Guy tries to reduce his daily sleep routine to five hours by taking short naps

As humans, we’re used to what is known as a “monophasic pattern” of shut-eye. That’s when you do all your sleeping in the evening in a big seven- to- eight-hour chunk, like most people.

If you live in Latin America and are privy to a “siesta” during your workday (man, that would be great here), that would be considered “polyphasic” sleeping, since there is more than one instance a day where you catch some zs.

There are more extreme forms of polyphasic sleep methods, and the one that Ryan Bergara employs for the week is known as the “Everyman” schedule, where you sleep for four-and-a-half hours in the evening, and take two 20-minute naps during the day to recharge.

This sleep method is usually done by those with hectic work schedules that limit the amount of sleep they get anyway, or those who engage in lots of daily physical activity to keep the brain stimulated.

For background on this method, Bergara consulted with Jackson Nexhip, an author of a book on polyphasic sleep and current user of the “Everyman” sleep schedule.

He also spoke to sleep specialist Dr. Alon Avidan at UCLA to make sure he had all the basses covered for what he was going to experience in the week, mostly concerning himself with the short-term affects.

As you watch Bengara’s progression though the week, you slowly see his mental state deteriorate much to the descriptions of Dr. Avidan. The lack of sleep hindering is productivity at work and even messing with his perception of reality.

By day five, he was suffering laughing fits and could not form proper sentences while doing his video diary logs.

By the end of the week, he decided he’d had enough and crashed out. His conclusion is to suggest to not do this yourself, though it’s entirely possible to function on less than five hours of sleep. You made it through university, right?