You know that feeling when you've had a really solid night of sleep? You wake up refreshed and ready. It's like you're a brand-new person.
Well, some people don't get to experience that feeling as often as others do. Instead, they have to deal with the opposite: waking up groggy, tired, and cranky. The reason for this could be their sleep pattern—the order in which they get all those ZZZs. If your preferred schedule doesn't align with the standard monophasic (one long sleep period), biphasic (two short ones), or polyphasic (multiple short ones) patterns most scientists agree on as ideal, then you might consider changing it up before switching things up becomes necessary out of necessity!
Biphasic
Biphasic sleep is a sleep pattern where you sleep for two periods of time, with a short period of wakefulness in between. This is the most common type of sleep pattern among infants and young children, as well as some blind people.
A biphasic sleeper goes through two cycles: one very deep phase (called slow wave or delta) and one lighter phase (called REM). The first cycle takes up about 50% of total sleep time, while the second cycle takes up about 25%.
Polyphasic
If you're a fan of the idea of sleeping less but more efficiently, then polyphasic sleep may be for you. In a nutshell, this is when you take multiple naps throughout the day instead of one long night's rest. Theoretically, this will allow you to get all the same benefits of deep sleep with none of the cost or time wasted in actually being unconscious. But before you jump on board with this trend, there's something else that needs to be said: it's not recommended for most people and definitely not recommended if you have an early morning!
Polyphasic sleep patterns are not ideal because they destabilize circadian rhythms (our internal clock). Your body needs regularity in order for its natural rhythms to function properly. If these patterns are disrupted too often or too drastically by changing your sleeping habits every few days, then it can lead to serious health problems down the line like insomnia and depression.
Monophasic
You are a monophaser. You have a solid block of sleep at night and wake up in the morning. This is the most common type of sleep pattern, and it’s what most people think of when they imagine “sleeping”: you fall asleep right after you hit the pillow, stay in bed all night long until morning comes, then get up and start your day.
Monophasic sleep has a few benefits over its counterparts:
It allows for deeper, non-REM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep that can make you feel more rested than other types of sleep patterns;
The deepness of this kind of sleep makes it more restorative than any other type;
It also reduces risk for depression.
Scientists still don't know.
You may have heard that your sleep pattern should be polyphasic, meaning you split your sleep into multiple short chunks. You may also have heard that your sleep should be monophasic, meaning you get one long chunk of sleep each night. But which is better?
A lot of people assume one or the other is best because they've heard it from someone else and assumed that person was an expert on the topic (or at least knowledgeable). However, most experts who study this stuff do not agree with either conclusion—they're still trying to figure out what exactly works best!
So, what's the best type of sleep pattern? The answer is: we don't know. There are many ways to sleep and it seems that each method has its own benefits. But if you're still not sure which one is best for you, just try them all!
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