Science of Uberman sleep
The Uberman sleep schedule can seem rather unconvincing, and many would assume that
it is too good to be true - let the following do some convincing.
Sleep Science
Suprisingly little is known about sleep, although it can be divided into two main
stages - Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) - NREM can then
be sub-divided into four stages. When discussing the principles of polyphasic sleep
and the effectiveness of Uberman, we are mainly concerned with REM sleep.
REM sleep is considered to be deep sleep, and is also the sleep in which dreams
occur. It is considered to be essential for human survival. In a typical night's
sleep we would generally receive around 20% of that time in the REM stage, and the
aim of the Uberman sleep schedule here is to replicate this time, spread throughout
the day.
Sleepiness
The Stanford Sleepiness Scale below helps in classifying sleepiness, allowing us
to better judge the affects of polyphasic sleep in relation to monophasic sleep.
|
Degree of Sleepiness
|
Scale Rating
|
|
Feeling active, vital, alert, or wide awake
|
1
|
|
Functioning at high levels, but not at peak; able to concentrate
|
2
|
|
Awake, but relaxed; responsive but not fully alert
|
3
|
|
Somewhat foggy, let down
|
4
|
|
Foggy; losing interest in remaining awake; slowed down
|
5
|
|
Sleepy, woozy, fighting sleep; prefer to lie down
|
6
|
|
No longer fighting sleep, sleep onset soon; having dream-like thoughts
|
7
|
|
Asleep
|
X
|