CDPPie wrote:Everybody, let's follow the Uberman sleep schedule!
I've often thought about trying a polyphasic sleep cycle, but the biggest thing I worry with it comes from working out.
I work out pretty intensely about 5 days a week (3 on, 1 off cycle). A necessary part of being in a job where high fitness is an extremely important area.
However, people who work out regularly often need a full 8 hours of sleep in order to recover at a healthy rate. I can certainly attest to that fact. The days I don't get enough sleep I typically don't recover fully from the previous day's workout, and my overall gains are diminished.
The recovery phase of sleep doesn't take place in REM sleep though. It's in the deeper stages of sleep that the body begins repairing muscles. Given the fact polyphasic sleep cycles trick your body into only sleeping in REM, this presents some concerns.
Ever do a workout, stay up all night, and do another workout the next day? It pretty much feels like you didn't recover at all, and chances are, you probably didn't.
For somebody who's sedentary, or doesn't do heavy lifting and strength building workouts, I can see this type of sleep cycle working for them. For those who do, I can see this type of sleep causing big issues with workout recovery.