Definitely NOT going to work! (Surprising Reasons)
I had my first day today at an attempt of a Polyphasic Sleep Cycle. Unfortunately it is going to be very short lived. 
However, not for the reasons I originally thought.
Everything I had read spoke about the crash and burn, the crankiness, the inability to begin sleeping when you first try, the difficulty of waking up, the being worn out and tired.
That was not the issue for me for the most part.
So early AM I went to bed at 2:30am and was supposed to get up at 3:30am, but my alarm clock failed. I ended up waking up at 6:30 and then resumed the pattern correctly again. I slept from 7:30 to 8:15, that cycle went fine. Then I slept again from 12:15pm to 1pm and that cycle went fine. I also slept again from 5pm to 5:45pm and that cycle went fine. When I say fine, I mean in regards to waking up, falling asleep and feeling okay during the awake periods.
The issue at hand for me was having to ‘go to sleep’. Since the whole objective of this experiment was to see if the Polyphasic sleep cycle would permit me to be more productive, by allowing me to manipulate my schedule around my most productive times, having it impair my productivity proves the experiment futile.
The issue was, at 5pm when I needed to go to sleep, I did not want to. Not because I was not tired, but because I was in the middle of amending a tax return for a client, had a colleague I needed to call back, a potential client I needed to return their call and a half a dozen emails I needed to review.
The problem with Polyphasic Sleep, especially using such frequent cycles, is that you have to stick to the Regimen and you cannot deter from it or you will crash and burn and your body will not get to adapt to the program like it needs to.
I never had a problem sleeping, nor do I have a problem meeting deadlines, I just wanted to see if using an alternate sleeping method would permit me to work during the night a bit, as well as work during the day a bit. Unfortunately, this program is not for me.
I am not completely against it, as a matter of fact, I think in a few weeks I might try a biphasic sleep schedule which is dividing your sleep into two parts (in other words, sleeping shorter at night time and having a nap in the day), however a five sleep cycle polyphasic system limits your ability to work or be up for a continuous period of time, and this affected my productivity more so than giving me extra hours in a day will increase my productivity.
I do think that this could work for many people and I have read plenty of success stories, however, for me – when I am preparing a tax return – nothing can stop me! Not even Sleep!
-Heather Villa
5 Comments
Heather, I’ve had great success with polyphasic sleep – after trying Uberman for, oh, about 2 days, I switched to a 4-times daily that works very very well for me depending on location and vacation status
2 hours 5-7 am, then 40 minutes at noon, 6, and midnight. Honestly, the hardest part fo me once past the sleep deprivation was how ‘businesslike’ sleep becomes. I had to schedule in a little extra ‘relax time’ for creative ideas – about 20 minutes a day. But yeah, if it’s going to work for you, you HAVE to stick with it no matter what.
Glad to see more people experimenting with this, whatever your outcome is!
Kudos for trying, Heather. Your reason for giving it a try (from your previous blog) was good… I think it could work for people whose days are a little more regimented than yours. But you run several busy businesses and that makes it hard to stick to a schedule. Customer service = flexibility!
Aaron Hoos´s last blog ..Nandos offers great food and innovative business model
That was one of my initial concerns, that it would be hard for you to stop what you’re doing and go sleep. Especially in the middle of day. It’s hard enough to get things done with interruptions, i.e. phone calls, family distractions, mini crisis – add on top of that, “Oh, It’s 12;15, time to got sleep.” and you’ve just complicated everything more.
I was wondering how that type of sleep schedule was going to work with your normal daily workload. I was also concerned about the impact that the lack of sleep would have on your health – last thing you need is to get your immune levels down during cold/flu season. Your health is the most important thing – everything else comes after that!
My schedule is a bit more flexible, so I tend to sleep for 6 hours/night with the occasional nap if I’ve had a hectic day. My most productive time of day is early morning, right after waking, until about 2pm, so I try to schedule most of my work-related tasks during that timeframe, and save the non-intensive tasks for late afternoon.
I’m also hypoglycemic, so I have to snack on good food with carbs all day long to keep my sugar level on an even keel. Low blood sugar = low/no productivity for me, regardless of how much sleep I’ve had.
I’m sure that you’ll find a sleep cycle that works best for you and that will allow you to manage your work and family commitments.
Kim Parsell´s last blog ..WordPress, WordCamp Columbus and Friends
@Jeremy: Super happy to see it is working for some people. Again, I really thought it would work for me, but I don’t think I have the will power to stop working, by default I don’t leave things in ‘pending’ status often.
@Aaron: I agree completely, I think someone that maybe has a few responsibilities that are repetitive or common it will work well on, but when you have projects for a variety of clients, it is not a good thing to stop in the middle and say ‘hey going to take a nap’.
@Joan: Well, you were right – you know me better than I know myself. Of course as my assistant, that is your job
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@Kim: Actually, depending on when I wake up morning is most productive for me as well, if I can get up before 5am (ideal time is 4am) then my productivity level is at an all time high until around 11am. By 11am I am getting grouchy and need food/sleep or both, but when you think about it if I woke up at 4am, 11 am is 7 hours later – so a full day of work and that is explanatory. I too am hypoglycemic, so we share that.