Ask anyone on the streets on how much sleep they need per day and how much they actually get, you won’t be surprised if many people reply that they need at least 7-8 hrs of sleep and get only 4-6 on average. Of course the figures vary with age as studies have shown that people tend to sleep lesser as one age.
Why do most think that they need 7-8 hours of sleep in the first place? Most health experts advocate on sleeping 7-8 hours a day and some studies like the ‘Wehr Study’ had his subjects sleep for 12 hours each day but his subjects soon reverted back to an average of 8 and 1/4 hrs per night after a few days. Studies like these reveal that the natural sleep cycle dictates that we are best rested at 8 hrs of sleep on average depending on age.
A sizable group of people do not get 7-8 hrs of sleep per day and wake up feeling lethargic and cranky. Those who manage to drag themselves off the bed, end up calculating how much time and got to sleep and feeling lousy because they lost out on X hours sleep. The thing is, are these people really lethargic or is it because the mentality of needing 7-8 hours of sleep makes the brain feel so?
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While I was researching on the subject of sleeping (Sleeping hours, not sleeping around), I came across interesting sleep schedules called the “Uberman” and the “Everyman” which is an adaptation of “polynapping” or “polyphasic sleep”. The “Uberman” and the “Everyman” sleep schedules were coined by Puredoxyk and basically it involves a person sleeping as little as 1.5 hrs to 2 hrs every 24 hours for the “Uberman Sleep Schedule” and 3 to 4 hrs of sleep for the “Everyman Sleep Schedule”. Both concepts work on the fact that the human body falls into a stage of Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep about 20% of our daily sleeping time which translates to about 1.5 to 2 hrs of REM sleep every 24 hrs. What happens during the REM sleep stage is that the eye darts around rapidly (duh) and we fall into deep sleep and it is usually the time when dreams are remembered most vividly. As this REM stage is believed to be the time when we get quality rest, the normal 7-8 hr cycle that we try to follow is inefficient as the REM happens sporadically about 4-5 times during the 7-8 hr period to only achieve 1.5-2 hrs worth of it.
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“Uberman Sleep Schedule”
This schedule will have a person take 15-20 min naps every 4 hrs which totals to about 1.5 to 2 hrs of sleep every 24 hrs. A long list of people have tried it and it generally takes about 1 to 2 weeks to be accustomed to it. The schedule must be followed strictly as one must not oversleep during those nap times and must not skip a nap or else the cycle can be disrupted and it takes a few days to recover. What happens is that the body learns to fall into quality REM sleep each time you take those naps and the total amount of REM sleep every 24 hrs is equivalent to what one will get if they sleep 7-8 hrs a day. What it translates to is having 22 hrs a day AWAKE AND RESTED which leaves you more time to do more things within the same 24 hrs a day that everyone has.
The main advantages of the schedule from people who succeeded in the program are: 22 hrs of time per day to do your tasks and high amounts of energy between the naps. The main disadvantages are: difficulty to maintain the strict schedule if work or lifestyle doesn’t allow the frequent naps, affected social life as the rest of the world is still sleeping at the regular hours.
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I will not go much into the “Everyman” schedule as it is basically a modification of the “Uberman” schedule that consists of a 3 hr ‘core nap’ + 3 naps or a 1.5 hr core + 4-5 naps that Puredoxyk herself was using. This modification was concieved because the “Uberman” schedule requires a more strict schedule and the ‘core nap’ of the “Everyman” provides some flexibility to suit to a person schedule and bring it closer to the sleep cycles of normal people.
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How does both the methods translate to you people? Both methods are tried and tested by many and extreme cases of failures and successions were found. Those who fail are usually those who do not have the discipline to limit their naps and take them periodically. Those who succeed with the program for months enjoy the benefits of enormous time on their hands and energy in their waking hours. As these methods have only been adopted around 1990, there is no clear evidence to the long term effects to health. For those that adopted the methods for months reported no ill health at all except for the tough initial adaptation period where one will feel sleep deprived.
It is also clear that if you hold a full time job, there is no way that you can adopt either of the methods as both of them require you to take naps within 4 to 5 hr intervals. I wish I can try out the method for myself but I can’t. So if you work from home like a pro-blogger or a writer, why not experiment on the project and tell us of your findings? I will love to hear from a local guy/girl who has tried out the sleep schedules for an extended period of time.
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Some related reads
Official Uberman Sleep Schedule
Official Everyman Sleep Schedule
Steve Pavlina - His experiences on the Polyphasic sleep schedule for 90 days
List of Bloggers who have tried or are on the schedule
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For the rest who cannot suit the schedule to our lifestyles like me, note that the conventional studies have shown that the optimal amount of hours of sleep for a person is 7. A person who sleeps 8 or more hours a day face a higher mortality rate than those who sleep for 4 to 6 hours. Those who sleep lesser than 4 hrs a day will of course face adverse health effects. Do note that the above are not conclusive and do not blame me if you fall ill with 7 hrs of sleep a day.
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