h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: How to Live on 2hrs Sleep a day - A996465
Author: Jaez - U212912

This is true, and it does work. Don't knock it until you've tried it. I did and now I'm glad I was proven wrong.

J

I thought that this was very interesting and thought provoking. The idea in itself seems plausible and your description of the method is very clear. I liked that you mentioned the possible pitfalls involving work and dependants.

You rely on your own subjective experience, which is fine, but it has made me curious as to what other objective findings there might be in this area of sleep deprivation. I think that the article could benefit from the inclusion of reports from other sources.

I am also curious about other possible dangers of the method, such as potentially harmful psychological side effects, the effects on concentration etc.. For example, is it advisable to drive a vehichle on this sleep pattern?

But, all in all, a nice idea and an interesting piece

That sounds really interesting. But being a parent of two little children, surviving without too much sleep (well, to be honest, my average is at app. 4 hrs a day resp. night) is something that I necessarily have grown accustomed to.

Some years ago, I tried a somehow similar thing when I stopped eating for almost three weeks (Similar in a way that you stop doing something that seems to be absolutely indispensable and costs a vast amount of your time). The first days are really mean, but afterwards there seems to be no real limit (of course I do realize that you can't fast endlessly, but in my case it didn't really matter wether I stopped after 10 days or after 20 days). If you try this you will find out how much time you usually spend cooking, eating, cleaning dishes, buying food, ...

Back to your Entry: This is a very interesting piece of work. Normally the GUidelines do not allow first person style, but as this one is based on personal experience, there might be an exception of this rule. That's not up to me, anyhow.

Jeremy

This is an interesting entry.

I think it would be impossible for me (and I like sleeping - one of life's great pleasures).

I like the way you note the downsides - what exactly are you going to do with all that extra time anyway?

Could you name some examples of people who have tried this method?

I know that Margaret Thatcher used to sleep 5 hrs a day (and look what it did to her) but I can't think of anyone who claimed they could cope with less?

Also there is a good article on the effects of sleep deprivation that you should link to.

You need to put the personal bits in blockquotes.

Sprout

Long-distance yachtsmen (and women!) use a similar method, I believe...

Interesting from a guide point of view but pretty pointless for most of us from a RL point of view. If you were intending a solo voyage around the world it would be useful or maybe if you were a soldier. But what the hell would you DO all night while everyone else was sleeping?

How about some hootooing?

I'm intrigued by this method. I'd love to have that extra time, which I would use to get lots of work done.

I'm a bit skeptical though... Can anyone else attest to this method?

Ellen MacArthur.

there's also...

Napoleon,

Leonardo Da Vinci,

Thomas Jefferson,

and last but not least, me.

J

I read lots. and sometimes write. So much time, and also the REGULARITY of it, makes for an interesting and encapsulated day. Its hard to forget stuff when you've only been awake for 4hrs.

I'd heard of the method before, but not know anyone who had done it.

Louis XIV (the Sun King) was reputed to have had only 4 hours sleep a day, and given that he was an *absolute* monarch and that the whole of France revolved around him( "L'Etat, c'est Moi") he probably couldn't afford to sleep less. Mond you, look what happened towards the end of his life, and more importantly, after his death!

This is an interesting entry, but I think I'll stick to my current sleep pattern.

If I recall correctly, Thomas Edison slept minimal amounts each day, too.

The first person is probably going to be problematic, but if you re-write it in terms of "this is from the diary of one researcher's experiences" or something like that, it might work.

Share and Enjoy!

I have to agree that to meet the </.>Writing-Guidelines</.> for an edited entry, it would need to be re-written in the third person.

Are you going to do this, Jaez?

Oops, Writing-Guidelines

D'you think it might work if the article was kept much the same, but the title was changed to indicate that it was a personal account of living on 2 hours of Sleep a day?

Spotted a typo: Just before the "Final Note" bit, you missed a "h" off "with". Good entry though.

By the way, if any of you are interested in Ellen Macarthur, please read the entry I just put on peer review about her. It doesn't have anything about sleep patterns, mind.

Well done, very interesting entry.

to Elentari and Jeaz

the technique is called polyphasic sleep, and was the primary method of sleeping for early humans (and is still practiced by hunter gatherer societies like the temiars and ibans of malaysia).

it is also called cat-napping.

Ellen Macarthur teamed up with DR Claudio Stampi of the chronobiology research institute in boston and spent 14 months learning the art of polyphasic sleep.

during the race she took two forms of polyphasic sleep.

one was uninterupted naps lasting less than 55 minutes.

the other is called napping clusters, and involved sleeping for 15-30 minutes, waking for 3-8 minutes, and then returning to sleep to do the same thing again.

the 20 minute sleeps mentioned in the article are usefull to people who are sleep deprived, allowing them to avoid sleep inertia, that horrible feeling that you get when you wake up groggy after sleep.

the data source for this information was focus magazine, october 2002.

http://www.focusmag.co.uk/

I hope this information helps you both.

oops. sory jaez, I got your name wrong by accident.

Cheers Xyroth

I'm not sure it's particularly relevant to my entry, which is more a life story, but its very intersting all the same.