I seem to have the weirdest sleep patterns so I am considering trying this. My only concern is it would hurt gains.
Polyphasic sleep (also known as the Uberman sleep schedule) is a sleep pattern specification intended to compress sleep time to 2-5 hours daily. This is achieved by spreading out sleep into short (around 5-45 minute) naps throughout the day. This allows for more waking hours with relatively high alertness.
This is an excellent method for using natural human sleep mechanisms to maximize alertness and where sleep time needs to be minimized. It can work well for people who cannot afford sleep (e.g. sailors). The method maximizes alertness for a given amount of sleep; however, the alertness levels are still far below those accomplished with natural sleep. Polyphasic sleep may have severe adverse health effects if applied long-term.
The theory is that ordinary monophasic sleep consists of many cycles, and only one of these is REM sleep, occurring quite late in the sequence. After being deprived of REM sleep during an adjustment period, the brain will start to enter the REM stage much quicker - with the result that each short nap contains a large proportion of REM. Some theories of sleep suggest that REM is largely responsible for the mental rejuvenation effects of sleep - it has been documented that depriving animals of REM sleep specifically leads to death in 3 to 8 weeks (that doesn't happen with depriving animals of other specific sleep phases). Since polyphasic sleepers get a lot of Stage 4 NREM and REM sleep, they achieve higher alertness levels than those who do not know the art of catnapping.
Concern has been expressed about the long-term effects of suppressing the other sleep stages, although no long-term side effects have been documented yet. Some negative effects may be unrelated to this particular schedule, but to the general lack of sleep. It has been shown that lack of sleep weakens the immune system, decreases the amount of growth hormone produced and decreases the ability of the body to metabolize sugar.
Several famous people applied catnapping to a large extent. These include Leonardo da Vinci and Thomas Edison. Other figures said to be associated with polyphasic sleep experimentation include Buckminster Fuller, Nikola Tesla, Napoleon, and Winston Churchill. This method was also popularized on Seinfeld, where the character Cosmo Kramer attempted to adapt to a polyphasic sleeping pattern.
Boat racers use this technique to avoid dangers at sea. Astronauts use this technique during extended crises, and military personnel, especially marines, use this technique in training.
One of the leading advocates of polyphasic sleep research is Dr. Claudio Stampi (Founder and Director of the Chronobiology Research Institute in Boston, Massachusetts).
