The Uberman Life
What if you could cut your sleep down, and I mean down to about 2 hours for every 24? Imagine the extra time that you would have and what all you could possibly do with it. While the world shuts down for the day, you're just getting started. The concept of day and night ceases to make any sense, your entire life is compartmentalized into periods of wakefulness and naps, almost eternally. Does it sound interesting? Well, let me be the first person to introduce you to the world of polyphasic sleeping—an entirely different world to operate from that seems to have managed the elusive and mysterious sleep, once and for all.
What is Polyphasic Sleeping?
The word polyphasic simply means multiple phases and polyphasic sleeping means sleeping in multiple phases. So instead of being a monophasic (sleeping in one phase) or a biphasic sleeper (sleeping in 2 phases), polyphasic sleepers sleep multiple times throughout the day, and overall, sleep less than monophasic or biphasic sleepers.
The aim of several of polyphasic routines is cutting down the time you spend sleeping by improving the sleep quality and several routines also offer improved mental clarity and operational efficiency.
Why am I Experimenting?
Like several people out there, I equate sleeping with wasting time, not that I do not understand the biological necessity or other aspects of it but I simply wonder how we spend a third of our lives asleep. Time for me is the most valuable resource and one that on many instances I guard aggressively against distraction and activities not worth it. I constantly keep seeking ways of optimising my self and trying to learn and explore more about improving my efficiency. However, sleeping had always been the one thing I could never think of compromising. Being a deep sleeper and even a lucid dreamer, sleeping was a favourite activity and I was the person who would complain if I slept anything less than the recommended 8 hours. More would always work but not less. So when I came across polyphasic sleeping a few years back, during a time when I barely had the time to do the countless things which interested me, I thought I had found the holy grail. I had countless questions regarding how practical or authentic the claim was and I figured that the only way was to try it out for myself.
So there I was, reading and trying to find out anecdotal tales of those who had attempted it and were successful. However, the quest quickly led me to piles and piles of valiant men who failed to tame their sleep. The men who succeeded were a handful, with most lacking any insights or details that I was doubtful they were even genuine, to begin with. So after packing all my guts in a mental suitcase, I began browsing through the different polyphasic routines and ended up selecting one with the least amount of sleep—the Uberman Routine with about 2 hours of sleep for every 24.
Boy, Uberman is considered a big beast requiring more than willpower to tame. Considered as one of the most difficult routines out there, it is also the most attempted and the most failed. In this routine, you distribute the two hours of sleep evenly or according to your dips in wakefulness across the 24 hours, which practically comes to taking a 20-minute nap six times, ideally one every four hours. That's all there is to it.
Though the plan looks easy on the surface, it's adaptation period, which may last up to 4 or 5 weeks, can be worse than hell. There's also an exaptation period which you can practice to help with your adaptation, but I chose the traditional route. Back in the day when I was doing it, I was trying to handle it in the middle of college and a boatload of other responsibilities and managed to remain in the adaptation period for barely a week before I ended up exploding with fatigue. To be successful in this routine, you need to have your discipline in check and it should be upgraded to the best version there is. If you fail to stick to your nap times or oversleep, which is super common as well as a super costly jinx, then you are done for. Sleep deprivation, which perpetually lurks around in the shadows, wastes no time to pounce on you, and behold! Another fresh victim gets claimed.
Learning from my mistakes in the past, I realized that right now during the lockdown I had the best opportunity to give Uberman another chance and see for myself the entire drama unfold. If you are willing to watch me hunt or be hunted, then make sure you subscribe to the mailing list (the form is in the footer), I will be sharing my journey here regularly. As for now, hope that I make it through. See you here tomorrow!
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