Thoughts on sleep?

[Jayne_Black]

I've been reading some interesting things about breaking up your normal 8 hr sleep cycle into 2 sleep cycles. The most common is a 4-6 hr sleep, followed by a couple hours of being awake, then a 1.5-2 hr sleep. Apparently the couple of hours where you are awake in-between are often more creative and productive. Also some studies suggest it improves concentration and memory.
*I'm thinking about trying it because I have had insomnia issues my whole life, maybe I've just been sleeping wrong for my body.

Has anyone else heard of this, or tried it? Do you have a particular "sleep style" that works for you?

Here are a couple links on Biphasic sleep if you are interested:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/179882.php

http://www.livescience.com/12891-natural-sleep.html

 

[RosieCotton]

Actually I think that would be extremely accurate. I sort of do that on weekends as it is. I sleep in, wake up for a few hours, nap again and then BAM! I have all this energy and am super productive.

I know it's not a scientific response, but hey just my experience. I also find the weekends where I go to bed late and sleep in super long I actually have less energy and want to continue to lie in bed. Probably from over sleeping.

 

[Sevrin]

I get up to pee and then go back to sleep. Does that count?

 

[krukstyle]

I've gone through a wide variety of sleep cycles due to different circumstances in my life. For about four years I worked two jobs that were spread out so that I basically had to sleep for 3 hours at night and 3-4 hours during the day--after a few weeks this sleep approach worked just fine. I wouldn't say it was better than what I do now (6-9 hours in one shot), but it certainly worked--and I would get "tired" at the appropriate times.

Personally, I think the most important part of sleep is consistency in that you train your body/brain giving both expectations about how much sleep will occur and when it will occur. There are periods of my life where I functioned just fine on much less sleep than I get now, but the waking up "process" was somewhat less pleasant. On the other hand, oversleeping leaves me more tired than I ever was in the first place.

From what I understand (and I've found this to be true in my experience), an entire "full" human sleep cycle (i.e. a trip through all the sleep stages) lasts roughly 3 hours. Therefore it seems logical that one would be best off sleeping hours that are multiples of 3 (3, 6, or 9). Basically what you are trying to avoid is waking up during the REM or Deep sleep cycles--instead positioning your wake-up during the 90-110 minute Light sleep cycle that begins each 3 hour cycle. Obviously this is pretty hard to gauge on your own--but by using the simple test of "do I feel like crap?" vs. "do I feel amazing?" when you wake up one can learn much of what sleep is best for them.

The Biphasic sleeping style described by the OP certainly sounds promising--and I've known a variety of people who "break off" a scheduled nap with great success. That said, I don't think I could ever pull off a schedule like that--just because things spring up in my day to day life that would most likely make me miss that all important nap. Plus, I just can't make myself believe that I'm going to jump out of bed for 2 hours and be insanely productive just to take another nap (I kind of enjoy being lazy and groggy for a while when I first wake up).

Obviously the circumstances of your waking life will almost always threaten/interfere with sleep schedules--but if you have the freedom to experiment and discover your perfect sleep schedule I definitely could see it having amazing effects on your life--plus... let's admit it, sleeping is kind of fun. :lol:

 

[Jayne_Black]

I get up to pee and then go back to sleep. Does that count?

:lol: I think it would only count if it took you over an hour to pee. I'm not a Dr. so I know very little about things like acceptable urination time lengths, but if that is the case, you might have something seriously wrong with you.

 

[Rose]

Actually this is exactly how I sleep. It works better for the whole parent thing anyways. During the newborn days this was how I managed to survive and actually feel rested instead of just walking around in a zombie haze all the time. As long as I get about three hours uninterrupted and then get another four or so within a few hours, I'm good to go. :dance:

 

[Jayne_Black]

I don't think I could ever pull off a schedule like that--just because things spring up in my day to day life that would most likely make me miss that all important nap. Plus, I just can't make myself believe that I'm going to jump out of bed for 2 hours and be insanely productive just to take another nap (I kind of enjoy being lazy and groggy for a while when I first wake up).

This is my one issue with trying this. There is no such thing as a "normal" day for me, I always have things that spring up last minute and I think it would be hard to schedule a nap in there at a consistent time. I also don't know about the 2 hour sleep time. I might instead try 3 and 3, it just seems to make more sense to me.

I think I might try to make a strict schedule for March and try it out, just to see.

 

[Jayne_Black]

@Rose I remember you from my brief encounter with MFC 2 years ago when I used to be Elle Ethereal. I just rejoined the MFC community this week and I'm still catching up on things, so belated congrats on the Baby!!

 

[EdenUk]

What is sleep?
Since being at MFC sleep doesn't exist lol

On a serious note, I find im more productive when I get up early in the morning, I have so much more energy.

 

[AshleyNicole_]

I sleep like this. It works really well for me most days when I can actually sleep. I also have insomnia so sometimes I go without sleep for a couple days and then sleep pretty solid for a couple days...lol But I have read that sleep is naturally suppose to be broken up into 2 4hour segments.

 

[ILikeUonTop]

I basically have insomnia so I don't sleep much and when I do its at weird times and only for a couple of hours. For example, I have been awake for 24 hours as of right now. My sleep cycle is shit so when I can sleep I try and make the most of it. It seems like 1-3 pm is the time I most feel like sleeping but its also when I'm in the middle of my work day and can't. If I could get a series of short naps in throughout the day, I'm sure it would be a big improvement.

 

[CallMeWilliam]

I am probably going to annoy some people in this thread but for the last 20 years on average I get 5 days per week of a minimum 7.5 hrs of non interrupted sleep per night (no kids). And yes I am one of those people who usually wakes up just before the alarm goes off.

I decided that my sleep was part of living a healthy lifestyle and while some of the other parts faltered sleep remains the one I am more diligent with. I like to think that it has also helped immensely with the fact that during those 20 years I can count the number of times on one hand I have felt sick with a cold/flu even though I sit in the same area as an employee that gets sick every 2 months and my volunteer work puts me in the vicinity of some pretty unhealthy individuals (and not having a yearly flu vaccine).

 

[Sevrin]

I am probably going to annoy some people in this thread but for the last 20 years on average I get 5 days per week of a minimum 7.5 hrs of non interrupted sleep per night (no kids). And yes I am one of those people who usually wakes up just before the alarm goes off.

I decided that my sleep was part of living a healthy lifestyle and while some of the other parts faltered sleep remains the one I am more diligent with. I like to think that it has also helped immensely with the fact that during those 20 years I can count the number of times on one hand I have felt sick with a cold/flu even though I sit in the same area as an employee that gets sick every 2 months and my volunteer work puts me in the vicinity of some pretty unhealthy individuals (and not having a yearly flu vaccine).

Yeah, that bi-phasal thing is pretty trendy right now, but getting enough sleep is more important than how you split it up. When young, you can screw your body up pretty easily, both through neglect and abuse, and think you're getting away with it, but once you get into your mid-30s you discover that you didn't get away with anything.

 

[SaffronBurke]

I have very odd sleep patterns due to all kinds of health issues. For months on end, I will function just fine on 3 hours of sleep, with any more making me groggy. Then I'll be able to sleep a full night for a couple weeks, followed by a few months of not being able to get enough sleep ever, no matter how much or how little I get. I'm stuck in a "not-enough" rut right now, and I can't wait to get out of it.

 

[tomboytoy]

I get up to pee and then go back to sleep. Does that count?

:lol: I think it would only count if it took you over an hour to pee. I'm not a Dr. so I know very little about things like acceptable urination time lengths, but if that is the case, you might have something seriously wrong with you.

http://blog.betarista.com/2012/05/longest-pee-in-history.html

Could be true, couldn't find a news article but I found the same story in a few forums and blogs.

 

[JJasione]

My sleep pattern is awful most of the time. I typically get off cam in the small hours and try to wind down when I'm getting ready for bed but it somehow always ends up being 5am before I'm settling down. I waste most mornings catcing up, the afternoons running round getting stuff done and then am back on cam in the evening :lol:

But it does work best for me if I can get a few hours and then an hour or so nap later in the day. I feel like I waste a lot of time but I'm like a zombie otherwise.