Official advice says that healthy adults require 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night for physical and mental health. Anything below this and you risk long-term sleep deprivation, which in turn elevates your risk of a plethora of other health conditions, including heart disease, blood pressure and lowered immunity.
Polyphasic sleep schedules, however, disrupt the widely acknowledged method of getting rest, swapping a lengthy nighttime sleep with multiple naps over a 24-hour period.
In an increasingly busy world, people are seeking hacks to fast track their rest and increase the amount of hours in the day to work or socialize. Many are turning to extremes, like polyphasic sleep. But how safe are these alternative sleep schedules?
We asked Dr. Pamela Tambini, a double board-certified physician and Medical Director at Engage Wellness, for her opinion on the risks and benefits of polyphasic sleep — examining the Uberman schedule, Everyman schedule and Triphasic schedule — and asking whether it's dangerous, or whether you should give it a go. Let’s take a closer look.
