If a 15-minute nap during the day = 90 minutes during the night...

[*Laurelindo*]

...does this mean that two or three such naps is the same as 3-4 hours of sleep during the night?

It's said that napping during the day for 15-20 minutes will have the same effect as one and a half hour during the night, but is this cumulative?
In this case I assume that you actually fall asleep during the 15-minutes naps as well, so you have a chance to REM. :p

This is probably a rather far-fetched assumption, but it doesn't seem all that unlikely either.

[kotora]

What? Why is a 15 minute nap during the day the same as 90 minutes of sleep during the night? How does the time of the day affect sleep?

[*Laurelindo*]

What? Why is a 15 minute nap during the day the same as 90 minutes of sleep during the night? How does the time of the day affect sleep?I'm not really sure either, but from what I've heard 15 minutes during the day is obviously the same as 90 minutes during the night.
Don't know why really, but maybe because you don't usually sleep during the days and therefore it has more effect or something.

[kotora]

I've heard somewhere that you shouldn't just believe stuff you hear from other people without any proof. Dunno why really. Maybe because people are full of :bou::bou::bou::bou: or something.

[*Laurelindo*]

I've heard somewhere that you shouldn't just believe stuff you hear from other people without any proof. Dunno why really. Maybe because people are full of :bou::bou::bou::bou: or something.Well, I've heard it from doctors on several sites and read about it in health magazines etc, so I'm fairly sure it is correct.
It seems to me like it should be theoretically possible to repeat this during the day and effectively lower your need of sleep at night.

[Mo-Nercy]

Doesn't sound right to me. Sleeping for short periods during the day tends to make people feel groggy and grumpy when they wake up. 15-20 minutes isn't long enough for the average person to enter a deep enough sleep to get into the state where the body is at rest.

I think it'll just tire you out because you won't actually be waking up feeling rested.

[kotora]

I can assure you that 15-minute naps will not make up for sleep depravation. Speaking from experience here.

[*Laurelindo*]

Doesn't sound right to me. Sleeping for short periods during the day tends to make people feel groggy and grumpy when they wake up. 15-20 minutes isn't long enough for the average person to enter a deep enough sleep to get into the state where the body is at rest.

I think it'll just tire you out because you won't actually be waking up feeling rested.That depends on how long you rest, though.
15 minutes can actually make you feel energized, although an hour is probably too much. :p

[Raistlin]

Sleeping when the sun is out does not magically make it more effective. However, if you accept as a given that you slept 6-9 hours that night, then a shorter nap during the time your body is used to being awake may plausibly be as effective a boost as a greater amount of sleep you take when you've been up 16+ hours.

That being said, I am still skeptical of this specific 90 minutes claim. How would this have been tested?

[leader of mortals]

There is actually science behind this theory. I've seen it many times, and it seems plausible to me.

Your body, while sleeping, has many stages of sleep. The most important is REM, or Rapid Eye Movement sleep. This is the type of sleep where the logic centers of your brain shut down, giving your brain rest and allowing you to dream. You can trick your body into giving you more REM sleep, by becoming used to a certain sleep schedule. If you nap once during the day and sleep 6 hours at night for an extended period of time, soon your body will try to make this time as effective as possible, by giving you more REM sleep during that time, and yes, it is cumulative. I have heard of a method where instead of sleeping at night at all, you just take 5 20-30 minute naps throughout a day, and I have also heard that if you mess up the schedule, you become incredibly tired.

Here (http://www.cracked.com/article/127_5-ways-to-hack-your-brain-into-awesomeness/) is what Cracked.com says, and here (http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2002/4/15/103358/720) is their in-text citation.

[Tavrobel]

I have heard of a method where instead of sleeping at night at all, you just take 5 20-30 minute naps throughout a day, and I have also heard that if you mess up the schedule, you become incredibly tired.

Yeah, the uberman sleep schedule. It'll take about a month to get used to, but theoretically, you could claim about half of the time you spend sleeping at night back. If you sleep too much, even by five minutes, you'll slip from Stage I (REM) into Stage II sleep, where your body is generating all of those drowsiness waves that make you hate life when you wake up (waking up during Stage III or IV will totally smurf you up). The most important thing to know is that more sleep isn't necessarily better, it's the pattern that matters more.

Most people can't handle the uberman sleep schedule.

EDIT: I suck at remembering the actual names of stuff.

[Madame Adequate]

I've been tempted to try the uberman schedule but it seems like it's too easy to mess it up, and too hard to get real-life commitments to accomodate you.

[Dignified Pauper]

I believe Leonardo DaVinci used to sleep like that. He would take like multiple 30 minute naps a day, and the rest of the day, he was just working.

I have the ability to fall into a deep sleep for about 20 minutes and come out feeling great. During my hour lunch break, I drive home, eat real fast, and take a 20 minute nap. It's awesome. Though, when I don't get that nap, it sucks.

[ReloadPsi]

I really suck at controlling my sleep, and taking any kind of nap during the day just makes me get my night's sleep later, and therefore get up later... you get the idea :(

[Citizen Bleys]

I have heard of a method where instead of sleeping at night at all, you just take 5 20-30 minute naps throughout a day, and I have also heard that if you mess up the schedule, you become incredibly tired.

Yeah, the uberman sleep schedule. It'll take about a month to get used to, but theoretically, you could claim about half of the time you spend sleeping at night back. If you sleep too much, even by five minutes, you'll slip from Stage I (REM) into Stage II sleep, where your body is generating all of those drowsiness waves that make you hate life when you wake up (waking up during Stage III or IV will totally smurf you up). The most important thing to know is that more sleep isn't necessarily better, it's the pattern that matters more.

Most people can't handle the uberman sleep schedule.

EDIT: I suck at remembering the actual names of stuff.

I think the phrase you are looking for is "polyphasic sleep"

Unfortunately, for it to work, it requires 30 minutes of sleep every 4 hours, which means it can only be done by people who don't have jobs and thus have no special need for extra waking time.

I think one of the famous old-time yanks -- Thomas Eddison? almost killed himself trying to live on a polyphasic schedule. Pretty sure it was Eddison, but my mind switches off when it comes to American history. Good thing I'm not a yank or I'd never have made it through high school.

[NorthernChaosGod]

Yeah, the Uberman sleep schedule is supposed to work just like that. I remember a chart that listed various sleeps cycles from a normal 8 hour at night all the way down to Uberman incorporating more naps and less sleep at night.

Really though, that would just be a hassle. You'd have to very strictly adhere to the schedule, and you could never do anything for any extended period of time.

[missaira]

all i know is if i sleep during the day, for any period of time, falling asleep that night will be nigh-impossible. it sucks.

[Cloudane]

15-30 minutes of sleep can make you feel energised, hence it's often called a power nap. It doesn't literally equate to a large amount of sleep though - you need a fixed amount, or face mounting up a sleep debt.

[Clo]

I never understood this power nap thing. I nap for thirty minutes, I wake up going, "Crap, two more hours please?" I feel like death, and sometimes even get nap headaches.

[Pheesh]

I never understood this power nap thing. I nap for thirty minutes, I wake up going, "Crap, two more hours please?" I feel like death, and sometimes even get nap headaches.

This, basically.

The only time I can sleep during the day is if I'm sick or if I've been up for 24 hours+

[Cloudane]

I think if you're massively unbearably tired, a powernap does have that "urgh, need more" effect. It's mostly for if you're starting to feel "a bit tired".

Me, I could sleep 24/7, easily, and never ever feel awake.

[Citizen Bleys]

Me, I could sleep 24/7, easily, and never ever feel awake.

That is a tautology. You would never feel awake because you wouldn't be.

[Cloudane]

Bah, you know what I mean! Don't be so pedantic, or I'll cut your knackers off with a chainsaw :)

[Citizen Bleys]

:nonono: Clarity is important, that's all. Are you helping your uncle Jack off a horse, or are you helping your uncle jack off a horse?

[Quindiana Jones]

When I have to pull all-nighters, I take 20 minute naps. You shouldn't nap for more than 20 minutes, though, otherwise your brain goes into the next phase and you end up waking up all groggy and :bou::bou::bou::bou:ty. But a 20 minute nap every two hours does wonders for an all-night essay. :D

[Dignified Pauper]

:nonono: Clarity is important, that's all. Are you helping your uncle Jack off a horse, or are you helping your uncle jack off a horse?

I just want to say that I love you for pointing this out.

[Jiro]

If you sleep on your arm, you should start to lose feeling and wake up around 20 minutes.

[missaira]

If you sleep on your arm, you should start to lose feeling and wake up around 20 minutes.

too true. it's what i do when i fall asleep at work during my half-hour breaks :) fail safe (is that the phrase? doesn't seem to make sense. oh well).

[Jiro]

Fool proof I think you mean :monster:

[NorthernChaosGod]

That would explain my naps all through high school. :monster:

[Iceglow]

Napping is pointless in my opinion. I try not to do it and I get an average of merely 4 - 6 hours sleep each night, every night. Generally speaking, more than that is simply not worth it. My ex needed some 8 - 10 hours a night and I totally thought she wasted her life, she drinks far more caffeine than I do and yet cannot remain asleep and here I am up 18 - 20 hours normally each day and can pull an all-nighter easily enough simply because I need or want to with little ill effect. Today even though I was out clubbing and drinking last night and made it home and in bed at 6am I got 6.5 hours sleep and feel fine, I'm perhaps a little more tired for this time of evening than normal but not enough that I am likely to go bed before I am normally used to sleeping.

[Cloudane]

On this general topic, quality of sleep also comes to mind.

There's a lot of evidence to suggest that sitting in front of a screen less than a few hours before bed fools your brain into thinking it's daytime, making it more difficult to get to sleep and making the quality of sleep not quite as good.

This app: F.lux: software to make your life better (http://www.stereopsis.com/flux/) for PCs and Macs came up on Slashdot and I had a quick try of it last night. Seems good! Basically it warms the colour temperature of your display (so it becomes a dull orangey colour) towards the end of the day so that the image is very relaxing instead of the usual blue glare.

Hopefully it'll mean less naps required :) For those of us who don't do the "healthy" thing and go read a book in low light for a couple of hours before going to sleep.

Edit: Oh, just a thought, if anyone ends up using that app on a shared PC make sure you warn the others in case they end up tweaking the settings or throwing the monitor in the trash!

[*Laurelindo*]

A few nights ago I slept really little - I feel asleep at 10 PM and woke up at midnight, then I felt awake and perfectly refreshed; I actually went and played Dragon Warrior 2 all night because I was bored. :p
Then I took a one hour nap at 11 AM in the morning and after that I felt no need to sleep at all.
I even felt I concentrate pretty well on things.

Maybe slightly longer naps at the right time of day can be effective enough?
Sure felt like it, anyway.