I've tried polyphasic sleep a few times over the past 15 years, and always went back to normal. But I'm about to give it another try, and all of the circumstances that made it difficult in the past (live-in girlfriend, office to go to and an expectation of availability throughout normal office hours, or school+work, etc.) are no longer a factor, so I think it will go better this time. I'm also about to shake up a bunch of other aspects of my life, so going polyphasic will fit right in.
Please, please, please blog your attempt at going polyphasic. There aren't a lot of rational records of people trying this; and it's a really interesting topic (to me, at least).
I'd try it myself, but for now my commute prevents me from being able to do it.
pchristensen did it a year or two ago, and it was really interesting to read about.
I plan to. I'm shopping for an RV at the moment, and plan to hit the road on January 1st, and I'll be blogging about the process of going mostly off the grid while still running a company. Switching to polyphasic sleep will be a minor change in comparison, and so I'm cramming a number of life alterations into one bunch...since I won't have any habitual behaviors that remain unchanged, I'm going to take the opportunity for self improvement on all fronts (eating, exercise, environmental impact, getting out of my comfort zone, etc.). I've read that people have an easier time altering habits, like smoking, when they are out of their normal routine, like when they're on vacation.
This sounds like a great plan, I think you will have an interesting journey! I can confirm that the absence of daily routine triggers facilitates change to let go of undesired behavior. For instance, it was way easier for me to stop smoking and exercise every day when I spent the summer in California.
I loved it but my life didn't accommodate it. It was much easier on work days because I could sleep both ways on the train, one nap in the middle of the day, and then make it through family duties at night before I needed another nap. My wife didn't enjoy the scheduling difficulties on the weekend and it's not something you can switch on and off on short notice (takes about 5-7 days the first time and 2-3 days to start back up). There's a couch at my new job and I'm considering starting up again.
I learned about polyphasic sleep a couple years back, and came across stevepavlina's blog posts about his experience. I want to try it (just for the heck of it, and to see if it fits my lifestyle better) sometime in my life.
If you happen to get Wakemate, I'd be interested to know if it helps or eases the transition to polyphasic.
I can't say there is any definite correlation, but Steve now believes in subjective reality and that his love is too big to be contained within a relationship, so think before you leap
