Have you ever felt more rested after six hours of sleep than eight?
Figuring out how much sleep you need may seem simple, but anyone who has tried likely knows how difficult of a task it can be. This is because anything, including drinking caffeine a little too late in the day or getting sick, can influence your sleep, further confounding how much sleep your body needs.
With the many possible interruptions during the night, as well—making a single long bout of sleep difficult to come by—polyphasic sleep may seem appealing. Leonardo da Vinci was the first to implement this unusual sleep schedule, and with how much he accomplished in his life, it may seem wise to follow in his footsteps.
Be warned, though; polyphasic sleep may not be as favorable as some figureheads have led us to believe. Let’s explore why that is.
Leonard da Vinci: Painter, Genius, and Father of Polyphasic Sleeping
Leonardo da Vinci is regarded as a master painter, with his most well-known work, the Mona Lisa, drawing crowds of 10 million a year, making it the most famous portrait ever painted and the most visited painting.
While da Vinci is most well-known for his artwork, he was a certifiable genius, conducting dozens of carefully construed experiments and creating inventions that were groundbreaking for the time. In an age where familiar machines were only built and repaired, da Vinci instigated a new approach: invention. He looked at how each part of the machines worked to combine them in different ways, creating inventions that had never been seen before.
In addition to inventing machines, da Vinci also created the polyphasic sleep process, which is also known as the da Vinci Sleep Schedule. With this schedule, 20-minute power naps are utilized during the day instead of sleeping for one long 7-9 hour stretch at night. In the end, this equates to about 5 hours of sleep every 24 hours.
Leonardo da Vinci developed this sleep schedule because he believed that sleep, while necessary, was a waste of time as it limited his productivity.
Other Famous Polyphasic Sleepers
Leonardo da Vinci is not the only innovator who believed sleep was a waste of time. Nikola Tesla, the pioneer of alternating current (AC) electricity, also utilized power naps, along with Thomas Edison, who was most famous for his invention of the lightbulb.
With all the historical geniuses who utilized polyphasic sleep, is this method truly better for our health and productivity?
What is Polyphasic Sleep?
Polyphasic sleep involves sleeping more than twice per day and is often used as a way to spend less time in bed.
While Da Vinci utilized 20-minute naps throughout the day, there are other formats for polyphasic sleep.
Dymaxion Schedule
This schedule involves taking a 30-minute nap every 6 hours, leaving you with 2 hours of total sleep a day. It first appeared in a Time article in 1943, in which Buckminster Fuller, an American architect, claimed to have followed this sleep schedule for two years. The only reason Fuller switched back to a monophasic sleep schedule was to match the wake times of his business associates.
Everman Schedule
This schedule utilizes one 3-hour block of sleep at night and then three 20-minute naps spread throughout the day.
Uberman Schedule
While this schedule has many variations, one common variation involves taking a 20-minute nap every four hours, leaving you with 3 hours of sleep a day. Other variations may utilize eight naps throughout the day, or the naps may also be 30 minutes each instead of 20 minutes. With the Uberman schedule, there is a lot of flexibility.
Is Polyphasic Sleep Better?
Polyphasic sleep is a natural sleep phenomenon for many animals, but not necessarily for humans, who typically engage in monophasic sleep, or sleeping for one large block each day.
Still, those who try polyphasic sleep often report greater benefits when using these sleep patterns. However, while famous geniuses such as Leonardo da Vinci and Thomas Edison used polyphasic sleep and accomplished great things in their life, the research isn’t always there to support their claimed benefits.
The Benefits of Polyphasic Sleep
Those who engage in polyphasic sleep often report increased productivity as their number one benefit. However, it’s less clear if this feeling of increased productivity is because they truly get more done or because they have more time to work on their tasks.
Still, polyphasic sleep may be better for your memory. Research shows that napping shortly after learning something new can help with memory retention, so polyphasic sleep, with its greater number of sleep episodes during the day, may help you retain more information.
Polyphasic sleep can also benefit those with irregular working shifts, especially those who cannot fall asleep because of their odd hours. Polyphasic sleep is also better than no sleep at all and is often used by solo sailors to help them manage their sleep while racing.
Furthermore, polyphasic sleep may help increase lucid dreaming because of the frequent wakings at night.
The Risks of Polyphasic Sleep
While having more time in your day to be active is often appealing, short- and long-term risks can come from limiting your sleep, even if you don’t feel tired.
- Reduced reaction time. A reduction in sleep can cause your reaction time to slow, which can increase the risk of accidents, especially on the road.
- Increased risk of depression. While you may not feel tired with polyphasic sleep, the body is still not getting as much sleep as it needs to fully repair and regulate itself. Depression is a common risk of sleep deprivation, which can lower your quality of life.
- Disrupts your circadian rhythm. In addition to controlling your sleep/wake cycle, your circadian rhythm can also affect your cardiovascular health and weight, among other things. So, a disruption in your circadian rhythm can also affect these other areas, causing a decline in your health.
A Modern Take on Polyphasic Sleep
While many famous geniuses throughout history utilized polyphasic sleep, starting with the master painter of the Renaissance himself, Leonardo da Vinci, today’s research capability doesn’t fully support the benefits that those who support polyphasic sleep claim for it.
Compared to no sleep, polyphasic sleep is better, but it appears to not stack up to monophasic sleep regarding productivity, reaction time, or preserving your overall health. Based on the research surrounding sleep, most people will find that it is best to leave polyphasic sleep in the past.
