Sleep Anarchists – Uberman and the 30 hour cycle

One of the most powerful advantages of the Acorn flexible work schedule is you can sleep when ever you like and for as long as you like, or in what ever strange configuration of ways you might like to.

There are a couple of technically inclined members who are sleeping as their bodies see fit and this results in approximately 30 hour cycles.  This throws you off of the regular 24 hour clock that the meals are cooked on and meeting are head during.  But more than many places you can do very few meetings here and get food when ever you like.

Sleep Anarchists at Dream

Even more interesting are the currently 2 Uberman sleepers, who sleep for 20 minutes every four hours.  This means over the course of a day they only sleep a couple of hours.  This is what one site says:

How & Why It Works

Over the course of a normal eight hour sleeping period, your body moves through a continuous cycle of five distinct sleep stages. Of these, stage 5 REM sleep has been found to be the part of the cycle that provides the benefits of sleep for your mind.

Essentially, the trick of the Uberman’s sleep schedule is to trick your mind into entering REM sleep as soon as you drift into a sleeplike state. Unfortunately, the only real way to do this is through sleep deprivation of sorts.

Under the listed benefits, beyond more waking time (after your body adjusts), you also supposedly feel healthier.

i will let you know what i see, they are about 5 days in now and it takes 10 days before your brain balances the types of sleep it needs (not just REM, but also stage 4 deep sleep).  In the meantime, there are some slightly bizarre conversations at all manner of time of day.

When we shrink our dreams, where do they go?