Everyman 2

The standard Everyman 2

Everyman 2, or E2, is a highly popular schedule in the Everyman line. It is also one of the most attempted polyphasic schedules over the recent years. It consists of 2 naps and a core sleep of 4.5h by default. 

Content

  1. History
  2. Mechanism
  3. Adaptation
  4. Alternate Variants
    1. 5-Hour Core
    2. Early Core
    3. Late Core
    4. Somewhat Equidistant
    5. Pronap
    6. E2-shortened
    7. E2-extended
      1. Standard variant
      2. Alternate variants
    8. Third Shift
  5. Lifestyle Considerations

History

Everyman 2 is part of the Ubersleep Formula that details the Everyman schedules with the number of naps and the duration of the core sleep. Along with E4 and E5, E2 is a polyphasic schedule that looks more like monophasic sleep than other more extreme schedules. After Puredoxyk successfully adapted to E3 and coined it the epitome of Everyman sleep, E2, E4 and E5 came into existence. 

The naming of the Everyman schedules, starting from the present E1, has been modified over the years to be more consistent with all other polyphasic schedules. E2 used to be E4.5 to represent the core duration; however, over the years it becomes E2 to represent the number of naps.

In the most recent years, it has garnered a massive amount of attempts. Thus, it is deservingly one of the most popular polyphasic schedules of all time.

Mechanism

Everyman 1

As the next step after E1, E2 removes one more cycle from the core and adds the second nap.

Core

  • The premise behind this mechanics is that one 20m nap can replace one 90m cycle of sleep. The REM amount that each nap can provide will be able to sustain alertness just as well as a 90m sleep duration.
  • The core sleep of E2 has 3 full cycles of 90m each.
  • The general idea is to follow the body’s natural rhythm while sensibly maintaining other work/school schedules and commitments.
  1. Usually, it is easier to stay alert in the day than in the night during the transition from a typical monophasic schedule. This means that the wake gap between the first nap and the end of the core should be the shortest.
  2. The gap before core can be longer because of higher alertness during late afternoon hours.
  • The 4.5hr core allows all SWS needs to be met even during adaptation. This is because even monophasic sleepers typically gain all the required SWS by the middle of the night, through their third sleep cycle. This assurance allows greater flexibility in core placement with the best placement being around around midnight.
  • It is advisable to have a core during the graveyard hours (midnight through 8AM for a good balance of REM and SWS pressures.

Naps

  • By default, the first nap is around the sunrise hours (REM peak). This virtually guarantees quality REM sleep for the bulk of the nap
  • The second nap is often around afternoon hours. It may only contain light sleep rather than REM sleep. This is the case if this nap is late into the afternoon (e.g, 4 PM onward).
  • As the core is shorter, another nap becomes necessary to divide the much longer wake gap in the day. Both naps create an ideal homeostatic distance between each sleep to give adequate rest between each wake period.

Adaptation

Cold turkey

The most common methods to adapt to Everyman 2 seems to be cold turkey. It has proven to be a most efficient adaptation method. Because of the higher likelihood to retain the necessary amount of SWS during adaptation, sleepers only need to stick around and wait until REM sleep fully repartitions in the core and the nap(s).

The 4.5h core is also a moderately difficult transition from monophasic sleep. This is even better for those who are used to 6-7h monophasic per day. 

Gradual Adaptation

Gradual adaptation from E1 takes a very long time; the adaptation to E1 by itself is often already time-consuming. Over time, natural wakes will be present more in the naps, and less so in the core. It is not until after a long time of staying adapted on the schedule that natural wakes occur more often. Nap duration may occasionally shorten down to 15 minutes. 

Once E2’s adaptation is complete, the next step can be E3 or E3-extended (for E2-extended sleepers).

Alternate Variants

Everyman 2 has a reasonable amount of total sleep (similar to the likes of DC1) and only 3 sleeps each day. Most of the sleep total also goes in the core. This gives E2 a wide array of scheduling options. Over time, there have been at least a couple, if not more than a few, of the listed variants below. This opens up for a lot of options to fit E2 into different lifestyles.

5h Core

E2 with a 5h core

This uncommon variant is still Everyman 2 (not extended), as it is a minor change. According to about 8 EEG reports from Polyphasic Society, the period from 4.5-5hrs in a single sleep appears to consist of REM. We call this a statistically likely REM period. However, this may vary across individuals; additionally, this assertion is currently under review. 

Recently, there have been a bit more successful adaptations to this utility variant. 

  • People who want to have a more comfortable time flexing the core sleep after adapting. The 5h core gives more light sleep and has demonstrated the possibility for flexible sleep times. 
  • Those with a somewhat high REM/SWS requirement (e.g, ~120m).
  • Those who do not want to reduce sleep too much.
  • Alternatively, this variant also reinforces a somewhat more physically active lifestyle without too much of a downside. Polyphasic beginners or those who are at the final years of growing (~18-19) can also attempt this variant. 
  • The 5h core can also push the wake gap until the first nap a bit longer than the 4.5h core.
  • This core duration also tolerates a bit more hiccups from time to time (e.g, insufficient time to cool down to sleep, or some forced delay of start time).
  • One sleeper has proven that a 5h core E2 can enable a SEVAMAYL adaptation (5h core). The buffer amount from the slightly longer core sleep makes it possible to flex each nap and even the core sleep.

However, during the adaptation, it may be more difficult to wake up from a 5h core than from a 4.5h core. It will take some time for the body to perform wake time programming. Regardless, currently a 5h core E2 remains a great option.

Early Core

The core in SWS peak

This is a much less popular Everyman 2 variant.

  • Most of the core is wholly in the SWS peak.
  • In exchange for evening social life, those who pick this variant may benefit from their early bedtime on monophasic sleep. Early risers can also capitalize on the early wake to start their day earlier.
  • Both naps rotate backward on the clock to start earlier.
  • The second nap, now close to noon, can fit better into the noon break.
  • This variant gives a lot of nighttime hours for night owls, which may be a similar advantage to Segmented sleep.

However, it is generally quite difficult to adapt to this variant. There is only one nap around sunrise hours after staying awake for many hours during graveyard hours. Those who usually have a later bedtime (e.g, 11 PM or later) should only attempt this variant if there is no other scheduling choice to make E2 work.

Late Core

The core is out of SWS peak

Contrary to the previous variant, this Everyman 2 variant allows the core to be out of SWS peak, or at even as late as 2 AM. This should still be doable.

  • Strong management of dark period (e.g, 3 hours of dark period before the core), food and exercise. It is because the core is long enough to sustain SWS and some amount of REM sleep as it is closer to REM peak. Without careful management of these circadian cues, do not rotate naps equally late. Otherwise, shorten the gaps before both naps 30-60 minutes.
  • REM pressure is still relatively low until after 2 or 3AM, so SWS should have no problem entering the early sleep cycles of a late core.
  • Those with lower SWS requirements will greatly enjoy this variant.
  • It also allows sleepers to have social time in the evening. 

Further considerations include:

  • On sunlight-based circadian, you want to keep the first nap in or close to REM peak ending by 9AM (latest 10AM).
  • Keep the second nap before 5PM to retain some chance of an afternoon REM nap and avoid SWS. 
  • Neither the wake period between the naps nor the second nap and core should be longer than 8 hours; that has often caused failures to adapt. Few people did manage to adapt to a gap larger than 8 hours, so it is not recommendable.

Somewhat Equidistant

Somewhat equidistant sleep blocks

One of the rarest E2 scheduling option is this somewhat equidistantly scheduled sleep blocks. The ideas behind this scheduling option are:

  • Use the core as a blanket duration to stay awake until very late morning hours (close to noon/lunch break).
  • Once adapted, the night will feel much shorter as there is more time awake until almost noon. The core usually starts around midnight or slightly earlier; this trait can resemble certain reduced monophasic lifestyles with a very early morning wake time.

However, there are rarely any successful adaptations. This is mostly attributed to the very long morning wake gap; the nap is also not in REM peak. Staying awake during these early morning hours can become overwhelming in stage 3; furthermore, the second nap reports to be very heavy (which may suggest some possible SWS wake).

However, this variant can still work if it is possible to nap in the middle of the work gap and right after work.

Pronap

Longer First Nap

The first nap is 30m long

As soon as the concept of a Pronap came out, a lot of Everyman 2 variants have applied it and has reported some success. Many people have tried to schedule a long morning wake gap to accommodate for school and work. Here, the idea is to lengthen the first nap to ~30-45m as a way to get in more REM sleep. The benefits of this variant are:

  • People with higher REM requirements
  • Those who often struggle to stay awake around REM-peak hours.
  • The Pronap can yield more alertness sustaining than a regular 20m nap in early morning hours. 

However, so far success rate remains modest with a long morning wake period. Thus, this wake period should not be any longer than 7h.

Core Extension and Longer First Nap

E2 with a 5h core and a Pronap

Alternatively, slightly extending the core to 5h while using a Pronap is also a viable approach. Even though there allegedly is no successful adaptation to this variant, it does have some niches:

  • Further increase the flexibility of scheduling and a longer daytime wake gap (between 2 naps mostly).
  • People with overall higher sleep requirements may find this variant fitting.
  • Despite the similar amount of sleep to E1, the advantage is that there are 2 naps per day. This accelerates the process of learning to fall asleep in the short naps compared to only 1 daytime nap.
  • The Pronaps of 40m and 45m so far have reported adaptation success.

It is also important to keep in mind that the Pronap poses a danger of oversleeping during adaptation. This in return lengthens the Pronap to a 90m core or so (DC1-extended). This is because of the intensified REM wake when adapting (or some SWS) that leads to an oversleep. It is therefore necessary to stay on guard with extra alarms when picking the Pronap.

Although there have been reported incidents of the Pronap’s failure, certain experienced sleepers have been able to take advantage of these oversleeps to adapt to DC1-extended (4.5-1.5h core combination) instead. This can ultimately salvage a failing polyphasic adaptation, instead of reaching for a full recovery on monophasic sleep.

E2-Shortened

E2-shortened with a Pronap

A new father in the Discord community has adapted to this variant. He capitalized on the Pronap while shortening the core down to only 3h20m. He has adapted to this variant and maintaining it in the face of daily life for approximately 1.5 years.

Only sleepers with reduced sleep requirements should attempt to cut out a cycle from the 4.5h core. It will become E3 with only 2 naps, while E3 by itself is already a very intense schedule.

Extended

Standard Variant

E2-extended

Like other polyphasic schedules, extended versions of Everyman 2 are also viable and have recorded a lot of attempts. However, it has a generally low adaptation success rate, and only a handful of people have made it work. The concepts of E2-extended are the following:

  • Extend the core sleep by a full cycle, which is equal to E1’s core.
  • The only people who should need this are those under 18 years of age, to get closer to a safe amount of sleep (6 hours 40 minutes) for the developing brain and body. Teenagers are often sleep deprived in high school, sleeping 6 hours a night or so. So, adding a nap before and after school can vastly improve health and quality of life.
  • Similarly, people who cannot afford a long monophasic core sleep because of lifestyle can attempt E2-extended.
  • Note that sleepers should adhere to these naps on the weekend as well. Or else, skipping a nap may result in microsleep-ridden tiredness 1-2 hours after the skipped nap.

However, the downsides seem to far outweigh its benefits.

  • E2-extended is often outclassed by E1-extended and even regular E1. Both of these schedules have a more convenient scheduling.
  • On E2-extended, the total sleep is high enough; this often causes high sleep onset for the naps, or the core altogether. Attempters have reported to take many weeks to get the hang of the naps, while adaptation is still in progress.
  • The core sleep starting at 10 PM is early for a lot of people. 

So far, there is only one successful case with the first nap being only 2h after the 6h core (a high sleep needs individual). While this improves the nuisance of having to place the naps at unfavorable spots in the day, it is often times largely unrealistic to fall asleep in the nap after merely 2h. 

Alternate Variants

6-hour Core

An alternate E2-extended

Although it has been strangely an unfriendly outcome for Everyman 2-extended, there are hidden potentials for exploitation.

  • The above rotation of E2-extended allows the core to start at a reasonably late time; this is approximately the same as a typical monophasic core sleep. If the bedtimes are the same, then the transition to this core length should be fairly doable.
  • The remaining naps are then around noon break and after school/work hours.
  • The wake gaps appear to be reasonable to handle during adaptation at the downside of having to nap twice in the day. Since there is no successful adaptation with this scheduling so far, it is a tempting option to try out. More data is needed to conclude if this variant bests the originally proposed E2-extended variant.

6.5-hour Core

E2-extended with a 6.5h core

And lastly, similar to Siesta and E1, the 6.5h core duration is applicable on E2-extended. 

The purpose is the same – to better secure REM sleep requirements in individuals with elevated REM needs. The placement of naps resemble the first alternate extended variant. 

In 2021, there has been one successful case with the 6.5h core. The adaptation period was reportedly very smooth and completed after ~5 weeks. The E2-extended sleeper took advantage of a nap after work, and a nap during noon break to recharge energy efficiently. Although more data is necessary, this suggests that the E2-extended variant with a nap around noon and a nap after work hours (~4-6 PM) may pave the way for more success than the original E2-extended variant.  

Third Shift

E2 under a third shift

Everyman 2 is one of the few polyphasic schedules with a successful adaptation under third shift condition. Third shifts generally boosts the adaptation difficulty to insane levels, and even simple schedules like Segmented can become outlandish.

Because of the rare adaptation, it is not worth attempting to E2 without the prior preparation to switch to the new sleep times. A new dark period will be necessary to shape new sleep habits.

The core sleep may be completely inflexible because of the flipped circadian. This means it is necessary to sleep at the same hours for this core during even off-days after adaptation to keep the circadian rhythm in check. In the long run, health issues may still ensue as a result of a sustained shifted circadian rhythm.

Lifestyle Considerations

Research

Interested in a research paper on Everyman 2? Search here. 

Benefits

As a moderately difficult schedule, achieving E2 is definitely an accomplishment. The main benefits of Everyman 2 often revolve around:

  • Eliminating sleep deprivation from the shortened monophasic sleep, due to the inability to sleep for longer.
  • Enjoying the benefits of the needed discipline to achieve E2, like increased productivity and stable sleep habits.
  • The fact of accomplishing the adaptation, which is more likely than for other schedules.
  • Improved sleep quality, e.g, a much deeper core experience.
  • REM naps deliver vivid dreaming experiences which are easier to remember than dreams on monophasic sleep. This can be useful for lucid dreaming enthusiasts.
  • Days can feel less distinct, since you’re unconscious several hours less at night. You’ll get up or fall asleep (in the nap) when everyone else is asleep, which can be odd. Mentally, on E2 you will get accustomed to this and regain a sense of separate days.

Miscellaneous

  • Students who can nap before, between or after classes can pick E2. The relatively tolerable adaptation difficulty helps even more. Work and performance can be sustainable during the whole adaptation.
Fitting E2 into regular 9-to-5 work days
  1. Part-time jobs can also be conducive to this sleep spacing. 
  2. Full-time jobs can work with this schedule, if you are able to take the first nap right before work (possibly at your office/car) as well as the second one in the early afternoon. 
  • Night owls in general often appreciate this schedule. The ability to rotate this schedule later than other harder schedules is also very appealing to many students; as late as 1am or max 2am is doable. This makes it relatively nightlife friendly and it also beats DC1 in the advantage of allowing later core time.
  • The standard scheduling of E2 also requires only 1 short daytime nap, which puts it on equal terms with biphasic sleep in terms of utility. The rejuvenation power of a 20m nap can also really rival a daytime core’s.
  • The ability to exercise to some extent and flex sleep (including the core) after adaptation is also promising.
  • Although taking a lot of damage, one adapted E2 sleeper (4.5h core) was able to fully recovery from a 5h time zone travelling incident.
  • Two other adapted sleepers were also able to consume some amount of weed during and after adaptation. This suggests that limited amounts of drinking and substance use may be possible on E2.
  • E2 is also useful for people who share a bed or room with someone else. It is not too difficult to find the same sleep or wake time as the other person’s if they agree to a consistent sleep or wake time.

Caution

However, high-REM-requirements individuals who cannot complete E2 adaptation (e.g, because of insufficient REM) can switch to a Dual Core schedule with a longer sleep around dawn. This can be a weakness of E2 and other Everyman schedules, where the repartitioning of REM sleep for these individuals is more troublesome with mere 20m naps.

Conclusion

Conclusively, E2 is an amazing polyphasic schedule in terms of usage stats and well-rounded sleep distribution. It also offers an impressive amount of sleep reduction each day.

Main author: GeneralNguyen

Page last updated: 8 April 2021