Everybody knows and dearly loves sleep—after all, it is what grants pure bliss and enlightenment from a long day filled with endless mountains of homew—I mean obligations! And, as if it’s a mantra, the phrase “eight hours of sleep per day” is being thrown around as a general gauge as to just how much sleep people should be getting per night. But if you’ve found yourself reading this, chances are, you’re getting four hours of sleep per night right now, five tops. With a concerned look, your parents have probably told you more than once that you need to get more sleep, and they’ve probably blamed your phone as being the catalyst for your poor sleep habits—seems like this is a universal teenager experience.

Now, it’s not like I’m advocating for you to sleep for three minutes per day—high on Redbull and Genesis Student Portal—that’s obviously very unhealthy and completely unsustainable long-term. But let’s say that you have an extra twenty pages of math homework, another paper to be written for English class, or another forty-seven dates to remember for history. In spite of these tedious and time-consuming tasks, what if there was a way to feel like you’ve actually gotten a full eight hours of sleep despite not getting nearly as much?

Polyphasic sleep—for those extreme extreme days

Enter the beautiful world of sleep optimization techniques, or in layman terms, feeling like you’ve slept like a peacefully restful baby when you’ve actually slept like a caffeinated squirrel power napping on a hammock! [2] Polyphasic sleep, a technique that involves periodically spreading out sleep [1], is an option for people who tend to find themselves facing a hyper-loaded schedule. Polyphasic sleep refers to taking six 20-minute naps spread throughout the day, leading to a total of two hours of sleep. Polyphasic sleep is especially great for people with busy schedules as that person can choose when they take their 20 minute intervals [1].

Now you might be wondering how exactly polyphasic sleep could be more effective than traditional sleep if you are sleeping the same amount, just at different times. The difference between polyphasic sleep and traditional sleep lies not in the amount of time spent sleeping, but rather, in the psychological activity of the mind [1]. Students with endless amounts of homework can polyphasically sleep when they feel exhausted or lose mental focus. This is advantageous for two reasons—the first being that, of course, it can “make up” for some of the sleep lost earlier in the day or earlier in the week, and the second being that it could actually help these students sleep better [1]. When students do work with mental focus and minimal exhaustion, they tend to complete their academic endeavors more quickly, allowing them to get the increased sleep that they long for.

What can I incorporate into my habitual lifestyle to maximize restfulness?

Polyphasic sleep is not the route to go to regularly; rather, it is something that desperate, backlogged students can use once in a while to beat the clock and recalibrate their sleep clock back to normal [1]. Most days, when you find yourself having to make up for some amount of sleep, it’s likely that what you need must be less extreme than polyphasic sleep and can be easily incorporated into your everyday routine [2].

Firstly, get some light exercise! [2] I know, it sounds contradictory—set aside another block of time in your very cramped schedule—how’s that going to help you sleep? But various studies conducted by the National Library of Medicine show that doing even 45 minutes of aerobic exercises like jogging, swimming, cycling, walking, gardening, and dancing proved to reduce anxiety and depression [3]. This is due to the increased blood circulation that comes to the part of the brain responsible for physiological reactivity to stress. Not only can it eliminate most of your stress and anxiety, but it also elevates dopamine and endorphin production, leading to a positive livelihood and mood along with increased motivation [3]. 

Second, avoid as much screen time as possible an hour before bedtime. [2] Screens, such as tablets, phones, and computers, emit blue light, which interferes with the body’s natural circadian rhythm and production of melatonin, an essential hormone for sound sleep [2]. This agenda might be more feasible for those with coursework not centralized almost exclusively, if not exclusively, around screens. For the majority of students (65%, namely), using such devices is a requirement to completing homework and academic obligations [4]. For students who are heavily reliant on screens to complete academic work, this might mean becoming diligent about the order in which assignments are done, and completing assignments that require screens first. Maybe your parents’s criticisms about your phone were… in your best interest?

Thirdly, try to reduce your caffeine intake. Caffeinated products sound enticing, luring consumers in with the promise of a short burst of artificial energy that can push them through the final stretch of work. And caffeine intake isn’t necessarily bad for you—but like with everything else, there is a healthy limit as to when and how much caffeine should be consumed. The recommended daily limit is 400 milligrams of caffeine [5]. To put things into perspective, that is roughly the same amount of caffeine in two cups of brewed coffee or two shots of 5-Hour Energy. Many students burdened with homework tend to consume far more caffeine than this. The overconsumption of caffeine causes a reduction in the main metabolite of melatonin, making it (unironically) harder to sleep at night.

Well, if I can’t use caffeine, then what can I use for energy? Numerous simple things, such as exercising, eating well and regularly, staying hydrated, and even connecting with nature, can cause boosts in endorphins and energy in a sustainable and non-detrimental way.

What’s the big takeaway?

Now, of course, the best policy that you can possibly abide by is to be getting eight hours of plentiful, restful sleep every single night without fail. But, understanding that this policy is simply unreachable for many, I offer to you plenty of strategies that can be done as a simple modification from everyday life as it is, and by doing these things, you can get yourself feeling more rested even when you really haven’t rested as well as is needed.

If you were to take only two things away from this article, make them the following facts: extreme techniques, like polyphasic sleep, are not to be used on a regular basis, but rather used occasionally and to recalibrate sleep cycles. Additionally, take away the fact the availability of  easily implementable techniques, like limiting screen and caffeine intake along with frequent, light exercising. These can all be added as tools in your diverse toolbox of methods for dealing with issues regarding the omnipresent force in our lives that is sleep.

And oh, maybe you should listen to your parents once in a while and give them your phone…

Bibliography

[1] “Polyphasic Sleep: Potential Benefits, Risks, If You Should Try It.” Healthline, 11 Jan. 2021, www.healthline.com/health/polyphasic-sleep#what-is-it. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.

[2] “How to Sleep 8 Hours in 4 Hours: Get Less Sleep but Still Feel Rested.” Healthline, 22 Oct. 2020, www.healthline.com/health/how-to-sleep-8-hours-in-4-hours#tips. Accessed 6 Dec. 2023.

[3] Sharma, Ashish, et al. “Exercise for Mental Health.” Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, vol. 8, no. 2, 2006, p. 106, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1470658/. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.

[4] Analyst, Author Jinghong Cai Senior Research. “Digital Homework.” Nsba.org, 3 June 2019, nsba.org/ASBJ/2019/June/Digital-Homework. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.

[5] Mayo Clinic Staff. “Caffeine: How Much Is Too Much?” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 6 Mar. 2020, www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/caffeine/art-20045678. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.

[6] O’Callaghan, Frances, et al. “Effects of Caffeine on Sleep Quality and Daytime Functioning.” Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, vol. Volume 11, no. 1, Dec. 2018, pp. 263–271, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6292246/, https://doi.org/10.2147/rmhp.s156404. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.

[7] Medicine, Northwestern. “7 Ways to Wake up without Coffee.” Northwestern Medicine, www.nm.org/healthbeat/healthy-tips/caffeine-free-strategies-to-stay-energized.