The History of Polyphasic Sleep

Timeline of the history of polyphasic sleep

There are certain events that are worth mentioning when we talk about the history of polyphasic sleep. As of 2021, Polyphasic.net is the most up-to-date resource on polyphasic sleep. The experiences of the two most active communities online have truly refined it.

Here is a timeline that the Discord community (including creators of this website and managers of the Reddit page) have created of major events in polyphasic development. If there are any new events, we will add them to the list as well. 

Before 2000s

During this time, there is very little information on polyphasic sleep. Thus, most of the time, polyphasic sleeping initiative is often overlooked. During this time, additionally, polyphasic schedules with no definitive shapes or forms come into practice under short-term experiments. Most notably, polyphasic sleeping only consists of very radical sleep schedules like Dymaxion and Uberman. Its definition, as a result, entails sleep schedules that contain only short naps.

There is some brief mention of Everyman sleep by Puredoxyk, but Uberman and Dymaxion took all the spotlight. 

Historic events

2000-2010

Contrary to the 19th century, this period is when polyphasic sleep practice starts to bloom. Indeed, many online communities, including the current subreddit, have come to the fore. However, history pretty much repeats itself. Uberman and Dymaxion sleep continued their reign as the most popular, but Uberman for the most part was still quite more popular than Dymaxion. 

During this timeframe, we also observe some practice of Everyman sleep and glimpses of Biphasic sleep. Moreover, Everyman 3 became a dominant force as Uberman proves to be daunting for most people. Ever since, E3’s popularity lasts till today. 

Nevertheless, the promotion of extreme sleep schedules has consequentially lent a bad name for polyphasic sleep. Many sleep scientists have turned to polyphasic sleep to “debunk” its viability. Obviously, Uberman, Dymaxion and E3 were targets for criticism. As a result, polyphasic sleep has started to dip in practice. Many online communities from the 2000s, such as: polyphasic.xyz group led by Rasmus also disbanded. 

Historic events

2011-2020

For the first half of this decade, polyphasic sleep partially regained some usage. The introduction of Polyphasic Society sparked a new and seemingly more comprehensive approach. A lot more polyphasic schedules have risen to the occasion, including Biphasic sleep. In addition, Polyphasic Society continued to become more popular. It was also the most dominant resource on polyphasic sleep until ~2019. By this time, Polyphasic Society fell apart completely.  

In this decade, there was a major shift from extreme polyphasic practice to more moderate schedules. All nap-only schedules dropped in usage, and Everyman schedules took the whole mantle. Still, in the second half of this decade, Dual Core and other multi-core schedules see quite a bit more use and success. Polyphasic sleep, once again, became a lot more common than it ever was. 

The advent of non-reducing schedules in 2020 has led to an entirely new look at polyphasic sleep’s utility. Furthermore, the methodical approach to making a polyphasic schedule flexible is also highly appreciated. Overall, there is a more visible long-term element regarding polyphasic sleep attempts. 

Lastly, there is some new insight on some critical sleep mechanics. Examples include REM, SWS baselines, minimum sleep for long-term sustenance, adaptation methods and lifestyle choices. 

Historic events

Main author: Crimson & GeneralNguyen

Page last updated: 9 April 2021

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