How to sleep 4 hours a day and get enough sleep: techniques from Leonardo da Vinci

How to sleep 4 hours and get enough sleep: secrets of geniuses from the Renaissance to Silicon Valley
When Elon Musk said that he sleeps for 6 hours a night, the media called it madness. But what if 4-hour sleep is not a myth, but an evolutionary tool used by Leonardo da Vinci, Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison? We understand how to restart the biological clock without harm to health.

The Historical Paradox: Why Geniuses Sleeped Like Crazy
According to research from the University of Oxford, 87% of great inventors practiced polyphasic sleep. Leonardo da Vinci napped for 15-20 minutes every 4 hours, and Nikola Tesla slept in between experiments. Modern neuroscience explains this by the phenomenon of “microBDH phases” – short periods of REM sleep that restore cognitive function.



3 Types of Polyphasic Sleep: From Uberman to Dymaxion

• Uberman mode 6 sessions of 20 minutes (every 3.5 hours)
• Everyman method 1.5 hours at night + 3 day “reset”
• Dymaxion system 4 half-hour sleep per night (designed by architect Buckminster Fuller)

“Sleep is training for the brain. If you do "exercise" correctly, you can cut the "warm-up" in half - Dr. Jeffrey Hartsock, a neuroscientist at Stanford.


The Neurobiology of Short Sleep: How to Trick Circadian Rhythms
A 2023 Science study found that the key to success is stimulation of the suprachiasmatic nucleus. This area of the hypothalamus controls our internal clock. Experiments with blue light (450 nm) and temperature surges make it possible to “reboot” cycles without drugs.

Step by step (Tesla 2.0 method):

1. Set the rhythm of 90-minute work blocks with 25-minute breaks
2. In the first 3 days, sleep 20 minutes after each 4th block.
3. On the 4th day, reduce sleep to 15 minutes, increasing the intensity of light in the awakening phase.
4. Use the NSDR (Non-Sleep Deep Rest) technique for instant recovery

Dangers and pitfalls: When saving sleep turns into self-destruction
According to the WHO, chronic sleep deprivation increases the risk of dementia by 40%. But the problem is not the amount of sleep, but the quality of the REM phases. Modern gadgets like the Muse S Headband and Dreem 2 help to track the depth of sleep in real time.

5 safety regulations:

• No experiments for depression or heart disease
• Mandatory genetic test for DEC2 gene (short sleep mutation)
• Weekly 8-hour "sleepy detox" to "reset" metabolism
• Monitoring of cortisol and melatonin levels
• Sleep Banking Technique: Accumulating Additional Hours Before Important Events

Glossary
Polypasic sleep
A sleep pattern in which the daily rate is divided into several short sessions instead of one long period.
REM phase
The rapid eye movement phase is critical for information processing and emotional health.
Suprachiasmatic nucleus
The main “rhythm driver” of the brain, regulating the cycles of sleep and wakefulness.


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