[fny]

I was on a polyphasic sleep schedule for two weeks when I was in high school. I had an econ class where the teacher didn't mind if I fell asleep. It worked fairly well for about two weeks. Towards the end, I was very sleep deprived, but I didn't realize it: I had forgotten what it felt like to be fully rested.

While the increased hours in a day we're incredible, mentally intensive tasks were difficult. Homework was easy, but working through AMC practice questions did not go as well.

It's a clear quantity vs quality trade-off.

I stopped the experiment early when I started having trouble falling asleep in that econ class.

Also, I felt perpetual in this somewhat giddy state: that feeling when you just catch a second wind and everything seems funny. Mild delirium. In retrospect, it seems like hypomania.

I could see a case for polyphasic sleep for a few weeks at a time if you're in a crunch to do a lot of work that doesn't require too much thinking. Recharge for a week and repeat if necessary. Otherwise, it's a really, really bad idea.