Does the Early Bird Get the Worm—or the Shaft?

Does running your business consume all your waking hours? It certainly can seem that way! Is it possible to boost your productivity when it seems that every hour in the day is spoken for? There is evidence to suggest that tweaking your approach to work can make a difference in productivity.

Wake Up Earlier

While this may seem simplistic, early risers enjoy some distinct advantages over late starters.

1. There are far fewer distractions in the early morning hours. This enhances productivity levels, allowing you to accomplish more in less time. As you progress through your to-do-list, the effect is multiplied.

• Your focus is at its peak in the early morning hours. By focus, I mean willpower. You will learn that, bolstered by your enhanced productivity, the will to accomplish more grows stronger. Later in your day, as you engage in the battles every business owner faces: employee issues, vendor issues, production issue and so forth, your willpower is sapped.


• Your morning accomplishments will set a positive tone for the entire day. We all function better when we have a positive mental attitude and as a result, you will enjoy greater productivity levels throughout the day.

There is a downside to rising early—you have to sleep early too … or do you?

Imagine if you will the possibilities that would open up if you could train your mind and body to function well on less sleep. First, let’s talk about the two most common sleep patterns.

Monophasic Sleep

This is the sleep pattern most of us follow. Monophasic sleep is simply 7 to 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night.

Biphasic Sleep

College students, shift workers, many Latin American and some Asian cultures follow a biphasic sleep pattern. That is 5 to 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep and a 30 to 60 minute nap during the afternoon. Did I hear someone say siesta?

Polyphasic Sleep

Polyphasic sleep is a general term that describes sleep patterns offering 2 to 5 hours of sleep per day. The segue to polyphasic sleeping can be a grueling one and takes up to two weeks to achieve, but if you normally sleep 7 hours per night, you will be rewarded with 21 to 48 hours of extra time each week – that is at minimum, almost an extra day, and at the extreme, around two extra days of waking time each week. Before you begin daydreaming about the rough equivalent of a 9 day week, let me explain the rigors of getting your mind and body to that point.

Polyphasic sleeping patterns can vary widely but the three most common are:

The Everyman Cycle

Making the adjustment to the Everyman Cycle is probably easiest. Typically the Everyman Cycle consists of 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep followed by 3 twenty minute naps spaced out through a 24 hour period. Adjustment is usually rapid and you wind up with 2 or 3 extra hours in your day. Most practitioners do the 3 hour stretch from 1:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. and nap at 9:00 a. m., 2:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.

The Uberman Cycle

More challenging is the Uberman Cycle which consists of 6 thirty-minute sleep sessions per day at four hour intervals. The Uberman Cycle gives you a total of 3 hours sleep in a 24 hour period.

The Dymaxion Cycle

This is the most extreme polyphasic cycle and consists of 4 thirty-minute naps at 6 hour intervals, resulting in but 2 hours of sleep per day. Conceived by Buckminster Fuller, American architect, author of 30 books, inventor, designer and systems theorist, the Dymaxion Cycle, as he named it, served him well. While the regimen may seem like a killer , Fuller lived to 88 years of age.

Clearly, altering sleep patterns can free up significant amounts of time over one’s life. If you choose to implement one of these plans for yourself, be prepared for an adjustment period of up to 2 weeks that will include a few days of feeling extremely tired.

Final Thoughts and Cautions

The long-term impacts of these sleep schedules are unstudied. Beyond that obvious fact, it is important to understand that each of us is different. Think of this analogy: Just as coffee may be well-tolerated by subject A, while subject B suffers hand tremors, irritability, and an inability to sleep or other side-effects.

Sleep, however and whenever we acquire it, is essential to our physical and mental well-being. Sleep is necessary to retain memories; provide for the recovery of muscles and organs; and to clear the brain of toxins.

Experimenting with polyphasic sleep schedules has risks. It is suggested that you do not drive, operate heavy machinery or make life altering decisions until you understand how the sleep schedule is affecting you physically and mentally. If you do not follow this advice, you may get the shaft rather than the worm.

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