Dangers of polyphasic sleep

[Nethys]

So I had started planning how to best start, had three schedules
planned to help myself adapt,
at first sleep 6 hours then one nap, then 4.5 core + 2 naps and
finally 3 core + 3 naps.
But then I stumbled upon this and was discouraged,
http://www.supermemo.com/articles/polyphasic.htm
I'd really appreciate if you could disprove his points and set me on
the right track as I really need the extra time.
Thanks!

[Nicky Hajal]

http://www.puredoxyk.com/index.php/2006/11/01/an-attack-on-polyphasic-sleep/
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[Jerry Underwood]

I wouldn't worry too much about the good doctor's polemic. For some
reason, he has an agenda.

Even after reading it just one time, I found several mistakes.
(Deliberate? I think so.) For one thing, he claims that no
polyphasics are women, when the one who started it all (PureDoxyk)
and the most prominent YouTube polyphasic (Aeia) are both women. (If
they are really men, they're the prettiest drag queens I've ever seen.)

I noticed on several occasions that he paraded evidence that seemed
to support his theories but ignored evidence—often from the same
quoted source!—that supported polyphasic sleeping. He mentions
Claudio Stempi and discusses him to a certain extent, but
conveniently leaves out the fact that polyphasic sleeping was quite
successful for his star subject. You might want to google the words
"Why We Nap Claudio Stempi", so that you can get a copy of the book
and read the evidence for yourself.

I do agree with him to an extent on one thing, though: I don't think
just anyone can adapt; others on this forum dsagree with me on this
issue. (He calls successful adapters "mutants", "liars", or worse.)

In short, Nethys, please remember that, by picking and choosing, a
scientist with an agenda can prove anything he wants to prove. ;) Do
you remember the scientists in 1982 who "proved" that nicotine was
not an addictive substance? I beg you to think about it.

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[Daniel Smith]

Never let the data stand in the way of a good opinion. He hasn't quite figured out that there are actually people on these schedules and they do not suffer all the dire things he predicts.

The human body is way more flexible than he gives it credit for. My circadian cycle, for example, is currently programmed to make me very sleepy five times a day. He says an awful lot of things that go against my direct experience.

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Daniel Smith
http://www.schaumburggoclub.org/

[jerry1962]

Daniel, your post reminds me of the scientist who flatly stated, circa
1972, that lucid dreaming was "impossible", which made me laugh out
loud—I'd done it numerous times.

As PureDoxyk has mentioned on her website, scientists sometimes evoke
sniggers when they say "Believe me, not your lying eyes."

;)

[Aya Hu]

I've been 100% adapted to uberman sleep for over 5 months now, the
initial 30 days were hell and most people will never make it through,
this guy sounds like one of those who tried and failed and hurt his
own pride. Its been the best thing I ever did for myself lifestyle
wise. It takes enormous willpower to get through the first phases, but
its worth it. You will experience most of what this guy talks about.
But is it worth it to you? Its obviously possible but no one has ever
done enough research to find out about long term effects, so is it
worth the risk to you?
PS if this is the report that bashes creativity, I am a full time
creative direct and SEM Manager, believe me not even during adaptation
was my creativity adversely affected.

Aya

On Nov 23, 5:48 pm, Nethys <arz...@gmail.com> wrote:
> So I had started planning how to best start, had three schedules
> planned to help myself adapt,
> at first sleep 6 hours then one nap, then 4.5 core + 2 naps and
> finally 3 core + 3 naps.

> But then I stumbled upon this and was discouraged,http://www.supermemo.com/articles/polyphasic.htm

[Nethys]

Thank you all for your answers, what I feared is lack of creativity
and feeling sleepy all the time.
Creativity and creation is one thing I live for and I've been feeling
sleepy almost every day
for the past three years, only feeling really awake and alert when
taking large amount of caffeine.

[HalfABrain]

I saw this article as well. It didn't take long to dismiss most of it
almost out of hand.

It's obvious that this guy has an axe to grind when it comes to
polyphasic sleep. His quotes were all cherry picked to try to make it
look as bad as possible. Everyone has bad days and good days, but he
didn't post anything positive. It's always a major red flag when
things are so one sided.

Also, he just made stuff up. Did you read the section on "Polyphasic
sleep for dummies" about the sleepy potion and the hourglass of mental
energy? That one tipped my BS meter way up. Mainly because it
doesn't coincide with my own experience in any way whatsoever. Or how
about his section on why we never hear about polyphasic women, and how
that's all because of hormones? I'm not sure where this guy gets this
stuff, but he's proposing models that have no connection with reality,
and then concluding based on these fabricated models that polyphasic
sleep will never work.

Here's the quote that really made me laugh:
"Theories" (warning for skimming readers who are out of context:
those "theories" have nothing to do with science!)

Was anyone else entertained by the blatant hypocrisy of that
statement?

It was an interesting article, and he brought up some important
points, but make sure you take it with a ton of salt. Make sure you
check anything he writes against at least one other source before you
blindly believe it.

And before you believe any blanket statements like "Here is why
polyphasic sleep will never work naturally" or "Why don't we hear of
polyphasic women?", make sure that you at least do a rudimentary check
to see if there are actually people for whom polyphasic sleep DOES
work naturally, or who actually ARE women.

[zade]

Here is a blog post on the effects of polyphasic sleep on memory.
http://muflax.com/2009/10/15/eating-my-own-shit/

[Ginny]

Tx for that, Zade. I'm inclined to think free running sleep is where
it's at.

Now if I could only find a free running income source so that I didn't
have to nine to five it. :)

On Nov 26, 11:03 pm, zade <polyphasic_sl...@live.com> wrote:
> Here is a blog post on the effects of polyphasic sleep on memory.http://muflax.com/2009/10/15/eating-my-own-shit/

[Daniel Smith]

The most charitable take on that article I have is that the author is leaping to some unwarranted conclusions; I also kinda wonder if they were ever fully adapted. I would probably agree that there is a limited amount of material on a given topic that you can learn in a day, and that polysleeping probably doesn't change that. Synapses only form so fast and all. But there's nothing to keep you from studying multiple topics, or doing something creative. Even if all your extra time is just used for relaxation, that's relaxation you wouldn't have gotten before.

Also, I personally definitely do not learn more slowly when fully adapted. I've even seen a few studies recently where people who took a short nap after learning something improved at it. Sound like something we're likely to do?

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[Jerry Underwood]

You might want to read Zade's link more carefully. If you do, you'll
see that the blogger noted a zillion oversleeps—fatal to Polyphasic
Sleep. PureDoxyk says that oversleeps are the absolute worst thing
that can happen—it trains the brain to increase sleep-dep symptoms,
instead of adapting. With this in mind, I doubt that the blogger was
ever adapted.

Furthermore, his logic does not stand close scrutiny. He asks,"Where
are the polyphasic scientists? geniuses (et. al.)" That's an easy
question to answer:

There aren't very many active polyphasic sleepers in the entire world—
geniuses or not. I think there are probably only about a dozen
completely adapted polyphasics in the entire world; ten years ago,
before PureDoxyk and Princess Bariah so bravely pioneered polyphasic
sleep for us, there were no polyphasics in the world at all.

Ladies and gentleman, I think, in the end, we should all follow
PureDoxyk's advice: no oversleeps for any reason (do whatever it
takes) for a full month. If you haven't adapted by then, you won't.

If you need an alarm that will work under any circumstances, you
might want to YouTube "loudest alarm clock in the world." ;)

Ginny: on another note, if the doctor at SuperMemo has lied so many
times about polyphasic sleep, how could you believe him about
anything? There's a credibility issue at stake.

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[Ginny]

Seriously, I think I just like the idea of sleeping whenever I want
because in our society, it'll never happen. I've considered polyphasic
undersleeping, but I don't think I've seen enough proof on this forum
to convince me that it isn't a dangerous lifestyle choice.

On the topic of polyphasic sleeping, there are other cultures out
there that sleep polyphasically. Nomadic cultures in particular are
noted polyphasic sleepers. So, it's not new. The pioneering part is
the undersleeping part, and I would truly like to see long-term
studies of polyphasic undersleep compared to other sleep patterns.
Undersleeping (and polyphasic undersleeping) affects your
neurochemistry and your hormonal balance, there is no question of
this. One example is that thyroid function diminishes. I've noticed
Aya Hu comment on this forum that she is finding it hard to maintain
her weight while consuming the same amount of calories and exercising
as she did before. I'm not a medical expert, but I would suspect that
a disturbance in the body's metabolism homeostasis is not of benefit
to the person experiencing it.

I'm not totally closing my mind to it, I just haven't seen enough
proof that the risks don't outweigh the benefits.

On Nov 27, 1:44 pm, Jerry Underwood <jerryunderwood1...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[Aya Hu]

Oversleeps are really not detrimental once you are fully adapted, most
all problems spawn during the adaptation phase.

Furthermore, I learned Intermediate Egyptian Arabic in under 3 months
for a project recently, and I have been polyphasic for 5 and half
months. I have never ever seen a detriment to my memory, and in fact
had increased memory during the adaptation period.

Also, I am a female Uberman. The only time my femininity has any
effect is every month the day Im going to get my period I get VERY
tired and take a core nap. Infallibly. I can identify right when its
coming because I get very tired and am not usually ever tired. And my
period has shifted from every 28 days to every 24 or less. This doesnt
bother me in the slightest.

Im sorry but Zade's link is full of shit just like the original
article. It is someone who has never successfully tried polyphasic
sleep. As far as geniuses, my father is also a polyphasic sleeper and
has an IQ in the 98th percentile. There is a PROVEN link between
intellect and needing less sleep. My IQ is also high, and by the way,
personally speaking 16 languages intermediately, I can pull them all
up in my head within seconds, whereas before I was polyphasic I
constantly needed "Refresher" courses on all of them.

So yes, polyphasic works, yes its possible for a woman, no it doesnt
inhibit your creativity, and it has nothing to do with intellect
unless you are a person who is docile of the mind during adaptation I
could imagine that might be painful.

Saying its impossible is like saying you cant lose 46 pounds, or
become a raw vegan straight up or quit smoking without supplements.
Oh, its hard, but its completely possible.

On Nov 27, 11:44 am, Jerry Underwood <jerryunderwood1...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[Jerry Underwood]

Aya, I believe your memory increased after becoming polyphasic,
because Dr. Claudio Stempi's subject's memory also improved. This
blows Zade's blogger's theory all to smithereens.

I have the book, which shows a chart. I wonder if I could post the
chart? It's high time we put some of the myths about polyphasic sleep
to rest.

[Chris Hope]

> I've noticed
> Aya Hu comment on this forum that she is finding it hard to maintain
> her weight while consuming the same amount of calories and exercising
> as she did before. I'm not a medical expert, but I would suspect that
> a disturbance in the body's metabolism homeostasis is not of benefit
> to the person experiencing it.

You may be right, but...

She's awake longer and you consume more calories when you are awake
than asleep. If you consume the same number of calories now as you did
before you started polyphasic sleeping, then of course you will have
trouble maintaining the same weight. You *need* to eat more because
your body is burning more.

Regards,
Chris

[Aya Hu]

I have since lost many of the pounds I was worried about. I did not
consume more calories than I had before. I had tried that as well.

However, if a few pounds of weight gain is a danger, thats rather
upsetting, I dont know what that makes me, Indiana Jones, because in
my youth I went up and down like a yoyo. It was only recently I had
any stable weight and clearly the odd effects of polyphasic sleeping
on my metabolism changed that. So I finally found a diet that worked
and lost most of that weight I was worried about. Im certain with a
little maintenance I can keep it off.

But I cant even say this was for sure the sleeping schedule, it could
be anything, I am still young and my body is changing, its completely
possible I would have experienced this with or without the change in
my sleep pattern. Because it was so drastic I opted to blame the
sleep, but it also could have been a reaction to a food I ate, or
backup in my system. It was, in my opinion, no where near a 'danger'.

Some have also suggested it was the workout, etc, and I have lost 7
pounds since changing it.