I had to transit anyways, and I found it hard to work in transit. In hindsight, I had terrible sleeping habits, and eventually, it forced me to start taking naps wherever I could. A schedule materialized organically and became the norm when I gained the trust of my instructors.

And yeah, it was for a competitive advantage. Not within my school, but for college. I didn't understand how college or scholarships worked until my 10th year, which meant that I had to become competitive much quicker than other applicants.

On a side note, the worst periods were phasing in-and-out of schedule during winter and summer break (I worked a 9-to-5 on breaks), which I did three or four times.

You really put yourself through a wringer at a tender age. Not to sound flippant, but I doubt many people would be capable of that. Congratulations on surviving what you put yourself through. I hope your habits are more ordinary these days.

I can't make any recommendations (because it's anecdotal) but I did have some good experience with biphasic sleep when studying mathematics for the university exams. Roughly the schedule was:

- Wake up at around 9 am, study till around 3 pm.

- Sleep till around 7 pm.

- Study some more, till 2-3 am.

- Sleep again.

I think there is something about the sleep that organizes your thoughts and therefore it might very beneficial to sleep more often (but not necessarily less) if you are either learning something very quickly or trying to solve a difficult mental problem.