Naps vs. Eight Hours of Sleep

According to Men's Health, there have been studies on how someone's most common sleeping position can say a great amount about their personality. Do they really correlate though? The article has information about how people who sleep on their side are lacking self confidence, and people who sleep on their back have breathing problems and are usually tired.  But what is the even bigger dilemma in adults these days?  It is the fight between getting seven hours of sleep at night versus barely getting any sleep but taking short naps throughout the day. (The Best Sleep Positions)

Every person needs a different amount of sleep to cope during the day.  Some can function on merely four hours while other people need nine hours to function properly.  Whether or not all this sleep is at once, it is important to know what kind of sleep you need and get those hours every day.  Although, it is proven that having a steady sleep schedule can be more helpful to you body's needs.

Most of us think there is only one way to feel rested during the day.  We think we need our six to eight hours every night to stay awake for the whole entire day.  According to an article, this is only 1 of the 5 different types of sleeping habits.  Getting 8 hours of sleep and none during the day is known as the monophasic sleep cycle.  Along with this sleep cycle, the other four fall under the polyphasic sleep cycle.  Those who study psychology know the four stages of sleep. (Lejuwaan) These sleeping stages involve beta, alpha, theta, and delta waves.  It varies from drowsiness to the deepest sleep you can get.  What differs the polyphasic sleeping methods from the monophasic sleeping methods is that the short napping throughout the day sends one into stage 4 Rapid Eye Movement (REM) faster, instead of the 45 minutes or hour that it usually takes.

Here are the different polyphasic sleep cycles:
1. Uberman Cycle:  20 or 30 minute naps every four hours.   This is usually reported as refreshing and makes you feel healthy.
2. Everyman Cycle:  One long nap and then shorter naps throughout the day.  It was reported as just an effective sleep cycle as the Uberman.
3. Dymaxion Cycle:  Sleeping thirty minutes every six hours.  Reported as the best cycle out of all of them.
4. Biphasic Cycle:  Considered the college sleeping cycle. 4 or 5 hours at night and a 90 minute nap in the afternoon. Considered better than the monophasic sleeping cycle.

Reading this article really surprised me.  Am I wasting my time worrying about getting eight hours a night?  I rarely nap even when I am tired in the afternoon.  The less sleep is considered more effective in this article.  Most people reported that they were surprised that they could function properly and still feel so refreshed after barely getting any sleep.

It is amazing how many studies are done on ways to better the quality of sleep.  So many factors contribute to the quality of sleep you are getting.  For the best sleep, make sure you are eating healthy foods and avoiding fatty, artificial foods, and getting exercise. Looking at the results and comments of people who have tried these different cycles, it definitely is worth a try!



Sources:

"The Best Sleep Positions." Men's Health Magazine : Men's Guide to Fitness, Health, Weight Loss, Nutrition, Sex, Style and Guy Wisdom. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2013.


Lejuwaan, Jordan. "Alternative Sleep Cycles: You Don’t Really Need 6-8 Hours!" High Existence Site Wide Activity RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2013.