the way, here is a map of polyphasic sleepers Try Polyphasic - the Web's Polyphasic Sleep Community - The World's Polyphasers.

[hydroxide]

I am currently trying to go biphasic and I can't even stick to that schedule. If I can get that down then I'm considering going to Everyman. Anything more "extreme" (ie. Uberman/Dymaxion) won't fit my class schedule.

I think a lot of people value a social life or spending time with their families, and the nap timings interfere with this, I suppose.

[openeyes]

I have more than enough time to do what I want each day as it is (focus is more of an issue than time), I'm unsure of the long term health effects of polyphasic sleep, and there is little to do outside my apartment locally between 1 am and 7 am. Most things occur between 11 am and 9 pm.

If I ever wind up in an area where I can go to movie theaters, plays, coffee shops, museums, or dentist appointments, etc at 4 am any day of the week, or I decide I want to work 12-16 hours per day while still having a life outside work, I may consider giving it a shot. For now I enjoy the flexibility of going to sleep only when tired, and waking up only when ready to do so.

[scorpio1980]

I think the real question is why would anyone desire to try that. I feel 15-19 hours a day is more than enough time to live your life. I look at sleep as the time your body, and mind uses to repair, and rest. Why would I take that away for a few extra hours of awakeness? I love sleep too much.

[OccamsPhaser]

I see your collective sanity and raise you my crazy. I've decided to actively pursue the polyphasic sleep schedule (Uberman, to be specific) in order to test out two different things at once. The first is a test to see if polyphasic sleep increases or decreases memory retention... the second is to see if 10,000 hours is really the target goal to become a professional at a field.

In the next year I'm going to be polyphasic and attempting to incrementally increase the amount of guitar practice I do every day from somewhere around 12 hours (which is where I got in my test run of polyphasic sleep) to a whopping 20 hours of practice a day. At 20 hours a day I'll have practiced 7,300 hours in a year (assuming it goes off without a hitch, which of course it won't). But I'm going to try anyway.

Edit: My personal blog is Polyphasic

[Brutha]

In the next year I'm going to be polyphasic and attempting to incrementally increase the amount of guitar practice I do every day from somewhere around 12 hours (which is where I got in my test run of polyphasic sleep) to a whopping 20 hours of practice a day. At 20 hours a day I'll have practiced 7,300 hours in a year (assuming it goes off without a hitch, which of course it won't). But I'm going to try anyway.

That sounds like a great trial.

[SomeRandomGuy]

I plan to transition to an Everyman 2-Nap schedule very soon. I plan to blog about my experience, and will post a link and occasional updates on my progress.

[lifetimelearner]

Originally Posted by Scipio

Simple question. I mean apart from the people who have jobs, there's lots of us who have flexible schedules that could try it. Is the investment/risk of making a week unproductive if you fail too much?

don't have time

[Scipio]

Originally Posted by OccamsPhaser

I see your collective sanity and raise you my crazy. I've decided to actively pursue the polyphasic sleep schedule (Uberman, to be specific) in order to test out two different things at once. The first is a test to see if polyphasic sleep increases or decreases memory retention... the second is to see if 10,000 hours is really the target goal to become a professional at a field.

Great goal. Keep in mind you need "world class" coaching in order to become an expert within that 10,000 hour mark. In his study of achievers that sparked this "10,000 hour talk," Ericsson noted that familial support and world class coaching were two extremely important factors in becoming an expert. Make sure that your practice entails all the qualities of "deliberate practice" as noted in the literature.

[Shane]

For me it's also social reasons. But doing a polyphasic trial, at least, is on my @someday to-do list. :P

Thanks for the link to that map, Beuford!

[OccamsPhaser]

Originally Posted by Scipio

Great goal. Keep in mind you need "world class" coaching in order to become an expert within that 10,000 hour mark. In his study of achievers that sparked this "10,000 hour talk," Ericsson noted that familial support and world class coaching were two extremely important factors in becoming an expert. Make sure that your practice entails all the qualities of "deliberate practice" as noted in the literature.

I completely agree. As it is now with music (and to a greater extent guitar) the sheer amount of material around from professionals and their practice regimens is astounding. In terms of technical virtuosity I have all the materials at my fingertips as long as I have internet access. Theory and application are just as easy to learn with diligent study.

If any of you all are interested in seeing how I do, I'm going to start in about a week or two and attempt to run a full year. I'll be updating my blogspot blog periodically.

[Brutha]

In terms of technical virtuosity I have all the materials at my fingertips as long as I have internet access. Theory and application are just as easy to learn with diligent study.

The internet doesn't tell you whether your listens enjoy the music that you are playing.
Feedback is important for the 10,000 hours claim.

[OccamsPhaser]

Originally Posted by Brutha

The internet doesn't tell you whether your listens enjoy the music that you are playing.
Feedback is important for the 10,000 hours claim.

Unfortunately I keep forgetting to include things because I already covered them at my blog. I have a local band and we're getting together material for shows and eventually an album. We meet weekly and I'll be keeping up with them as well as my own practice, factoring the time I spend with them in as well. If there's a place for feedback that would be it.

[Scipio]

Originally Posted by OccamsPhaser

Unfortunately I keep forgetting to include things because I already covered them at my blog. I have a local band and we're getting together material for shows and eventually an album. We meet weekly and I'll be keeping up with them as well as my own practice, factoring the time I spend with them in as well. If there's a place for feedback that would be it.

Yep, so if you do shows you'll get a couple hours of feedback at a time. In Gladwell's "Outliers" he said that The Beatles had done over 1200 live performances before they began seeing some success.

[Scipio]

Originally Posted by Brutha

The internet doesn't tell you whether your listens enjoy the music that you are playing.
Feedback is important for the 10,000 hours claim.

I agree with your general point but I disagree with the idea that the internet cannot provide him with feedback. I think if he's playing hours per day, he should be posting Youtube videos at least biweekly. Or should be a member of some other online community of guitar players and post his videos or recordings for feedback there. However, none of this is world class instruction. He really needs a trained teacher more often. If he's only planning on one lesson per week for one hour, that's like a 1:140 ratio of practice guided by an expert to solitary practice.

[Andrew Brunelle]

First of all, it's unnatural. Our bodies resist it and even after we have adapted, there could be long-term effects we do not know about. Your body is meant to sleep from 6-9 hours every 24 hours, preferably at night. It gets dark for a reason. Before we had electricity, besides reading by candelight we all went to sleep. We would awake when the sun came up. Nature got it right. Don't mess with it.

Second, it is very inconvenient to have to sleep during the day as well. I think Steve said he was hesitant to start any big project if he had to go take a nap within the hour. At night, nobody cares what you are doing. But during the day, if you have to take 3 or 4 naps, then you can't just get up and leave to go somewhere to meet people at a moment's notice. You have to plan around your naps and forget about staying awake more than 6 hours or else you'll pay later with more frequent or longer naps.

[OccamsPhaser]

Originally Posted by Scipio

I agree with your general point but I disagree with the idea that the internet cannot provide him with feedback. I think if he's playing hours per day, he should be posting Youtube videos at least biweekly. Or should be a member of some other online community of guitar players and post his videos or recordings for feedback there. However, none of this is world class instruction. He really needs a trained teacher more often. If he's only planning on one lesson per week for one hour, that's like a 1:140 ratio of practice guided by an expert to solitary practice.

Good points. However, most guitarists that take lessons have extreme discrepancies between the amount of solitary practice versus guided practice. Most of the skill of playing is muscle memory and repetition, and there are thousands of videos by professionals including greats like Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, etc. and these are meant to help guide personal practice. In reality I have all the tools I need for effective practice in the next year; if I find it insufficient I'll go find a teacher at some point.

Andrew, I can't disagree more. When I went to polyphasic it took me two days to get REM sleep on a semi-consistent basis, and after about three or four days I didn't have any sort of fatigue for more than an hour or two a day. Also, when I was polyphasic I was able to go meet people immediately after a nap - sometimes I'd go to sleep wearing the clothes I'd be leaving in! And on the off chance that I had to skip a nap, it was pretty easy to make up for it.

[Thomas H]

I just began polyphasic sleep myself. If any of you are interested in reading my accounts you can check out my blog post.