Sleep Secrets

Of late, terms such as the “Uberman Sleep Cycle” and “Polyphasic Sleep” have slowly gained popularity in scientific journals, magazines and even in newspaper articles dealing with sleep research. Before we pursue a short discussion on the Uberman Sleep cycle, let’s be sure of what the term means. Uberman is a German word that means “over-man” or more loosely “Super-man” and so Uberman sleep schedule actually means a superman sleep cycle!

Uberman sleep cycle is a typical example of a polyphasic sleep schedule. Most of us are naturally trained in the monophasic sleep mode where we try to enjoy a long (four to eight hour) sleep period over the whole night and keep ourselves awake during the day. In shifting to a polyphasic sleep pattern, one abandons this long single block of sleep, and instead, naps for short intervals (of typically twenty to ninety minutes duration) spread over the course of the day.

There are two major arguments for giving up a monophasic sleep pattern and practicing polyphasic sleep. Firstly, polyphasic sleep drastically reduces the time spent asleep per twenty four hours. Practicing an efficient Uberman sleep cycle where you take short twenty minute naps after every four hours of wakefulness, reduces the net sleeping time to about two hours, thus providing you with twenty two hours of wakefulness. The additional hours of wakefulness can be used productively. Secondly, polyphasic sleep is theoretically as (if not more) efficient compared to common, monophasic sleep. This means that the total two hours of sleep enjoyed by someone practicing the Uberman sleep cycle is high quality sleep that is sufficient to provide adequate rest to both the brain as well as to other organs of the body. In order to more fully understand this statement, we need to briefly consider the phases of sleep.

The first three or four hours of normal, monophasic sleep is characterized by lower blood pressure and slow brain waves and is dubbed non-rapid eye movement or Non-REM sleep. The subsequent hours of sleep constitute REM or rapid eye movement sleep that is marked by higher blood pressure and greater levels of electrical activity in the brain. There are scientific reports emphasizing the importance of REM sleep in memory consolidation and in resting key areas of the brain. The Uberman sleep cycle is believed to help a person enter REM sleep much faster than a subject undergoing monophasic sleep. Thus, the two hours of sleep enjoyed by an individual pursuing Uberman sleep cycle, is mostly dominated by REM sleep. These couple of hours of quality sleep, spread out over the course of the day may substitute the single eight hour long monophasic sleep.

Those attempting to shift to the Uberman sleep cycle find that they require anywhere between a week to a month to train their brains to follow the new sleep regimen. This transition period can indeed be a testing one, abound with problems of falling asleep at the predestined timings, lack of concentration, etc… But once the body clock resets to the Uberman sleep cycle, its benefits can be reaped continuously.

It is believed that many famous personalities of historical prominence practiced polyphasic sleep. The list includes, among others, Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison. Let this fact be a stimulus for you to try the Uberman sleep cycle!

Jet Lag
Jet lag is a possible dangerous situation that is caused by traveling through various time zones in a small length of time. It disrupts your natural body clock otherwise called as circadian rhythms. When you travel from your home base the harder it is to avoid jet lag and the symptoms that go with it. To prevent the symptoms and cure jet lag situation, there are three simple methods to avoid jet lag.

Methods to Prevent Jet Lag
The first method to help prevent jet lag is sleeping on the plane while traveling. For longer planes a travel neck pillow will make you sleep well and feel rejuvenated as you travel to your destination. Many people could not sleep well on flights. If you face this kind of problem you may need to sleeping pills, which is better to try as on journey and find how they work inside your body. If you feel better by using sleeping pills, then make it sure to put these into your carry on find a brand that works particularly well be sure to pack these into your carry on suitcase to use them on your plane.If you do not find comfortable by using sleeping pills on your plane, you can try to adjust your sleeping schedule. At least, start one week before you get to destination on flight. Change your sleeping times by about half an hour per day to finally match timings of your destination’s zone. It means required time zone may be one hour earlier that you wake up one hour earlier per day and get to sleep earlier until you match the destination’s time zone. When you back to home you just reverse the procedure to match your regular sleep schedule.

Melatonin as a Jet Lag Remedy
Most of the seasoned travelers choose melatonin as a good remedy for jet lag. However, some people react in different possible ways to over the counter melatonin or prescription. The potential symptoms contain feeling tired without sickness and sleeping. It is better to try these before you taking a trip and see the body reaction. If you like to use melatonin naturally try drinking wine on your flight or at the airport. Here are some safety tips about jet lag situation. If you feel tired very from your journey on flight should take the rest, which is needed, for you. Don’t push yourself into regular work without feeling refreshed after your trip.