Leonardo da Vinci, who functioned on two hours of sleep a day while painting the Mona Lisa, followed a form of polyphasic sleep schedule called the Uberman sleep cycle, which involves 20-minute naps every four hours.
For da Vinci's possible adoption of this practice, Claudio Stampi writes in his 1992 book, "Why We Nap": "One of his secrets, or so it has been claimed, was a unique sleep formula: he would sleep 15 minutes out of every four hours, for a daily total of only 1.5 hours of sleep.
Although the Uberman sleep cycle is technically a type of sleep schedule, it may not be the best one for regulating your natural circadian rhythm. That's because it's based on random periods of sleep, requiring you to sleep during the day and be awake and active at night.
Uberman sleep cycle. The Uberman is a polyphasic cycle that consists of 6 to 8 equidistant naps across the day, each lasting 20 minutes. Because this seems the most restrictive, it's best for those who can follow a rigid polyphasic sleep schedule.
Try to sleep for 90 minutes, opt for one full cycle to try and get through the day. If this is not possible, try to take a 20–30-minute power nap, so that you do not fall into that deep sleep cycle. Remember, any sleep is better than none, however, different amounts of sleep may make you feel groggier than others.
This all depends upon how late, and how regular, a person's sleep patterns are. For example, falling to sleep at 4 am and waking at 12 pm will cause a person to miss out on a large amount of daylight, especially in winter. This can be problematic for various reasons, including our physical and emotional health.
Modern research suggests that sleeping twice in a 24-hour period (a sleep pattern that is alternately referred to as biphasic sleep, segmented sleep, or siesta sleep) may facilitate greater energy levels, alertness, cognitive function, and productivity.
One of the most famous inventors on our planet, Nikola Tesla, was quite the opposite of Einstein. He slept only a couple of hours a night and compensated for his lack of sleep with power naps throughout the day.
Quality sleep is continuous. Sleeping straight through the night with minimal disruption is more restorative than having your night's sleep interrupted frequently or for long periods of time.
It's common knowledge that sleep is good for your brain – and Einstein took this advice more seriously than most. He reportedly slept for at least 10 hours per day – nearly one and a half times as much as the average American today (6.8 hours).
Dymaxion sleep schedule (2 hours of sleep)
Developed by the famous American architect Buckminster Fuller, the Dymaxion sleep schedule is probably the most extreme type of polyphasic sleep schedule. It consists of taking 30-minute naps every six hours, totaling only two hours of sleep per day.
Leonardo da Vinci's sleep schedule included 20-minute naps every four hours. Da Vinci followed an extreme form of a polyphasic sleep schedule called the Uberman sleep cycle, which consists of 20-minute naps every four hours.
Those with an IQ of over 125 tended to go to bed around 12:30 a.m. and wake up around 8:00 a.m. on weekdays, and go to bed around 1:45 a.m. and wake up around 11:00 a.m. on weekends. Those of normal intelligence tended to sleep from 12:00 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. on weekdays and from 1:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. on weekends.
Elon Musk says he's upped his sleep to 6 hours per night—and that his old routine hurt his brain.
Albert Einstein is said to have slept 10 hours per night, plus regular daytime naps. Other great achievers, inventors, and thinkers – such as Nikola Tesla, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison, Winston Churchill, Leonardo da Vinci, and Sir Isaac Newton – are said to have slept between two and four hours per day.
After an early afternoon game of cards with his wife, Clementine, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill would climb into bed for 2-hour-long naps every day. Many say that Churchill chose to work third shift, starting his most important work around 11 p.m. and continuing well into the night and early morning.
Similarly to Margaret Thatcher and especially during the war years, Winston Churchill would only sleep for four to five hours a night. However, in contrast to Thatcher, he would catch up on sleep in the afternoons with a 90 minute nap.
Nikola Tesla
Born during a lightning storm in 1856, Tesla had an IQ range from 160 to 310. He's known as the inventor of the Tesla coil and alternating current machinery.
One study demonstrated a stronger correlation between interrupted sleep and a decreased positive mood compared to reduced total hours of continuous sleep. View Source . In addition, These issues were compounded with consecutive days of interrupted sleep, suggesting that the effect can accumulate over time.
Napping cannot provide the same benefits as a full night's sleep: While napping can provide some benefits, such as increased alertness and improved cognitive function, it cannot provide the same benefits as a full night's sleep.
If your school or work schedule requires you to be up between 5:00 and 7:00 a.m., these are the suggested bedtimes: School-age children should go to bed between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. Teens should try to go to bed between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. Adults should try to go to sleep between 10:00 and 11:00 p.m.