How to stay awake all night and be cheerful if you want to sleep, how to cheer up and work in the morning. What happens if you don't sleep for a long time, scientific facts
Your body works in accordance with biorhythms, regardless of whether you are sleeping or not. Late in the evening, in the middle of the night, at dawn and in the middle of the day, inhuman fatigue will roll over you. You'll feel like if you don't lie down right now, you'll just fall asleep sitting up. This state will last about 20 minutes, and then a surge of vigor will come. But few people like to sit for 20 minutes in a state of suspended animation, so the body will have to be deceived. Coffee won't help here, but physical activity will. Get up, stretch, jump and do some exercises. The more active the movements, the better. Over millions of years, our bodies have not changed much, so physical activity outside of school hours means one thing - danger is somewhere nearby. You seem to be running from a saber-toothed tiger, otherwise why would you jump in the middle of the night? This means that the body mobilizes strength and drowsiness will disappear as if by hand. This also works during the day.
Don't drink too much coffee
Only the first cup invigorates, and all the subsequent ones only aggravate the situation and you become more and more sleepy. Here's the thing: caffeine is absorbed very quickly and increases blood pressure, so you'll feel much more alert within 15 minutes. But after an hour you will be even more drawn to sleep, and with each subsequent cup it will be more and more difficult to fight sleep. The fact is that coffee contains not only caffeine, but also theophylline, theobromine and vitamin R.R. These substances, on the contrary, lower blood pressure, which makes you want to sleep. Therefore, with each cup of aromatic drink, it’s like you’re rocking a swing more and more: you’re becoming more and more energetic every half hour, and then you’re being pulled more and more into a horizontal position. And the more coffee you drink, the more difficult it will be for you to fight sleepiness.
Drink green tea
A cup of green tea has as much caffeine as a cup of espresso. But its effect on your body will be much milder, and you will remain cheerful longer. The combination of caffeine and tannin found in tea works a little differently than caffeine alone.
Turn on the lights
If you need to spend a sleepless night at home, don't skimp and turn on bright lights everywhere, not just in the room where you are. The same goes for a cloudy day after a sleepless night. This is just a way to trick the brain: when it is light around, it is more difficult for it to go into sleep mode. If you haven't slept at night and need to spend the day at the computer, adjust your monitor settings: the brighter the colors, the easier it will be to fight drowsiness.
take a shower
Everyone knows that a contrast shower helps to cheer up. Of course, this is the best way to recover after a sleepless night, but on one condition: if that night you did not drink anything stronger than coffee. If you come from a party in the morning, a contrast shower is contraindicated for you. Your blood vessels have already suffered, they don’t need the extra load now. You will be invigorated for 5 minutes, and then your head will hurt and you will fall asleep. It's better to take a warm bath and gradually change the water temperature to cool.
Make a coffee scrub
Don't skimp and don't use the grounds from your cup - you need freshly ground coffee. Apply shower gel to your body, then take a handful of coffee and rub yourself all over. The skin will become fabulously smooth, and the charge of vigor will definitely last for three hours.
Eat something tasty
And finally, the most pleasant advice: try to eat only what you love all day. On the Internet you can find a list of products that supposedly charge you with energy, but in this case they will not help you. But your favorite food is a guaranteed pleasure, that is, a guaranteed increase in endorphin levels. And this cunning hormone makes us feel not only happy, but also cheerful, full and strong and ready to move mountains.
Few people are interested in this generally accepted daily routine - lack of sleep is no longer wild. You yourself have noticed how easily and effortlessly the nights fly by in online worlds, and the hours flash by like the credits of the TV series you’ve watched. How long can an average person stay awake? Can't live a day? - yes, this is funny!
All this is simple and fun until you have more serious matters to deal with. If you worked a shift at a factory, or a day in the field, you would sleep like a dead sleep. The home environment is not so exhausting, and you can spend quite a long time awake in front of a PC screen, hugging a pack of crackers. And, probably, you are interested in the question: what will happen if you don’t sleep for a long time?
Randy Gardner risked checking this by staying “online” for 11 days without a break to sleep. At that time, the young man was only 17 years old. Such a sadistic experiment was carried out by the guy’s friends. The highlight is that the experiment, the purpose of which was to find out what would happen if you did not sleep for a long time, was not at all malicious, but was carried out in the name of science. The whole fuss was started for the Big Science Fair in one of the high schools in San Diego. It is difficult to imagine what could have become the motivation for committing such an act (after all, not sleeping for 10 days is more than normal).
Playing with your mental health is quite dangerous and can cause serious damage to the mind. The schoolchildren understood this very well and did not fully know how such a risky experiment could end. Therefore, Mr. Dement (a doctor from Stanford University) and Lieutenant Colonel John Ross were appointed to monitor what was happening. We can say that only thanks to these individuals the public learned about the experiment, and it was officially registered. Who would take the word of ordinary schoolchildren?
No favors for the victim of a violent experience who answered the question “ what happens if you don't sleep for a long time?", did not have. The subject was not given any energy drinks, including strong tea or coffee. In order for Randine to fall asleep, his friends constantly disturbed him: they drove him around the shops in search of food, played various sports games, tormented him with very loud music, and took him for rides in cars. But what kind did they skate there? We drove at breakneck speeds in oncoming traffic and on bumpy roads. What would you not sacrifice for Mother Science?
Undoubtedly, you are consumed by curiosity - how did it all end?
What happens if you don't sleep for 11 days? But don't worry, everything is not as sad as you might think at first glance. Gardner is alive and well, has not become an indifferent invalid and has not lost his mind. And yet, what happened to the young man during the experiment?
The lack of sleep, after several days, began to manifest itself in mild lethargy. Objects in the surrounding world lost their volume and began to be poorly perceived by consciousness. Speech was no longer so easy (tongue twister became an overwhelming task). Aggression and nervousness became integral companions of Randy. Anyone who has ever stayed awake for more than a day is well aware of the consequences of such self-flagellation. But the young man did not stop at this stage and continued the experiment.
The fourth day of what would happen if you didn’t sleep for a long time greeted Randy with “sand in his eyes.” My eyes were watery, red and very painful, which was definitely the cause of overwork. The same feeling will be experienced by a person who will work with electric welding without a special mask, and believe me, there is little good in this. Due to lack of sleep, the guy began to hallucinate and his consciousness began to cloud. The sense of time and reality of what was happening was lost. The only thing left to dream about was the completion of the experiment.
Fortunately, the experiment ended well. After 14 hours of sleep, Randy returned to his normal life again with absolutely no consequences. Many people cite this experiment as evidence that prolonged lack of sleep does not harm a person.
But don't forget, while poor Randy found out, what happens if you don’t sleep for a long time for several days, his behavior could hardly be called normal. The cruel world of hallucinations completely absorbed him, mixing reality with a dream in which inanimate objects came to life, or Ranidy himself lost his personality and became a different person. It is difficult to imagine what is happening in the head of such a “temporarily ill person,” but the fantastic reality did not leave him until the very end of the experiment.
In the experiment, the guy was provided with no sleep by his friends. It is unlikely that you will be able to perform such an experiment at home. After about 48 hours, you will be in REM sleep and eventually you will most likely just fall asleep.
Have you ever wanted to know what happens if you don’t sleep for a long time? Do you have the courage to risk your health and plunge into the hallucinogenic delirium of your own consciousness? Better go to bed, the “Very Interesting” team wishes you sweet dreams.
Anyone can remember an episode from their life when they had to stay awake for at least one night. For some, this was due to long parties, New Year's holidays, others were trying to prepare for a session, to complete some task, while others were required to stay awake by work. But what happens if you don’t sleep for a long time? How will this affect the condition of the body? After all, there may be situations when there is a need to stay awake longer than one night.
Sleep is very important for the body, since at this time all systems are restored and rested. The brain processes the information received during the day, and the immune system is restored. Therefore, regular and long sleep is extremely important. It allows you to maintain body functions in a stable state. So, let's look at what happens if you don't sleep for a day or even several nights in a row.
What happens after a day of no sleep?
If you don’t sleep for 1 day, there won’t be any special problems in your body. If you break out of the stable regime once over a long period of time, there will be no serious disturbances in the body. Of course, after this you need to refrain from driving a car and performing other important work that requires concentration. But in general, such a person will not lose his ability to work and will feel normal. Moreover, if you work according to a special schedule, your body will soon get used to the fact that you periodically have to stay up all night.
Of course, the next day after being awake, a person will periodically feel a terrible desire to sleep. To eliminate it, you can drink coffee or another invigorating drink. You may also experience a decrease in concentration, a deterioration in the ability to remember, some weakness and even chills. If a sleep-deprived person travels on public transport or sits waiting in line, he may suddenly fall asleep.
The next night, many have trouble sleeping, which is due to excess dopamine entering the blood.
So, is it possible to not sleep the night before an important event? If you are preparing for an exam, wedding or other events, you should not stay awake at night. The body will only be more tired, and the brain will not recover from the stress it endured during the day. As a result, mental functions will be depressed, and intellectual abilities will temporarily decrease. Signs of inattention and absent-mindedness will appear, indicating lack of sleep. Lack of sleep is also reflected in your appearance - the skin becomes more faded, bags appear under the eyes, and the cheeks are slightly puffy.
It is very important not to lose the sleep-wake rhythm, because if the body does not sleep for 24 hours in a row, the brain suffers significantly from this. The following symptoms are observed:
- loss of orientation in time;
- excessive sensitivity to light;
- incoherent speech;
- color vision disturbance;
- change in emotional background;
- the appearance of causeless and uncontrollable vivid emotions (crying, laughter, anger, rage, etc.).
The consequences of two sleepless nights
There are situations when there is a need to stay awake for more than one day. And in this case, the question arises: if you don’t sleep for 2 days, what will happen? This is a more serious situation that is harder for the body to tolerate. Not only symptoms of drowsiness may be observed, but also obvious disturbances in the functioning of internal organs, in particular the gastrointestinal tract. Patients complain of diarrhea, heartburn and other dyspeptic symptoms. In addition, the appetite becomes stronger, a person wants to eat fatty and salty foods. When experiencing stress, the body begins to overproduce hormones responsible for the wakefulness cycle. What’s interesting is that if a person doesn’t sleep for more than a day, it will be difficult for him to fall asleep later.
After 2 sleepless nights, metabolic disorders in the body are observed, in particular, glucose metabolism. The immune system also deteriorates, so viral diseases are becoming more common after such insomnia.
The result of two nights of insomnia is the following:
- inattention;
- absent-mindedness;
- deterioration of speech;
- a sharp decrease in concentration;
- coordination of movements worsens;
- a sharp decrease in cognitive abilities.
Consequence of three days of insomnia
If you don't sleep all night for 3 days in a row, the consequences will be even more serious than in the previous two cases. The symptoms are the same, but more pronounced. Movements become even more uncoordinated, severe problems with speech are observed, and sometimes a nervous tic appears. You also lose your appetite and experience regular nausea. Patients also note other symptoms - coldness in the hands, chills in general. Often, those who do not get enough sleep focus their gaze on a specific object and cannot take it away from this point.
If you don't sleep for 3 days or more, a person may experience failures. That is, at some time his brain may turn off and fall asleep for a short period. This is due to the shutdown of a number of control areas of the brain, that is, this is not a full-fledged sleep. So, a person can switch off and not notice how he passed 5 stations on the metro. Sometimes the purpose of a trip is forgotten, and you may not notice how a certain section was covered.
If you don't sleep for 4 days
Not everyone knows what will happen to the brain if you don’t sleep for 4 days. And this is understandable, because such a test is very difficult for the body and not everyone has passed it. It is enough not to sleep for a day for cognitive abilities to temporarily decrease by 30%; after two days the decrease will be 60%. Considering such dynamics, it becomes clear that after 4 days of wakefulness, the consciousness will be quite confused, and the body will be exhausted. The person will be very irritable, his appearance will deteriorate significantly, and tremors of the limbs will appear.. Outwardly, such a patient will look much older than his age.
Consequences of 5 days of lack of sleep
If you don't sleep for 5 days, the patient will begin to suffer from paranoia and hallucinations. Panic attacks for any reason are often observed. At the same time, the patient breaks out in a cold sweat and the heartbeat increases.
Due to 5 days of wakefulness, the neural activity of the brain slows down significantly, which affects the functioning of the entire body.
Particularly affected by such experiments are the areas of the parietal zone responsible for logic and computational abilities. After a period of sleeplessness, a person cannot even carry out basic mathematical operations. His speech also deteriorates significantly, which is associated with disorders in the temporal lobe. When it comes to hallucinations, they can be auditory, visual, or dream-like.
What happens if you don't sleep for a week
Many people are interested in what will happen if you don’t sleep for 6 or 7 days. Will the body be able to withstand this load? Indeed, this is a very difficult task that not everyone can handle. The person looks somewhat like a drug addict, his speech is very difficult, and some symptoms of Alzheimer's disease appear.
Negatively affects the body. Mood deteriorates, the brain works slower, metabolic processes are disrupted, and the risk of obesity and diabetes increases. Unfortunately, no amount of fighting spirit will help you make the right decisions if you don't get enough sleep. Even stimulants, such as coffee, will not allow you to think better.
But you can prepare for being awake at night as best as possible. How to stay awake and survive the night away from bed and recover as quickly as possible? So…
How to survive a sleepless night
1. Try to get plenty of sleep
It is not always possible to plan a sleepless night, but if you suspect that you will have to suffer, prepare your body for the load. If you already sleep little, and then don’t sleep at all, the negative effects of this regime will only accumulate.
But if you usually stick to the regime and rest within the normal range, from seven to nine hours, then one sleepless night won’t hurt. And if you sleep longer for a few days before the night marathon, then the consequences for the body will be minimal.
Yes, the article is just about how not to sleep. But sometimes 20 minutes is better than nothing. If you have the opportunity to get some rest, it is better to give preference to short sleep.
Two problems. The first is the risk of sleeping longer. The second, equally serious, is the inability to sleep. Well, how can you take a break for 20 minutes if your head is full of things to do, tasks, tickets? Lie on the floor in the Shavasana yoga pose. Even if you're not a fan of meditation or anything like that, just lie down on a flat, hard surface, spread your arms and legs out to the sides, set your alarm clock (20 minutes!), and then relax your muscles one by one, starting from your toes to the top of your head. Consciously, forcing yourself to completely liberate yourself. It will take two minutes for this relaxation. For another 18 you will either sleep, or at least just rest.
flickr.comIf possible, sleep for an hour or an hour and a half. This will help you wake up from REM sleep and feel refreshed.
3. Turn on the light
We need darkness to produce melatonin, the sleep hormone. If you don't want to fall asleep, add light. For example, a light source located next to the eyes (desk lamp, monitor) will bring the brain into an active state.
4. Ventilate
We sleep better when the room is cool, that is, the temperature is around 18 °C. If you want to be cheerful, the room should not be warm or cold. 23–24 °C is the temperature at which you will not fall asleep.
5. Take a cool shower
Sometimes just the thought that it’s time to get into cold water makes you wake up. You need to, you need to wash your face (at least) if an invigorating shower causes panic. The effect of the method is short-term: the charge will last for half an hour or an hour, then you will have to go through the procedure again. But remember that she .
Replace washing and showering with ice cream or popsicles. No more than once a night, so as not to conflict with the next point.
The candy will respond with irresistible fatigue in a few hours. Sweets will not help you retain energy: sugar will sharply increase your energy level, and then your strength will leave you just as abruptly.
It is better to eat foods that will provide you with energy for a long time. For example, light foods high in protein. What kind of food is this? Nuts. Eggs. Nuts again. Eat it with vegetables and fruits.
flickr.com Don't put anything heavy or fatty on your plate; forget about fried chicken legs and hamburgers for now. And instead of bingeing on one meal, snack on small portions throughout the night to keep yourself energized.
7. Drink coffee, but in small portions
Coffee, of course, is a stimulant, but there is no need to exceed the dose of caffeine.
A couple of liters of coffee is as invigorating as a couple of cups, it’s not just a matter of quantity. The main thing is not to drink the entire dose of coffee at once.
When a night without sleep lies ahead, you need to focus on your tasks. If you drink more than two cups at once, you will overstimulate your nervous system and lose concentration.
So when you start to get tired, drink a cup or two slowly, preferably while chewing something. Then, after four hours, you can go for a coffee refill.
When your coffee requirement (which is four cups a day) has already been met, switch to water. With sufficient fluid supply to the body, each cell works better, and it is much easier to concentrate on work.
There are also folk remedies for vigor. For example, tincture of eleutherococcus or ginseng. Add them to your tea (in therapeutic doses!), they are natural tonics that will help fire up your brain and get it working.
8. Better to chew
Chewing gum increases activity and may even improve brain function. Help yourself and choose mint gum. Mint promotes brain activity, and its aroma improves memory.
By the way, about smells. Essential oils of tangerine, lemon, orange, rosemary are also invigorating. If you don’t like flavorings and oils, just eat your sleep with oranges, or better yet, a fruit dessert with citrus and mint.
flickr.com 9. Get up and walk around
Take a short break every 45 minutes to go for a short walk. If you drink a lot, as advised above, then you will have to constantly go to the toilet, so use the forced break to walk a little more.
This is especially important if you work all night at the computer. From time to time, do the well-known exercise: take your eyes off the screen and focus on a distant point.
Instead of a short warm-up, do a massage. A full body massage will turn you off, but it’s better to knead individual points. Neck, ears, head, fingers - restore blood circulation in these areas to make it easier to think and move.
10. Choose an active background music
Save sounds of nature, mantras, lullabies and romantic music until the next day. Too monotonous tracks, even harsh and loud ones, will also not help to maintain vigor. Make a dynamic playlist that makes you want to dance to. At three o'clock in the morning, there will be no time for entertainment while studying notes, but you won't be able to sleep either.
Sit on an uncomfortable chair. Straighten your back, grab your gadgets and set reminders. Just no armchairs, sofas or soft pillows. Stools, a flat floor - these are your workplaces. Keep your body toned so that your brain doesn't relax either.
flickr.com 12. Find great experiences
When a sleepy veil covers your eyes, you need to wake yourself up with an emotional bomb. Talk to someone whose views are obviously opposite to yours, and on the most pressing topic (you can arrange a discussion in the comments). Open a link to a resource that you truly hate. The task is not to get carried away and not to prove to your opponent that you are right with all your might, but simply to get a dose of adrenaline and open your eyes wider.
How to survive the next day
All attempts to artificially add vigor can only be a temporary measure.
You don't add more resources to yourself when you pour a can of energy drink inside. You simply help the body burn its own fuel by working two or three shifts in a row.
Therefore, put all your efforts into recovery.
1. Don't drive
Research shows that a sleepy driver is no better than a drunk driver. So if you have a sleepless night on your schedule, ask someone to give you a ride to work or take public transport. Until you get at least four hours of sleep straight, no driving.
If you don’t want to destroy your normal routine, don’t go to bed during the day. Otherwise, you risk falling asleep so much that you only open your eyes in the evening. And then returning to a normal schedule will be much more difficult. If you sleep, then according to the night schedule: 20, 60, 90 minutes. Not more.
flickr.com 3. Save coffee for later
When your hands reach for a can of coffee and energy drinks, resist. Even if you drink coffee six hours before bed, caffeine disrupts your rest. You need to drink a couple of cups in the morning, but after 16:00 stop going to the coffee machine. Otherwise, despite your nightly adventures, you will sleep poorly.
4. Stop multitasking
It's better to choose two tasks and work on them in turn. When you feel like you're losing track of what you're doing, take a break and then move on to another task. Don't do them at the same time - your brain just can't do it fast enough. But he also cannot be busy with routine work. The same actions will put you to sleep, and a new task will activate your thinking processes. Give yourself some wiggle room to keep your thoughts on track.
5. Keep drinking and eating vegetables
Yes, yes, yes, drink water! We are aware that this is the most popular advice when it comes to health. Well, follow him finally. :)
If we don't sleep enough, we reach for high-calorie foods and eat more often than usual, although physical activity decreases. Therefore, by the way, regular lack of sleep is associated with a high body mass index.
Proper nutrition is especially important when you are not doing well with the rest of your diet.
The solution is to crunch on vegetables and fruits; nutrients, vitamins and antioxidants will protect the cells until you can provide them with normal recovery.
6. You need to do at least some exercise
It’s better to lift weights on another day, just like running multi-kilometer distances. But they will help you get through a difficult day and dispel sleep. Well, after light physical activity, even an overloaded brain will sleep better.
7. Eat little. And don't drink
A tired brain will demand pleasure, and the easiest way to get it is through food. The dangers of overeating have been known for a long time, so you will only feel overwhelming fatigue if you eat an extra piece.
And advice from the captain: don’t drink anything alcoholic. Lack of sleep + alcohol = disaster.
Scientists have long established that alcohol generally has a detrimental effect on sleep, so if you want to recover from last night’s race, even a glass of wine will be unnecessary.
Even if you are chronically sleep deprived, you can improve your condition by sleeping for 10 hours straight. Such sleep will help restore motor skills, and the next morning you will feel much better.
flickr.com Results
So, if you need to survive a sleepless night, remember that the body will not be happy. This means that in other areas you need to take care of your health: proper nutrition, enough fluid (not alcohol), both at night and the next day. Schedule opportunities to recover and take breaks from work.
Nothing will happen to you from one night like this, of course. At most, you will be irritated for a couple of days.
But chronic lack of sleep affects your health, but that’s another story.
Publication date: 11/18/2012All people sleep for different amounts of time. Some are used to sleeping for 7 hours, and others for 5. At the same time, there are people who sleep only a couple of hours a day and feel great. And there are also people who never sleep at all.
What will happen to a person if he does not sleep?
Many people incorrectly believe that a person sleeps in order to “rest” the brain. But it is not so. A person should sleep so that the body, rather than the mind, rests more. If a person stays awake all the time, his body simply cannot stand it.
If a person who is used to sleeping 6 hours suddenly stops sleeping, this will lead to the following “effects”:
- dizziness
- fainting state
- general confusion
- slow reaction time
- unclear or disjointed speech
- a sore throat
- paranoia
- intestinal upset, digestive disorders, diarrhea
- drop in visual acuity
- clinical depression
In general, symptoms can be different. Moreover, they manifest themselves differently in each person. When I tried to stay awake, I could only last three days. At first I thought I had some kind of intestinal infection because I started to feel nauseous and very weak. Some people experience hallucinations already on the 3rd day without sleep.
We can say that the symptoms depend on the characteristics of the body.
Chicago Medical Center scientist Daniel Gottleb has proven that severe lack of sleep can cause diabetes. It has also been proven that a person’s mental and physical abilities begin to decline significantly with a long absence of sleep. After 5 days of sleep deprivation, the subjects could not solve the simplest children's problems (they could not even remember them).
If a person has not slept for 18 hours, then his coordination will be the same as that of someone who drank a liter of beer. And if a person has not slept for 26 hours, then this is akin to drinking a glass of vodka.
World records
In 1964, the Guinness Book of Records said it would no longer record attempts to stay awake because it was harmful to health. Such a categorical decision was made because in 1963, 17-year-old schoolboy Randy Gardner experimented on himself - he did not sleep for 11 days.
On the first day of the experiment, Randy realized that he was having difficulty focusing. After 48 hours, he became extremely irritable and could not pronounce basic tongue twisters. After 72 hours, Randy began to hallucinate and thought he was football player Paul Lowe.
To prevent Randy from harming himself and falling asleep prematurely, his school friends helped him. In general, the schoolchildren wanted to conduct this experiment in order to win at the school science fair. But it so happened that Randy became famous throughout the world.
After 8 days, Randy started having even bigger problems. He could no longer speak clearly and began to experience severe hallucinations. And he couldn’t remember what he said a minute ago. “It seemed like he was awake and asleep.”
After 11 days of being awake, Randy fell asleep and slept for 14 hours in deep sleep. Doctors found no abnormalities, but Randy felt disoriented.
Randy Gardner isn't the only one who has tried to stay awake for days on end. Two weeks later, Jim Thomas broke the record - he did not sleep for 266.5 hours. In 2007, Tony Wright was able to survive for 275 hours. There are many more unofficial records. The biggest unconfirmed record is 28 days without sleep (but it’s hard to believe).
Fatal familial insomnia
Aka Fatal familial insomnia, FFI. This is an extremely rare hereditary disease. This disease begins to manifest itself at the age of 30. At first, patients suffer from severe insomnia, and then they cannot fall asleep at all. Patients begin to exhibit typical sleep deprivation syndromes (hallucinations, weakness, weight loss). As a result, patients die without sleeping for about 9 months.
Polyphasic sleep technique
Some people practice a similar technique. The bottom line is that people sleep for short periods of time every 4 to 6 hours. This sleep technique appeared in 1932 (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,774680,00.html).
There are two main sleep modes:
- 4 times for 30 minutes every 6 hours - the so-called Dymaxion mode;
- 6 times for 20 minutes every 4 hours - the so-called Uberman mode;
There is a legend that Leonardo da Vinci slept for 15-20 minutes every 4 hours, thus practicing the Uberman polyphasic sleep pattern. There is no confirmed evidence of this, however, due to the uniqueness of the scientist and the research work carried out by his contemporaries, da Vinci could well have followed such a regime.
They say that Napoleon Bonaparte slept according to the same pattern. This sleep technique allows you to maintain mental clarity and vigor, while staying awake for 20 - 22 hours. This is how some soldiers sleep during long combat operations, because they don’t have much time to sleep.
In fact, there are many people who use polyphasic sleep. You don't have to look far for an example. Here is from the memoirs of Evgeny Androsov:
“During my student years, I lived for a month in the same room with a certain Yakut prodigy. He ALWAYS slept 40 minutes a day! I would never have believed it if I had not seen it with my own eyes. Moreover, he himself developed a system and calculated his four peaks when the body needs rest. During these peaks, four times a day he slept for 10 minutes and that was enough for him. The rest of the time he studied and was very upset when teachers gave him straight A’s and deprived him of the opportunity to show off his knowledge.”
If you want to try sleeping less, start gradually. If you sleep 15 minutes less every day, you can reduce the period of sleep to 4 - 5 hours without harm to the body.
Be healthy!
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