Line 31: |
Line 31: |
| === Dymaxion-6 (D6) === | | === Dymaxion-6 (D6) === |
| [[File:Dymaxion-6.png|center|thumb|Dymaxion with Uberman distribution]] | | [[File:Dymaxion-6.png|center|thumb|Dymaxion with Uberman distribution]] |
− | Dymaxion 6 is often mislabeled as Uberman, because it resembles the structure of Uberman a lot, the only difference being 30m naps instead of 20m ones. So what practically makes a difference is that the naps on Dymaxion-6 have '''much worse wakes''' than the naps on Uberman during adaptation, due to their length. At most a handful of people have been able to adapt to this variation, and it suffers from the same problems as Uberman, namely the inconvenient scheduling. It also has the same problems as other nap-only schedules, like extreme rigidity and questionable health impacts. Therefore, this schedule also can’t really be recommended for people to do long term. | + | Dymaxion 6 is often mislabeled as Uberman, because it resembles the structure of Uberman a lot, the only difference being 30m naps instead of 20m ones. So what practically makes a difference is that the naps on Dymaxion-6 have '''much worse wakes''' than the naps on Uberman during adaptation, due to their length. This distribution of sleep also grants '''2 extra opportunities''' to wake in SWS (2 extra naps compared to the standard Dymaxion). At most a handful of people have been able to adapt to this variation, and it suffers from the same problems as Uberman, namely the inconvenient scheduling. It also has the same problems as other nap-only schedules, like extreme rigidity and questionable health impacts. Therefore, this schedule also can’t really be recommended for people to do long term. |
| + | |
| + | == Research == |
| + | |
| + | === Introduction & Context === |
| + | As of currently, there has only been one single-case study on Dymaxion sleep. This was conducted by the sleep researcher '''Claudio Stampi''' himself. Francesco Jost was the volunteer for the study. He did participate in another study prior to this one, which also inspired the idea of an attempt to adapt to '''Dymaxion-6''' (The scheduling variant in the study at is the exact same times as the proposed Dymaxion-6 in this page). Jost is a normal monophasic sleeper (8h baseline), in good health conditions and does not have any polyphasic sleeping experience before the series of these 2 studies. It is possible that he has an average of '''~90m REM and ~90m SWS requirements''' per day. |
| + | |
| + | Since he experimented with Uberman in the first study and the study only lasted for 19 days, it was not enough to carry on much relevant information compared to this second study in discussion, and won't be included in the Uberman page because of some minor oversleeping during adaptation, and the adaptation duration was clearly far from enough. This time the study lasted for '''48 days''', however, he only spent '''34 days''' (~5 weeks) adapting to the structure of Dymaxion-6, discounting some transition days from gradual sleep reduction. This study duration was also similar to the one in the Uberman page. It is called '''''The Second Study: Forty-Eight Days with 3 Hours Polyphasic Sleep per Day'' (Chapter 12, Why We Nap)'''''.'' |
| + | |
| + | Since the idea of the study is built on the first one, ''no EEG recordings'' were obtained for the second study. Instead, multiple cognitive and performance tests were carried out before (monophasic baseline), during and after adaptation (following a day where he was allowed to sleep as much as possible). These tests are as follows: |
| + | |
| + | # DST (Descending Subtraction Test) |
| + | # MAST (Memory & Search Test) |
| + | |
| + | Some assumptions may be put forth regarding the sleep stages that went into the naps based on the first study, but in the grand scheme of things, this is not a reliable way to make absolute deductions. |
| + | |
| + | === Results === |
| + | |
| + | # '''MAST performance''' showed a ''slight decrement'' relative to baseline throughout days 3-21, followed by an '''improvement above baseline Ievels''' thereafter. |
| + | # '''DST performance''' showed a modest but more prolonged decrement throughout days 3-33, followed by a sharp increase in performance above baseline Ievels immediately after the '''ad lib sleep day'''. |
| + | # During the ad lib sleep day, he slept for a total of '''10 hours'''. |
| + | # None of these values were significantly different from baseline Ievels. The only significant difference was for DST toward the end of the experiment to be better than the previous weeks, but mostly because of the 10h "recovery" duration. |
| + | |
| + | === Analysis based on the polyphasic community standpoint === |
| + | |
| + | # An equivalent of 5 weeks sticking to the schedule like Jost did may be sufficient to be successfully adapted to a polyphasic schedule. |
| + | # The total sleep of Dymaxion-6 (3h) is '''below the minimum threshold''' for an average, normal 8h monophasic sleeper like him. The 10h baseline after the duration on the schedule suggested that he was still possibly missing out on a certain amount of vital sleep (SWS and/or REM baselines), even though a 10h sleep duration is unexpectedly short as one would expect this duration to be much longer. |
| + | # While the MAST results can be considered '''satisfactory''', the DST performance still suffered and was still decreasing by day 33. The statistically significant stat is the DST performance, which was said to worsen and only improved after the 10h sleep duration. |
| + | # Stampi noted that "it is difficult to interpret the improvement in MAST performance after day 21 and prior to improvements observed in DST performance; this may be indicative of FJ's adaptation to the ultrashort sleep schedule, and may also further confirm that the DST is a test '''particularly sensitive to sleep-deprivation and sleep-inertia effects'''". This suggests that DST should be incorporated into a cognitive check model for adapted sleepers in the community. |
| + | # For an average sleeper to attempt to Dymaxion sleep, Jost held out quite well. Even though objectively speaking he was likely in '''Stage 4''' of the adaptation, rather than a truly successful adaptation as Stampi claimed it was. It is unknown if Jost would continue to improve should the study be prolonged for a couple extra weeks to see real improvements in DST, but one thing for certain, is that it may be possible to him to be stuck in Stage 3/4. |
| + | # A sleep mutant would likely be able to adapt to this schedule, given the right environment, setup and personal motivation. |
| + | # The results further support the community-based observation that a nap-only schedule is most likely not sustainable for normal sleepers long-term, while being "adapted" or "close to being adapted" is a possible outcome in a short period of time. Dymaxion, regardless of variants (4 or 6 naps) remains a '''remarkably hostile''' polyphasic schedule from the nap-based lifestyles, which is deemed beyond the realm of possible adaptability for most humans. Inexperienced sleepers without laboratory-based conditions or extensive adaptation and lifestyle preparations should not attempt to adapt to the Dymaxion naps. |
| | | |
| == Lifestyle Considerations == | | == Lifestyle Considerations == |