Uberman: Difference between revisions

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{{TNT|Uberman}}
{{TNT|Uberman}}
Uberman is the most widely known form of polyphasic sleep, with its appeal being the large amount of extra time it provides. For this reason, it is also one of the most widely attempted schedules by many first-time polyphasers.<ref>[https://www.polyphasic.net/schedules/uberman/ polyphasic.net]. Retrieved 19-11-2020.</ref> However, the adaptation success for this schedule is few and far between, with virtually all attempts at the schedule ending in failure, since it does not meet the minimum sleep need for the majority of people.  
Uberman is the most widely known form of polyphasic sleep, with its appeal being the large amount of extra wake time it provides. For this reason, it is also one of the most widely attempted schedules by many first-time polyphasers.<ref>[https://www.polyphasic.net/schedules/uberman/ polyphasic.net]. Retrieved 19-11-2020.</ref> However, the adaptation success for this schedule is few and far between, with virtually all attempts at the schedule ending in failure, since it does not meet the minimum sleep need for the majority of people.  


== Origins==
== Origins==
A variant of this schedule, with 15-minute naps, was mentioned in Claudio Stampi's book ''Why We Nap'', and was attributed to Leonardo da Vinci. Italian artist Giancarlo Sbragia adapted to this schedule at the end of 1950s, and stayed on it for 6 months.
A variant of this schedule, with 15-minute naps, was mentioned in Claudio Stampi's book ''Why We Nap'', and was attributed to Leonardo da Vinci. As documented in the book, Italian artist Giancarlo Sbragia adapted to this schedule at the end of the 1950s, and stayed on it for 6 months.


The current iteration of the schedule is created and named Marie Staver ([[Puredoxyk]]) and her buddy Psuke Briah in 1999, drawing inspiration from a [http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,774680,00.html TIME article] about [[Buckminster Fuller]]’s [[Dymaxion]] sleep. It was first revealed in a [https://everything2.com/title/Uberman%2527s+Sleep+Schedule post] on everything2.com in 2000.
The current iteration of the schedule is created and named Marie Staver ([[Puredoxyk]]) and her buddy Psuke Briah in 1999, drawing inspiration from a [http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,774680,00.html TIME article] about [[Buckminster Fuller]]’s [[Dymaxion]] sleep. It was first revealed in a [https://everything2.com/title/Uberman%2527s+Sleep+Schedule post] on everything2.com in 2000.
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== Mechanism==
== Mechanism==
Since [[wikipedia:Rapid_eye_movement_sleep|REM]] and [[wikipedia:Slow-wave_sleep|SWS]] cannot realistically be cut, all(or at least as much as possible) of them must be accounted for by naps. The extremely low total sleep time means it requires intense sleep compression, possibly reducing the cycle lengths to '''under 60 minutes'''. After adapting, falling asleep becomes very quick and the transition to REM or SWS would also be almost immediate, giving nearly negligible amounts of light sleep. This would allow up to about 1h50m of REM and SWS combined. Even so, this is still far below the combined requirements for most people, which means REM and/or SWS have to be cut in order to maintain this schedule, which is considered unhealthy.
Since [[wikipedia:Rapid_eye_movement_sleep|REM]] and [[wikipedia:Slow-wave_sleep|SWS]] cannot realistically be cut, all (or at least as much as possible) of them must be accounted for by naps. The extremely low total sleep time means it requires intense sleep compression, possibly reducing the cycle lengths to '''under 60 minutes'''. After adapting, falling asleep becomes very quick and the transition to REM or SWS would also be almost immediate, giving nearly negligible amounts of light sleep. This would allow up to about 1h50m of REM and SWS combined. Even so, this is still far below the combined requirements for most people, which means REM and/or SWS have to be cut in order to maintain this schedule, which is considered unhealthy.


==Adaptation==
==Adaptation==
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==Lifestyle Considerations==
==Lifestyle Considerations==
Based on the official research of Uberman, it now becomes clear as to what downsides Uberman suffer. Basically no room for exercising, high tendency for obnoxious weight gain, inflexibility of sleep even after adaptation and most notably, social life limitation is what makes Uberman unsustainable long term. The cons vastly outweigh the benefits, which are '''la'''
Over the years, through anecdotes of adapted sleepers, the downsides of Uberman has been gradually discovered. These may include:
* little for exercising (especially with gaining muscle)
* tendency to gain weight  
* near total inflexibility of sleep, even after adaptation  
* 3h40m wake gap between each nap is usually too short for real-world commitments


'''rge sleep reduction''' and '''powerful dreaming'''. 3h40m wake gap between each nap is usually too short to schedule or even simulate real-world commitments; Steve Pavlina worked from home when adapting to Uberman, and Puredoxyk also had a flexible job. Therefore, only work-from-home lifestyles would benefit from an Uberman adaptation.  
Steve Pavlina worked from home when adapting to Uberman, and Puredoxyk also had a flexible job during her university years when she adapted to the schedule.  


The cruel adaptation has little mercy on '''skipping a nap'''. Doing so further develops the chance for a long crash during adaptation. Even after adaptation, the risk of oversleeping remains, and many alarms may have to be
The harsh adaptation is extremely sensitive skipping naps. As claimed by Puredoxyk in ''Ubersleep'', just skipping one nap causes intense sleep deprivation, similar to when one skips a few nights of monophasic sleep in a row. Even after adaptation, the risk of oversleeping remains, and alarms may have to be maintained indefinitely.


maintained for several months. Like any other nap-only schedules,  Uberman does not support the clearance of brain waste via the glymphatic system, because the longest sleep duration is only 20 minutes. There could be some hidden mechanics behind the intensely deep naps that help facilitate this biological process, but it is currently unknown as to how because an average SWS baseline per day(~90m) cannot be preserved on this schedule. The study in the previous section also confirms how difficult it is to sustain Uberman, reflecting on the minuscule adaptation success, even if adaptation is going in one's favor. Conclusively, only sleep mutants, insomniacs or external circumstances that result in a continuously low amount of vital sleep requirements should attempt Uberman.
As with other nap-only schedules,  Uberman impedes the clearance of brain waste via the [[Wikipedia:glymphatic system|glymphatic system]], because the longest continuous sleep block is only 20 minutes. It is therefore currently unknown as to how this schedule can be maintained, especially by those with average SWS needs. As such, only those with significantly lower vital sleep requirements should attempt Uberman.


==Variants==
==Variants==
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==Research==
==Research==
Up to date, there has only been one official study on Uberman sleep, which is motivated by its existence and creation from Puredoxyk and its widespread practice over the decades. In 2013, the research focused on the '''<u>[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315334680_Endocrine_and_cognitive_effects_of_a_radically_polyphasic_sleep_schedule Endocrine and cognitive effects]</u>''' of Uberman sleep. This study lasted for '''5 weeks''', which is interestingly the longest polyphasic sleep study to ever last among all existent studies. Unfortunately, after the researchers in charge of this study have been contacted via Email, only the information of the Abstract is available.  
Up to date, there has only been one official study on Uberman sleep, which is motivated by its existence and creation from Puredoxyk and its widespread practice over the decades. In 2013, the research focused on the endocrine and cognitive effects of Uberman sleep. This study<ref>https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315334680_Endocrine_and_cognitive_effects_of_a_radically_polyphasic_sleep_schedule</ref> lasted for 5 weeks. Unfortunately, according to the authors of the paper, no more information is available from the experiment beyond the abstract.  


This study sheds some light on the vision of a long-term Uberman lifestyle as well as its implications on overall well-being of polyphasic sleepers. It is remarkable that most of the subjects quit the experiment because of social life constraints rather than the would-be grueling adaptation by week 3, and one remaining subject did last until the end of 5 weeks, without showing any cognitive impairments. Under laboratory conditions, it is guaranteed that these participants were woken up timely during this adaptation, hence it is safe to assume no oversleeping instances occurred. While it is most obvious that Uberman requires an extreme adaptation, and none of these sleep subjects were habitual nappers or sleep mutants, the remaining subject '''might have adapted to Uberman after 5 weeks''', given his cognitive performance and cortisol secretion pattern become stable (the same as on monophasic). At the same time, 5 weeks may not be enough for a successful Uberman adaptation. Even if it was a success, it took laboratory-controlled environment to get this far on Uberman - a regular adaptation with multiple alarms, no human assistance as mentioned before, will most definitely lead to failure.  
This study sheds some light on the vision of a long-term Uberman lifestyle as well as its implications on overall well-being of polyphasic sleepers. It is remarkable that most of the subjects quit the experiment because of social life rather than the grueling adaptation by week 3, and one subject did last until the end of the 5-week experiment. These participants were monitored 24h a day, and were woken up when needed to be.  


Despite the seemingly positive news on this hostile schedule, it was reported that '''growth hormone was completely suppressed''' and now it was secreted after 6 naps. This suggests that the subjects likely woke up during SWS or traces of SWS, and that SWS was most likely interrupted. Because of GH's suppression, it is then likely that it would be impossible to do a lot of physical activities or training on Uberman, because of the radical change in GH.  
None of these subjects were habitual nappers or sleep mutants, the remaining subject might have adapted to Uberman after 5 weeks, as his cognitive performance and cortisol secretion pattern become stable. At the same time, 5 weeks may not be enough for a successful Uberman adaptation. Even if it was a success, it took laboratory-controlled environment to get this far on Uberman - a regular adaptation with multiple alarms, no human assistance as mentioned before, will most definitely lead to failure.
 
Despite the seemingly positive news on this hostile schedule, it was discovered that [[Wikipedia:growth hormone|growth hormone]](GH) was greatly suppressed. Instead of being secreted in one large peak during monophasic sleep, it was now secreted after 6 naps in much smaller peaks. This might be because SWS was interrupted. This also explains why physical training would be ineffective on Uberman.  


== References ==
== References ==
<references />{{TNT|Polyphasic Sleep Schedules}}
<references />{{TNT|Polyphasic Sleep Schedules}}
[[Category:Schedules]]
[[Category:Schedules]]
Retrieved from "https://polysleep.org/wiki/Uberman"