Please share your experiences with alternative sleeping cycles.

October 8, 2013 12:07 PM

So I've had sleeping problems for the last five years or so. Not in the sense of being an insomniac, but that I'm always tired and feeling drained. I've done tons of research over the last few years and have done several things to improve my sleep. For example exercising more and eating organic and healthy food. Lets just say I've done a lot of things (including going to the doctors) regarding my sleep and have not been successful so far. Sleep-wise, I know that I'm ok-ish on eight hours and crap on anything plus or minus 30 minutes of that figure. I came across this: recently and wondered if trying an alternative sleeping method/cycle might help or be worth a try. Can anyone who has tried or uses any of the alternative sleeping cycles share their experiences on them with me please.
posted by sockpim to Health & Fitness (12 answers total)

One of my best friends did an alternative sleeping cycle and loved it but it was basically impossible to work a daytime job so she had to give it up.

I'm always tired and feeling drained. I've done several things to improve my sleep. Lets just say I've done a lot of things (including going to the doctors) regarding my sleep and have not been successful so far.

Have you and your doctor(s) considered the possibility that being tired all the time may not be sleep related at all? For example, have you had your thyroid checked?
posted by DarlingBri at 12:21 PM on October 8, 2013

Response by poster: I have been tested for that and the results came back negative. Thanks for the idea though.
posted by sockpim at 12:37 PM on October 8, 2013

I tried Steve Pavlina's polyphasic sleep schedule, but it did not work for me.
posted by Houstonian at 12:37 PM on October 8, 2013

I think this is the link: Alternative Sleep Cycles

I have never really found any evidence of people using polyphasic sleep cycles successfully for long periods of time. A few of my friends have tried it and they, predictably, suffered from classic signs of sleep deprivation. If you want to read more about monophasic vs. polyphasic sleep, why the latter really doesn't work, lots and lots of polyphasic diaries which descend into "overslept my alarm... feel like a zombie...", and scientific tips for improving sleep (given that you don't have an underlying medical disoder), I recommend the website of Dr. Piotr Wozniak

It's possible that you are not well-served by the modern "8 hours of sleep in a continous block", and maybe you can try a long vacation where you turn off the alarm clock and find a more natural sleep rhythm - Dr. Wozniak calls this "free-running sleep." In the days before artificial lighting, many people went to bed near sunset, slept for 4-6 hours, awoke for an hour of restful relaxation, hobbies, or sex, and then slept for another 4-6 hour block.

Although I don't have any kind of sleep phase disorder, that article helped me understand why, if I stay up unto 12am, instead of getting more sleepy I get more awake, and why I should try to go to sleep around a certain time of night and wake up around a certain time of the morning.
posted by muddgirl at 12:40 PM on October 8, 2013 [2 favorites]

I tried a system of my own devising in college whereby I would sleep from 8pm until midnight and then from 4am until 8am. It didn't work, chiefly because I couldn't get myself to fall asleep quickly enough at 8pm. I've always had a hard time falling asleep, so if you can conk out on command, it might work better.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:43 PM on October 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

I know that I'm ok-ish on eight hours and crap on anything plus or minus 30 minutes of that figure.

The only thing I could add to that is to be aware of where you are in your REM cycle. REM cycles are about 90 minutes each, with each cycle getting deeper as the night goes on. I find if I wake up in the middle of a REM cycle I am groggy as hell. So I'll wake up at 6:30 am all chipper but ugh it's 6:30 am so I go back to sleep until 7:30am when my alarm hits at which point I'm so sleepy I wish I was dead.

So I suggest hacking your REM cycles. Find out how many you have per night, and time your bed time / wake time accordingly. Oddly enough, I've found that my REM cycles have their own timeline. For eg., if I go to bed at 10:30pm I have a great sleep and wake up at midnight after amazing dreams. But if I go to bed at 11:20pm, I don't wake up 90mins later but instead I STILL wake up at midnight, but I'm fuzzy and confused in the head. I would have been better off going to bed at midnight and catching the "next" wave of REM cycles. My last REM cycle ends around 6:30am. I know that sounds crazy.

Maybe your body has its own rhythm and you just have to figure out what it is.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 2:13 PM on October 8, 2013 [2 favorites]

I have a sleep issue where my body wants to stay in whatever state it is in (like wake/sleep inertia). In college I tried to go from a normal 8/16 (sleep/wake) cycle to a 12/24. It allowed me to stay in the state I was in for longer and actually have success switching modes. For me, it worked nicely. I was sharp when I needed to be and rest came easily.

It was tough from a lifestyle perspective because you end up having lots of alone time when others are sleeping and you have alternate days where you are sleeping while they are waking. In my scenario, I configured my room such that neither light nor sound could penetrate so noon and midnight were basically the same to me (as they would have to be in that situation). My room was so dark that people in the adjacent room claimed that room got darker when I opened my door.

Ultimately the lifestyle trade-off was too much and I went back to being a day walker. I still have trouble getting to sleep and trouble waking up...
posted by milqman at 2:37 PM on October 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

I know that I'm ok-ish on eight hours and crap on anything plus or minus 30 minutes of that figure

Can you explain this a bit more? It sounds like the problems are only if you sleep more or less than that amount?
posted by yohko at 3:17 PM on October 8, 2013

Have you undergone a sleep study?
posted by Napoleonic Terrier at 7:08 PM on October 8, 2013

Response by poster: The problems are still present when I sleep within the boundary I mentioned. They just get considerably worse when I get less or more sleep. I usually need 1-2 cups of coffee at work to stop myself falling asleep at my desk, which isn't great for me as my stomach doesn't get on well with caffeine.
posted by sockpim at 11:10 PM on October 8, 2013

You need a sleep test! If you're "always tired and feeling drained" despite getting eight or more hours of sleep, and need coffee to function, you might have sleep apnea or some other sleep disorder. And no, you don't have to be overweight to have sleep apnea. I am a small woman, and I have severe sleep apnea, and getting a CPAP was like a miracle for me. I bounce (or at least crawl) out of bed, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, after eight hours of sleep. No more morning foggies.

If your sleep isn't refreshing, something's wrong. Get a sleep test - preferably an in-lab one.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 7:29 AM on October 9, 2013

Background: I've never required more than 5 hours of sleep a night - in fact, getting 6+ has always left me feeling like I overslept. Using deep breathing techniques and meditation, I typically fall asleep in under 5 minutes. Also, I sleep on my back, and stay completely still like a corpse, and wake up in the middle of the night less than once a month.

During high school, I wanted to try polyphasic sleep. I was told that, in order to re-set my sleep cycle, I should sleep as little as possible for two weeks straight. I averaged under an hour a day, and towards the end, it was taking a significant toll, but I was determined to see if it was worth it, since I had come that far.

After that was over, I would sleep for 2 2-hour periods every day (4AM-6AM, and 2PM to 4PM). I did this for around a year and a half, and it was GREAT. I would get out of school around 1:30, drive home and sleep until 4, if I had work or homework, do that, and hang out with my friends until 2AM. That left me with 2 hours to obsessively research topics I was interested in before I slept at 4AM, and I'd have plenty of time to wake up for school.

I woke up refreshed from each 2-hour nap feeling as though I had had a full night's sleep. I never noticed any physical or mental repercussions from this either. Also, I was able to completely eliminate caffeine, as I was never tired.

Of course, due to the drastically different sleep situations that you and I had/have prior to attempting this, YMMV.
posted by areodjarekput at 9:06 AM on October 9, 2013 [1 favorite]