I’ve survived week one of my biphasic sleep schedule. Before I started my new routine I would get probably 8 or 9 hours of sleep per night. Last night I settled with 4.5. Here’s how the last 7 days looked:
| Day | Nap | Sleep | Total |
| 1 | 8:30-12 | 2-6 | 7.5 hours |
| 2 | 6:30-8 | 2-8 | 7.5 hours |
| 3 | 7:30-10 | 2-6 | 6.5 hours |
| 4 | 8:30-4 | * | 7.5 hours |
| 5 | 7-8:30 | 2-6:30 | 6.0 hours |
| 6 | 8:30-10 | 2-6 | 5.5 hours |
| 7 | 1-5:30 | * | 4.5 hours |
As you can see I started to get less sleep… then day 4 hit me. I got back from skiing that day and went to take my nap… and didn’t wake up until 4am. That was fine, I woke up and proceeded to begin my day. I guess I was pretty exhausted, though.
Yesterday (day 7) I was very busy. Up at 6, class at 8 then work until 3:30, group project, meeting, dinner, meeting and I was finally home by 9. The problem was I had not started any homework and it needed to be done. So, I worked through my nap time and just decided to do the one block of sleep. That went pretty well. I woke up this morning but was a little drowsy. I lied down and watched MTV until about 6:30.
…and here I am working through my nap again. Oddly enough with 4.5 hours of sleep and no nap yet I’m feeling great. A little more irritable (thanks computer!) but not tired at all. I intend to repeat last night’s schedule and then go back to naps tomorrow afternoon.
I really recommend trying this sleep schedule. Waking up is easier. My dreams are more memorable, vivid and lucid (I feel like I control them, it’s weird). Working during the peace of night is great, too. I caught up on 12 magazines, I’ve started a new web project (looking forward to sharing that soon) and watched some good movies. Life is good!
I was driving home from a late night / early morning. I’ve found that as I get older (30 years now), that I can’t stay up like I used to…and…I used to!!! So, the idea of an alternative sleep pattern came to me. I started researching, and stumbled onto your website.
I plan on attempting my own bi-phasic pattern. It seems to be the most reasonable with my 7 to 4 job.
Good luck…
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I’m really intersted in trying a biphasic sleep pattern, but I’m wondering how exactly it works and how much time you actually save per day. I see from the table you have there that you kind of save about 2-3 hours when you take both sleep times. Not bad, but I guess I’ll have to try it to really know how it is.
Hi Andrew, I think you’ll see that the nap means you are rested and can be a lot more productive later into the evening as well. So, you save time by sleeping less and you have more energy and focus. That’s certainly what I’ve experienced and I’m still taking my daily naps. ;-)
This really interests me. I have a partial insomnia kind of deal, and have been looking for ways to better my sleep patterns, and I’m gonna have to say that this is an excellent idea. I read a few different reviews and conclusions of biphasal sleeping pattern projects, and I’d really like to do this. I have a school break for the holiday season this weekend, and I’m going to try biphasal sleeping over the break, which is a two week period (the usual adaptation time) so I should be in full swing with the pattern by the time I go back to school on the second. :]
Thank you very much for posting your table, there. Very helpful.
I think the two weeks should give you plenty of time. At first it may not seem like anything is going on but I assure you, a lot of the time I can easily wake up (without assistance) at 90 minutes. Good luck!
Thanks for the awesome idea, Devin. I’ve read a lot about polyphasic sleeping and it just seems too controlling for me.
I’ve been working on becoming an early riser for the past few weeks, and I’m up to 6am every day now. In less than a month, I’ll be starting my freshman year in college and I think Biphasic sleeping will be a very attractive option. I’d be much more likely to split up my nights with sleep than chip away at it over the course of a day.
Thanks!
Hey Dev,
I’m just seeing if you are still doing the bi-phasic thing and how it’s going for you. I think I’m going to try it over the winter break. I can’t tell if i stress too much nowadays and that’s y i wake up after 4-5 hours or if my sleeping schedule just needs to change. . .
Hey Theo, the short answer is: no, but I’d like to be.
My new work schedule isn’t quite as nice as the class schedule I had in college (a time for experimentation, right?).
If I were to go about it I’d try: to get up early, go to work, come home (around 5), nap, then wake up and eat a meal to ‘start over’ again.
Definitely give yourself the entire break to ‘teach’ your mind to rest in this new pattern. You also need to make sure you ‘know’ how to wake up to an alarm… snoozing will hurt you.