Yahoo Lifestyle A Sleep Expert Warns Against "Unhealthy" Sleep Trend
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We all could probably use a little more energy these days, right? Maybe you’re managing a busy job, caring for an ill family member or chasing little kids around — there are a million and one reasons why you might want a shortcut to better sleep and more productivity. One tactic that some people are taking is a polyphasic sleep pattern. Before you jump on the bandwagon, however, you need to know the dangers of this trendy sleep schedule.
What is polyphasic sleep?
You might have learned a bit about the cycle on social media, where there are a ton of videos about it on TikTok, but let's dive in deeper. Polyphasic sleep is the term used to describe any sleep pattern that includes three or more periods of shuteye in a 24-hour period instead of the more traditional large snooze at night. These sleep patterns vary from one person to the next, but they typically involve shorter chunks of shuteye spread evenly throughout the day. For instance, some people follow a schedule that includes 20-minute naps every four hours for a total of two hours of daily sleep. Others sleep for 90 minutes three times a day, for a total of four-and-a-half hours daily.
Why do some people follow a polyphasic sleep schedule?
For some people whose jobs don’t follow a 9-to-5 workday, they have no choice but to chop up their sleep into smaller pieces. Others say polyphasic sleep allows them to have more lucid dreaming or being conscious while dreaming. Another reason some people choose this type of sleep pattern is so they have more time during a 24-hour period to get other tasks done. However, “it’s pretty unhealthy,” says Adrian Pristas, M.D., the Sleep Director at Hackensack Meridian Health. “There’s nothing good about any of those polyphasic sleep schedules.”
What’s so bad about polyphasic sleep?
“Sleep is where all of our recovery happens, and it’s got to be in a row, and it only happens when you get a certain kind of sleep,” says Dr. Pristas. “You can’t divide your sleep up and expect it to work. Our bodies aren’t designed for that.” Essentially, your body cycles through several phases of sleep over the course of a night, and it needs to experience enough of each phase to run properly during the day.
In fact, research shows a lack of sleep can slow your reaction time, cause depression and throw off your immune system and various hormone levels. “If you don’t sleep in a traditional sleep pattern, your cortisol levels are wrong and cortisol is a stress hormone,” says Dr. Pristas. “It is unhealthy and is probably the reason people with bad sleep patterns die earlier than everybody else.”
Do some people function well with polyphasic sleep?
They may think so, but nope! The first issue at hand is our circadian rhythm — our body’s natural pattern of sleep and wakefulness. Every animal (humans included) has a rhythm that, when followed, allows it to function better and stay healthier. “For example, a dog may have a three-to six-hour rhythm, and so that's why they're sleeping part of the time, and then they're up,” says Dr. Pristas. “Human beings have a sleep pattern that is about 24 hours. It's actually 24 hours and 20 minutes, and we have to realign our sleep every day, because if you don't, you can get screwed up easily. We do that because we get up at the same time, we have breakfast at the same time, we go to work — we have all these habits that realign us for that 20 minutes every day.” If you’re not sleeping in one big chunk, your body can’t get into a healthy rhythm.
Beyond that, if you’re splitting your sleep into different parts, you’re likely not getting the full seven to eight hours of daily shuteye that it needs. “I hear all the time, ‘I can get away with six hours of sleep,’ and I’m here to tell you that you can’t,” says Dr. Pristas. “I will probably never in my lifetime meet the person that gets away with six hours of sleep. It is an extraordinarily rare condition that people sleep less. There are some behavioral health diagnoses that cause people to sleep less, and that’s still unhealthy. As an adult, you need seven to eight hours of sleep.”
Should you try a polyphasic sleep schedule?
You probably know by now the answer is a resounding no. “There’s no way to make that kind of sleep pattern healthy,” says Dr. Pristas. “If you have to, if you have to work a schedule that is not traditional, you really should see a sleep doctor to get advice on how to maximize your sleep the way it’s supposed to be.” Also, he says, if insomnia is the reason you’re not sleeping well it’s best to see a sleep specialist for that, too. Left untreated, chronic insomnia can be detrimental to your health, but treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy can resolve it.
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