Hi, I’m Dr. Lauren! Read my introduction to learn more about me and my two adventurous cats, Pancake and Tiller.
OK, I admit it. I’m sleeping with shame Pancake. If you’ve read my previous articles, you’ve probably seen a lot of comments about how often he can be found… sleeping. At the point some days I actually wonder if he leaves the sofa during the day, while I’m at work.
A recent Huberman Lab podcast, however, made me question whether I need to rethink his bedtime routine.
When we are born, as babies we enter the world as polyphasic sleepers. So what happens, and what is polyphasic sleep?
According to the sleep foundation, polyphasic sleep is sleep marked by multiple intervals of sleep and wakefulness throughout the 24-hour day.1 Apparently there are more schedules like the Uberman, the Everyman, and the Triphasic, if you want to get really nitty gritty.
The Benefits of Polyphasic Sleep
In newborns, our brains lack the ability to recognize the day and night signals that signal sleep and wakefulness patterns in adulthood. But adult cats are not; they are diurnal creatures, so they obviously understand such signals. So why do animals like cats maintain this sleep pattern as they age? In fact, even fire ants participate in polyphasic sleep. So, what is missing in our people?
Some preliminary studies have theorized that the risk of predation may mean an evolutionary tendency toward polyphasic sleep. In general, you’re probably more likely to be someone’s bigger snack if you haven’t been caught snoozing for 8 hours straight.
But a more recent study refuted this idea, suggesting that the risk of predation is not related to polyphasic sleep; instead they thought that small animals might simply need more frequent feeding and therefore their sleep schedule changed to mimic their appetite and energy needs. (No one has yet done a study on whether, given the option of a memory foam mattress, and endless delivery, cats might choose to switch to a monophasic sleep schedule!)
The Disadvantages of Polyphasic Sleep
When done in the human context of using polyphasic sleep to limit non-waking periods to two hours today, even one review study found no benefits, and actually detrimental effects on physical and mental well-being, as well as on productivity levels.
But cats don’t limit their sleep to two hours, trying to squeeze every last drop of productivity out of their day. Perhaps, a smarter approach is to take a page from their book: rest more, sleep more, schedule less, and take it easy. Unless it’s a red dot, or a feather toy, or a particularly tasty bug, in which case, all bets are off!
