I have often said that I never seem to get my Christmas wish... a 48 hour day! Time is the greatest enemy of all and if we only had more of it we might be able to lead more fulfilling lives.

I checked out the website and there was an interesting sidenote. Although he says it's important to convert to a more nutritious diet (I agree) he says that one drawback was food cravings, particularly grape juice which is a simple carbohydrate with a high glycemic index and high sugar content.

What's interesting about this is that it is indicative of an increase in cortisol. High levels of cortisol generate carbohydrate cravings such as mentioned above. Cortisol is responsible for the body entering into a catabolic, muscle-wasting state.

Most of our testosterone production and growth hormone production is generated during sleep. One of growth hormone's responsibilities is retaining and building muscle. When the body produces testosterone, the cortisol levels are diminished. Testosterone is produced by LH the leutenizing hormone. Since LH is produced when we sleep, when we don't sleep enough, LH levels decrease, and testosterone levels are subsequently lower. With t-levels dropping off, and cortisol levels increasing, the body goes into a catabolic state and begins to use muscle for energy. Do you really want to decrease testosterone and growth hormone levels? (I admit that I saw somewhere that getting into a theta state can help with GH levels)

I'm not sure to what degree the levels of REM sleep derived from polyphasic sleep affects T-levels, cortisol, and growth hormone. All the bodybuilding gurus (and this is now high-tech stuff) say that if you're trying to build muscle, you need rest. I realize that most people considering this aren't into bodybuilding, but bodybuilder or not the body produces the same hormones during sleep, and cortisol is the enemy of muscle tissue. Consider too that every pound of muscle burns 50 calories a day for you. Lose 5 lbs of muscle and you will need to reduce caloric intake by 250 calories/day if you don't want to see an increase in your waistline.

One suggestion to help reduce cortisol levels is to make sure to get enough protein (1-1/2 grams per pound of lean body weight) , try to stay away from high glycemic foods, (the zone diet may be the ticket here as it keeps insulin levels stable) make sure to get plenty of vitamin C (1000 mg/day) and possibly supplement between meals with a good glutamine supplement so the body doesn't catabolize itself to get needed glutamine. Note however that by ensuring enough protein, you likely will not need glutamine supplementation.