I've got to learn how to master this... imagine what I could get done if I could stay up all night long when the family is asleep... I'd be rich, bitch!

After a quick google search to prove to myself that I remembered correctly I pulled up some interesting results. http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=2201. The one that I remembed was Leonardo Da Vinci. He only slept for 15 minutes at a time throughout the day. Time periods of every four hours. The list is amazing at how many individuals were able to achieve so much with such little sleep. Props to them all!

Everyone points to Leonardo Da Vinci as a successful adopter of polyphasic sleep. My response is that I don't see how going insane and cutting off your own ear can be considered successful. Was he bipolar or did polyphasic sleep drive his add mad. Epic winning, or total insanity? You decide.

True enough, but genius and sanity are never in the same boat. You can only drive with one or the other before she tips over. Still, a good read for anyone that has the ABILITY to actually do something like this. I know I don't, nor do I wish I did, I only get 4 hours of sleep a night already, and that's pushing it.

Vincent van Gogh is the artist you are thinking of. His mental illness is the area of much speculation: Epilepsy, bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia, absinthe induced personality disorder...This is an interesting article: The Illness of Vincent van Gogh
http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/159/4/519

Da Vinci, on the other hand, lived to the ripe old age of 71. The last 3 years of his life he spent as a guest of the King Francis I of France.

Haha good catch. I was about to say, "when did Da Vinci cut off his own ear? Somewhere the pages of history have been altered."

I need to cut back on the crack smoking, then maybe I'll be OK. Da Vinci was pretty damned successful.

I hear that improves insulin sensitivity so you can shuffle nutrients to your muscle cells bro!

Doesn't surprise me... the most accomplished are the ones with vision and fire in their ass. And they want to get shit done. Polyphasic sleep works, but I wouldn't go cold turkey. Here's how I went about it: Adaping A Polyphasic Sleep Schedule

Interesting piece. Also, I commented on your shit but used the wrong URL in the first comment, so I submitted the same comment again with the right URL. Feel free to go in and delete the first one.