Polyphasic sleep schedules divide sleep into multiple naps, often falling short of the recommended 7-9 hours of rest. While some believe it boosts productivity, scientific evidence is limited.1

What Are Polyphasic Sleep Schedules?

Polyphasic sleep schedules vary in structure, but all reduce total sleep time to less than the recommended 7-9 hours.

Polyphasic sleep might involve a 3-hour nap plus two or three 30-minute naps.1 An extreme version can have six 20- to 30-minute naps throughout the day.2

There are four main popularized polyphasic sleep schedules:

Comparing Polyphasic Sleep Schedules ​ ScheduleNap intervalsTotal sleep hoursTotal awake hoursDymaxionFour 30-minute naps Every 6 hours 2 hours 22 hours UbermanSix 20-minute naps Every 4 hours 2 hours 22 hours EverymanOne 3-hour nap + three 20-minute naps As needed 4 hours 20 hours TriphasicThree naps (ranging from 1.5-2 hours long) Three times a day (After dusk, before dawn, and in the afternoon) 4-5 hours 19-20 hours

Dymaxion Schedule 

A 1943 Time magazine article describes the Dymaxion schedule as sleeping 30 minutes every six hours, totaling only two hours of sleep per day.

This form of polyphasic sleep was created by American architect Richard Buckminster Fuller, inventor of the Dymaxion house, car, and globe. 

Uberman Schedule 

The Uberman schedule means sleeping for 20 minutes every 4 hours, for a total of 2 hours per day.3

This schedule was created in 1998 by a college student named Marie Straver to help with her insomnia. She named it after the German term Übermensch, a concept in Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy that describes the ultimate human who has conquered themselves.

Everyman Schedule 

The Everyman schedule is a modified version of the Dymaxion and Uberman schedules that offer about four hours of sleep.

With the Everyman schedule, you have a core sleep period of 3 hours, plus three 20-minute naps daily.3 Straver also created the Everyman schedule to develop a polyphasic schedule that works better with a nine-to-five job. 

Triphasic Schedule 

The Triphasic schedule offers the most sleep at 4-5 hours. This schedule involves three naps per day, suggesting people nap for 1.5-2 hours after dusk, before dawn, and in the afternoon.3

This is another polyphasic sleep schedule created to be more compatible with typical 9-to-5 work schedules. 

What Are the Benefits of Polyphasic Sleep?

Polyphasic sleep schedules may allow you more awake time to get things done. However, claims that it improves productivity or increases energy come from theoretical science and anecdotal claims. There is no sufficient evidence that it works.3

The creator of the Dymaxion schedule claimed polyphasic sleep gave him energy throughout the day, and he still felt "vigorous and alert" two years after starting the schedule.

It is possible to be born with a short-sleep gene, which allows some people to function optimally on less than 7 hours of sleep. In theory, people with this gene could work more productively on less sleep by maximizing their awake time.4  

Some argue that this sleep schedule can increase energy by allowing people to enter short-wave sleep (deep sleep). This restorative and restful portion of sleep happens during the first few hours of each sleep episode.14

However, this also lacks scientific backing. Studies show most people are tired after following a polyphasic sleep schedule.14

What Are the Potential Downsides?

Polyphasic sleep patterns can cause daytime sleepiness, which may indicate you're not getting enough sleep. It doesn't offer adults the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep needed for the body and mind to function optimally.5

Without enough sleep, you risk developing sleep deprivation, which may cause confusion, moodiness, and brain fog. Long- and short-term sleep deprivation can also put you at risk of developing:67 

• Depression and anxiety
• High blood pressure (hypertension)
• Type 2 diabetes
• Weakened immune system
• Heart attack
• Stroke

Lack of sleep also affects your brain processing and hormones. Polyphasic sleep can negatively impact mood and memory.38

Polyphasic sleep may nearly eliminate human growth hormone release in five weeks.2 This hormone helps children grow and is essential for managing how your body turns food into energy to function, known as metabolism.9 

Polyphasic sleep schedules can also be unrealistic and difficult to follow. The creator of the Dymaxion schedule eventually had to quit his job because his polyphasic sleeping didn't work with business hours, and the creator of the Uberman schedule also quit after six months.2

Does This Type of Schedule Work?

Polyphasic sleep patterns are often normal in some mammals, birds, and human infants. However, these short sleep schedules occur naturally and don't involve intentional schedules or alarms to start and stop sleep.3  

There is no solid evidence that polyphasic sleep schedules improve productivity or mental clarity in adults. Most claims that polyphasic sleep works are entirely anecdotal or based on unproven theories.

If anything, research consistently shows that people who follow polyphasic sleep schedules have difficulty thinking clearly and are more fatigued during the day.3

What's the Difference Between Polyphasic Sleep and Biphasic Sleep?

Biphasic sleep, or bimodal sleep, is a sleep pattern that involves two periods of sleep. For example, sleeping for five hours nightly and then taking a one-hour nap daily, or sleeping for six hours at night and napping for 20 minutes during the day. A biphasic nap is sometimes called an afternoon siesta.1 

The main difference between polyphasic and biphasic sleep is the periods of sleep. A biphasic sleep schedule always has two periods of sleep, while a polyphasic has three or more.

Biphasic sleep schedules typically provide more sleep time and occur more naturally than polyphasic sleep. Many cultures take short naps during the day.1 

Biphasic sleep may be more beneficial and less damaging, leading to less daytime sleepiness and impaired performance than polyphasic sleep schedules.1 

Who Would Polyphasic Sleep Be Good For?

Polyphasic sleep schedules may benefit people with unusual schedules who already have limited nighttime sleep. College students and shift workers often follow polyphasic sleep schedules to work longer hours during the day and sleep less at night.810 

These groups still deal with some brain function declines and excessive daytime sleepiness.8

How Can You Switch to Polyphasic Sleep?

It can be challenging to transition to a polyphasic sleep schedule if you follow a typical monophasic one. It may take several weeks to adapt, if at all.

If you still want to try a polyphasic sleep schedule, gradually drop your sleep time and work your way to several short naps:

• Start with a polyphasic schedule that gives you 7-9 hours of sleep. Break up your typical sleep time into three periods, like six hours at night and two 1-hour naps during the day. 
• Schedule naps around work hours. If you work a 9-5 job, try to nap at lunch and immediately after work.  
• Test your new schedule for a week or so. If you feel okay after a week, add another daytime nap and reduce your total sleep time. This may look like five hours of sleep and three 30-minute naps.
• Keep gradually decreasing your sleep time. Reduce sleep time by 20-30 minutes each week. Aim to get down to three hours at night and take three 20-minute naps daily. 
• Move to shorter naps if your schedule allows. You can aim for six 20-minute naps a day or three 1.5-2-hour naps after dusk, before dawn, and in the afternoon. 

Do not continue adjusting your sleep pattern if polyphasic sleep leaves you too tired or unproductive, or affects your mood. These are signs of sleep deprivation.6