I know that it is recommended that humans sleep for 6-8 hours in a 24 hour period. I've always been under the impression that the lower limit is 6 hours because that is the amount of time it takes to achieve the REM sleep state. Recently I've been pulling quite a few all nighters, and I am wondering if it would be possible for someone to function on one 10 hour sleep block every 48 hours. I.E. you are awake for 38 hours and sleep for 10. This way you are still able to achieve REM sleep, and you save 2 hours of sleep. I'm seriously considering trying this for a few weeks. Do you think this is possible ? How long do you think it will take for me to either die or go insane ?

iirc, my psych 101 book said that one sleep cycle, including REM, takes about 3 hours. it also said that if you go long periods without sleep, a larger portion of your time spent asleep is spent in the REM phase, called REM rebound.

but you'll definitely be healthier and have much more energy if you sleep every night.

Interesting stuff that is kind of sort of related.

http://www.supermemo.com/articles/polyphasic.htm

It could work for a while (depends on the individual), just watch for signs of wear. 38 hrs is a long time to force yourself to remain awake, but technically every moment you're awake is a moment of sleep deprivation. I did something similar and noticed that, while I was able to function physically, I lost a measure of mental sharpness (if that makes sense). I lasted about 2 months before I started getting really shaggy... fortunately I finished the job.

If I were you OP...I would try sleeping less than 6 or more than 7 hours....I think there is a deep sleep cycle between 6 and 7 hours that if you interrupt by waking during that time frame that makes you more tired throughout the day than if you slept less than 6 hours...Of course it could vary by individual....so check it out...

do it and give a trip report. also keep a video camera nearby at all times just in case anything exciting happens.

yes, please try this and report back to us asap!

Been awake since 9am yesterday. I've been studying for the 3 final exams I have today. I got tired around 5 am, but I danced around my house while listening to this . Naturally it pumped me up. Organic chemistry final in 3 hours gogogogo If anyone wants to point out the most basic atom on a viagara molecule that would be grrreat ty.

38 hours is very long. Cut it down to say 24 hours and maybe your onto something.

10 hours of sleep and 38 hours awake seems pretty brutal. I usually sleep 9-10 hours in one 24 hour period.

Cliffs: Don't do it.
Long Version:

If you die, it'll probably be from suicide. My guess is you're too young to be likely to die from anything else post-exhaustion. If you were 65+, I'd say "you'll die in a few weeks, old man."

If you experiment with this, don't let the results from the first month or two conclude whether it's safe. It can take a long time (6+ months) before it's obvious that you're dysfunctional. Also, let someone other than yourself evaluate your mental state (obviously, you're not impartial).

You won't go insane in the Hollywood-sense. However, I'd expect you'll be susceptible to depression. I think the majority of long term damage you will accumulate will be from mental health problems.

You can achieve some superhuman feats for a short while, but eventually you'll flame out.

do it.

Do not compromise your immune system. There is also a reason we correlate well with day night cycle. Its important when you sleep to have a good quality sleep. What sleep do you expect to enjoy during the day with significant noise outside? Sure enough the difference is small but will matter eventually. There is an upside through. If after a day or 2 of little to no sleep you finally sleep for say 10 hours when you wake up you will tend to have significantly elevated mental capacities and overall confidence, optimism and strong drive to solve problems , innovate , compose you name it... So the period after a long sleep when having lost sleep earlier is definitely enjoying an effect on brain that lasts 12 hours after you wake up. (at least this happens to me but i suppose there must be a global reason that justifies generalization).


Deprive yourself from sleep long term and you will see negative impact on your immune system, your heart and your brain too.

I certainly don't doubt the validity of this, but what source of your referring to. I definitely think that this might be true, at least to me. I am an athlete, and try to get a 8-9 hours of sleep, but am often woken up during the 6-7th hour of my sleep, and when I finally wake up, it takes all my will to get out of bed..

I used to sleep in 4 hour increments twice a day, but I was using a substance to help me get into REM 4 sleep extremely quickly... PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS... A normal healthy sleep cycle is definitely the way to go... I think the first thing to suffer from an abnormal sleep cycle is your immune system, and that's something you surely don't want to mess around with.

people have been trying since forever to come up with creative ways to sleep less. they all suck terribly compared to just sleeping as much as you can nightly.

do it

Look at Phil Laak after his 72 marathon session... He seemed all right and still mentally fit ! So you should try to sleep 10 hours twice a WEEK.

So, 74 hours awaken, then you sleep for 10 hours. Repeat the cycle. And post your thoughts in the soon to be 5 star thread

Phil Laak's feat : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcU-M-1eWtg

EDIT : Do it

This is a hypothetical situation. If the world started spinning slower and it was light for a full 24 hours and night for a full 24 hours. Would our bodies adapt to stay up longer and sleep longer?

10 hrs sleep per 48 cycle is the same amount of sleep as doing 5 hrs a night - which isn't bad at all and I'd bet most young men have gone long periods averaging similar. But getting 2 nights worth at a time then skipping a day? Sounds like an interesting experiment.

Also to add... I read this guy's book a few years ago, amazing dude...

The interviewee is Dean Karnazes who holds many running endurance records, including running 350 mi without stopping over 3 days with no sleep.

Don't use an alarm clock as a tip for everyone. This is going to sound gay as **** but it works. The reason waking up from an alarm clock is bad is that you get jolted out of REM/deep sleep and it takes much longer to feel "awake".

Do this:

When you are going to sleep tell your pillow to wake you up at "x" time. Or your table light or whatever in the room. You need to say it an mean it lol. It will set your internal clock and wake you up at the time you asked, and it won't be the jolting "f u world" wake up you get from your alarm. You'll wake up more naturally and feel much better.

Again sounds gay but works, try it on your day off to test...

I WANT A TRIP REPORT!

i call BS but i'll give it a try. i'll just tell my pillow to wake me up one minute before my alarm.

Its true. I do it but I dont talk to anything I just think it to myself, or maybe I just talk to myself. But I say what time im going to wake up and how many of hours of sleep I will get until that time and I can wake up at that time almost every time. The only hard part is staying awake once you do wake up, you have to jump out of bed fast... real fast.