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Comment by randall | Hacker News Reader

I did it for 90 days. It was awesome. Then the holidays hit, which made it impossible.

Polyphasic is perfect for the person who doesn't have any other life commitments and wants to be super productive every day. (Weekend mornings get super boring, btw. So I replayed every Xbox game I own. And then that got boring.)

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Based on what you write, I guess you don't practice sports.

One interesting fact is that people attempting to hack their sleep never talk about it, and from the perspective of sporty people, the reason is obvious.

Correct. I didn't exercise. I basically did startups and that's it. Folks who do sports claim that if you already are in a regimen, you can switch without too much difficulty, but starting an exercise / sports regimen when on polyphasic seems almost impossible.

I was on a polyphasic schedule for 3 months while in college last year. I noticed I had slightly decreased strength and energy levels while lifting and playing various sports. Overall my body felt slightly sluggish, like it was running at 90% speed. One thing to consider is the fact you are staying up for significantly longer. My diet changed quite a bit because of this - I was eating more often, but smaller meals. I assume this alone could have been effecting my metabolism / energy levels over the long term.

Overall though, it was the negatives on the social side of things, rather than the physical, that caused me to stop.

What kind of Polyphasic sleep did you attempt?

Trying to remember.

I think I did 3 hours core, 3x20 naps, then switched to 4.5+2x20.

The adaptation period was almost exactly three weeks, iirc. After that it wasn't too bad.

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