I am somewhat reluctant to agree with the analogies with sports perfect Chaos uses to deduct certain things, since polyphasic sleep menas that you are fucking around with your mind as well, but waht I DO find interesting is his mentioning of yoga and meditation.
In my log I talked about "mind altering techniques" and even Steve Pavlina mentioned the "focussing on the moment" as a key to success.
The feeling of "weightlessnes" and "mental clarity" are reported by a LOT of people who pursue spiritual paths or take more moderate approaches in the form of modern philosophy, which means that there is a very direct connection between your state of mind and your sleeping rhythm.
I for one have not yet experienced hallucinations or anything like that and my sleep deprivation was, even at itīs worst times, merely highly unpleasant, DESPITE me taking the real hard way to adapt to Dymaxion.
This hints at the fact, that the state of mind is the central element and key to success, and that sleeping is much more of a "mind thing" than most of us believe.
In return, this COULD mean, that pure willpower is more like "grinding" yourself into the new rhythm and thus not a very promising approach, whereas trying to work this out in a more "psychonautic" manner could be a lot more helpful.
This is, of course just a theory.
"The heights by great men reached and kept, were not obtained by sudden flight. But they, while their companions SLEPT, were toiling upward in the night."
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Well, a lot of theorizing and even more technical terms.
I know how much fun that can be (heck, not a day goes by without me duscussing something I barely know, just for the sheer fun of it^^), yet still I think that this discussion between you and Perfect Chaos has gone beyond the point of valid and useful deduction.
(no offense intended)
However we have learned a few very interesting things:
1.)The side effects of polphasic sleep bear a large similarity to other techniques or activities which are commonly regarded as constitutional.
(sports and yoga)
2.)There seemingly is a connection between the amount of sleep one needs and the state of mind one is in.
(meditation)
Now, letīs theorize a little.
If the side effects of polyphasic sleeping bear large resemblance to those of sports, this MAY mean that the body of a polyphasic sleeper is in a more or less constant stage of working out.
In other words: by staying awake longer than usual, we are passively "excercising".
Nice thought eh?
"What excercises do you take?"
"Being awake!" *lol*
Then, there is the mental component. Regarding the fact that almost all polyphasic sleepers, especially those on a more extreme schedule (like Uberman or Dymaxion), report an intense rise in mental claritiy, concentration and mental "speed" , one might have the idea that the body and mind are linked in a much more direct way than was previously thought. Look at the people practicing yoga or meditation. Most of them need a very long time to get the first results.
Polyphasic sleepers however can reap the fruits of their adaption after a month, at the latest!
Dunno about you, but to me this is staggering!
"The heights by great men reached and kept, were not obtained by sudden flight. But they, while their companions SLEPT, were toiling upward in the night."
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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