Uberman's Sleep Schedule

[PokerAmateur4]

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I wish somebody would do some research on the long term effects. If it turned out completely safe and word got out, I wonder how many people would switch.

Anyway, here's a blog detailing someone's transition to the USS: http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/200...yphasic-sleep/

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So did you ever try this?

I'm interested in this too now, I had looked at it before but I think when I get some time I'm going to research this a lot and consider trying it.

In wikipedia it says Nasa and the military are very interested in this, surely they have done some research on this? Wonder if any is public, if it has been done.

If I try this I will definitly log it and let anyone know how it goes who cares to.

[Popinjay]

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I see an old post by Popinjay who said he might try it out, but I couldn't find a followup.

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I tried it for 2 days and realized I'd never be able to get through. It's really really f'ing hard and back then I really didn't have any useful things to do with my time; thus when boredom + sleepiness set in... I couldn't do it.

[bxb]

I was on this schedule for about 1 month last year. The first week was rough but then it got easier. I gave up eventually because I messed it up by trying to skip naps whenever i didn't feel tired. The thing that i missed most on it was the feeling you get right before you go to sleep for a really long time. It's not that i was tired but I just missed that feeling of having nothing to worry about in my forseeable future.

On the other hand, those 25 min naps def felt much longer. I would constantly wake up fearing that I had overslept only to find I still had like 3 min left. Also having 4 hour chunks of time helps you manage time better. I think i have also gotten better at falling asleep quickly since this experiment as well.

[samsdmf]

I do this quite regulaly but go in and out of periods of it- ill occasionaly go a week on this system then go back to normal sleeping- Im a student so ym day isnt rigid but I also work freelance doing photoshop stuffs. Sometimes if i havnt got much on in college I will take on a lot of work and do the 20 minutes system. The first few times I did it I thouhgt it sucked because I found it difficult to adjust but after about the third go I can rotate between the 20 min system and my normal 5 hours a night in one go with ease.
Some things to note though- caffine is a bad idea, you dont want to be doing anything either that would effect your 20 mins, also Iv found if i drink i find it difficult to get up after 20 mins throwing the whole schedule out the window
After the first day (which is always a bit nasty but nothing like it used to be) I can do pretty much any activity I would be able to do anyway- I usualy try to keep difficult physical stuff within the first 3 hours because i find it difficult to sleep straight after exersize.
For people who asked about boredom I was usualy find because I could split my day up very well, in a standerd day in the summer (which was when I went just under 4 weeks on the 20 min system) i would have time to do things that I would never normaly do- one of my favourite things was going out for a run at 3am, everything is very quiet where I live with literaly nobody about at that time
Another thing to note is I didnt eat as much at meal times becuase i would snack during the night- apparantly eating more smaller meals is healthier than eating 3 big ones.

Any questions Id be happy to answer

And if your wondering why I went off it, it was harming my social life- I found going out drinking impossible because if i went off the schedule of sleeping every 4 hours I would be very tired and it would throw me off for the next few days.

[MrMxyztplk]

How do you get off of the schedule? And how long does it take to integrate back into the usual 8 hours/day?

Once you're off the schedule, is it easier to get back onto it a second time?

In those rough first few days, what do you to pass the time without falling asleep?

What happens if your 20 minutes of sleep is interrupted?

Does the nap have to be in a fairly quiet environment? I.e. is it not advisable to do it in a noisy place.

Suppose you spend some time with kids that keep you up and about for 12-16 hours a day, but you still manage to take your naps. How will the constant high energy expenditure affect you?

[PokerAmateur4]

Did you find you were less sharp in any way?

Memory Reduced?

Creativity?

Learning speed?

I absolutley don't understand anyone who says they would be bored. I never think to myself "Better go to sleep, nothing else to do today, this is boring." I am thinking of starting this as I always want more time to socialize, focus on poker, do school or other work, play video games, etc. etc.

[MrMxyztplk]

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I absolutley don't understand anyone who says they would be bored. I never think to myself "Better go to sleep, nothing else to do today, this is boring." I am thinking of starting this as I always want more time to socialize, focus on poker, do school or other work, play video games, etc. etc.

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Amen, brother. I just have to decide whether I'll try this in December after exams, or in May after school.

[PokerAmateur4]

I'm going to research this a lot then come up with a choice, starting it or not, and then a schedule and plan of action if I decide to.

I think I will try to find the small amount of scientific literature there is on this, by a dude name Claudio Stampi, and read what he has to say, and all the online pages and blogs up after I finish my exams on the 1st.

So far my chief concern is that there is no long term research into this health-wise. However, if you are getting an extra week per month, then from 20-30, let's say, you're getting another 2.5 years of life there alone. And that's of good years, not oops I craped my pants, feeble years.

So the risk of it taking years off your life, even if it exists, is diffused with that arguably.

[graydot]

Cosmos Kramer did the same thing, last I remember, he ended up in a tied up bag dumped in the ocean.

[samsdmf]

Try and answer some of these questions.

How do you get off of the schedule? And how long does it take to integrate back into the usual 8 hours/day?
I dont sleep 8 hours a day anyway, since I was about 13 Iv slept about 5 hours a night and been fine; getting back onto this schedule is pretty easy and Im fine the next morning- What I will do is intend to go to bed about 12 and take a few hours more than I usualy would sleep in a normal night- If i miss the last 2 20 min 'power naps' I can usualy drop off at 12 very easily- most of the time though I automaticly wake after 20 mins and have to go back to sleep again, this isnt a problem for me. If i sleep till around 8 o clock the next morning I feel pretty much normal and can get back into my normal sleep pattern right away.

Once you're off the schedule, is it easier to get back onto it a second time?
Yes, much much easier, the first time tried the schedule the first 3 days were awful and I only began to feel good after day 5 or 6. The second time I tried it I was fine by day 4- now (After around 9-10 times) after the first day I am perfectly fine and the first day isnt really that bad.

In those rough first few days, what do you to pass the time without falling asleep?
I mentioned in my previous post that I do photoshop stuffs and enjoy late night runs- Im always busy or doing somthing so Im never sitting around.

What happens if your 20 minutes of sleep is interrupted?
It sucks a lot, this is the worse thing that can happen- if for some reason you cant get to sleep right away (this is usualy not a problem at all) for some reason (eg drinking caffene or neighbors are playing loud music etc.) or you are interupted during the sleep it will interupt your whole schedule and send you into a downward spiral of tiredness- you would be amazed how much difference the jump between 15-20 minutes makes. What I usualy do if my sleep is interupted during the 20 mins is wait an hour or 2 then take the 20 mins again, this is usualy fine.

Does the nap have to be in a fairly quiet environment? I.e. is it not advisable to do it in a noisy place.

I can now sleep anywhere as long as its not light or noisy- both those things will interupt my sleep giving me 20 minutes of [censored] sleep- you need good sleep if your doing this. When I started I could only sleep in my bed, now i can sleep on chairs, tables, floors- Im not fussy.

Suppose you spend some time with kids that keep you up and about for 12-16 hours a day, but you still manage to take your naps. How will the constant high energy expenditure affect you?
I have found it more difficult to sleep if I am using high amounts of energy within around 30 minutes before I am supposed to sleep, other than that I dont find my energy level being lower than normal after the sleep. I often went to the gym, went for runs or lifted weights and found no reduction in my performance. Possibly if you were with children all day (which is not just physical but mental strain) Im not sure how I would cope- I dont really have somthing thats similar to compare this to.

Memory Reduced?
Not that I am aware of- possibly the best thing to mention here is my win rate in poker is pretty consistant with my 'normal' winrate- this was actualy part of my test, I fully expected it to be lower, but it was actualy higher over a pretty decent sample size (although I would put this down to varience as I would say I was playing better or tilting less)

Creativity?
Id say this stayed pretty even, its hard to tell tho

Learning speed?
I read TOP for the second time and NLHTAP I feel I took a lot out of both of these books during my wierd sleep schedule.

Hope this helps
Anymore questions post em along, I havnt proof read this becuase I gota go out now so i hope it makes sence!