Okay folks, don't expect daily updates going forward. I don't have that much interesting to say at this point.
Since my crash, I have been "off the wagon". Saturday after tennis, I laid down with the wife for a nap...which ended up lasting 90 minutes. From there I just could not get excited about getting up in the middle of the night. It being the weekend may have had a little to do with it, I dunno. Sunday I managed to get up early...but then went back to sleep with my wife around 7. Monday, I made a half-hearted attempt to get back on schedule--set my clock for 3:30 AM, but I wasn't feeling it, and didn't get up.
Finally tonight, I'm back to "core sleep". The wife and I actually went to bed early last night, as neither of us could keep our eyes open at 10. Due to the early bedtime, I set my clock for 2:30. I actually woke up before it went off, and felt awake and ready to get up, so I did. I am feeling a little headachy at the moment. I am not sure if that is from lack of sleep, or the beers I drank last night.
I'm actually shooting for something today which was one of the enticements of polyphasic sleep for me in the first place: I plan to do an early-morning workout. I am hoping that will raise my energy and clear the fog as well.
I will continue to update as interesting things occur.
Onward!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Day 9: crash.
Obviously, yesterday did not start out great, and it did not get any better. By the time my wife left for work at 8, I was fairly miserable. My head felt like it was in a vise. Being as how there is only so much discomfort that I am willing to endure, I threw in the towel. I went back to bed, and did not set an alarm.
Particularly at first, I was on a sleep rollercoaster. Jerking in and out of sleep, with vivid, hallucination-like dreams. Even without an alarm, I did wake up within about 45 minutes, just like I've been trained. But I stayed in bed, and went back to sleep. Eventually, I woke up around 12:30 PM, so I got an additional 4.5 hours of sleep. I felt great then, and had a very productive day. I didn't take any additional naps, natch.
So maybe I am just not cut out for this polyphasic sleep thing, who knows. When the sleep deprivation gets tough, Joe gets going. But it seems to eventually reach a point where it just doesn't feel healthy, you know? Perhaps I should try to find the nerve to push through these moments, but I dunno.
I'm still not ready to give up my extra hours of productivity every day, though, so I'm trying to get right back on the horse. Had core sleep this morning from 12 to 4:30 AM.
So I'm not as sure today, and it's more of a question.
Onward?
Particularly at first, I was on a sleep rollercoaster. Jerking in and out of sleep, with vivid, hallucination-like dreams. Even without an alarm, I did wake up within about 45 minutes, just like I've been trained. But I stayed in bed, and went back to sleep. Eventually, I woke up around 12:30 PM, so I got an additional 4.5 hours of sleep. I felt great then, and had a very productive day. I didn't take any additional naps, natch.
So maybe I am just not cut out for this polyphasic sleep thing, who knows. When the sleep deprivation gets tough, Joe gets going. But it seems to eventually reach a point where it just doesn't feel healthy, you know? Perhaps I should try to find the nerve to push through these moments, but I dunno.
I'm still not ready to give up my extra hours of productivity every day, though, so I'm trying to get right back on the horse. Had core sleep this morning from 12 to 4:30 AM.
So I'm not as sure today, and it's more of a question.
Onward?
Friday, October 10, 2008
Day 8: ugh.
They say the Everyman schedule gets rough after a week. Apparently, they are right.
First of all, I think this is the first time I have had to take a nap earlier than scheduled because I just could not stay awake. Forget 11 AM, it was all I could do to make it till 10. Heck, I was ready to crawl in bed after my wife left for work at 8.
It was an, um...interesting nap as well. I felt like I was on the borderline of hallucinating. I kept waking up with a start after thinking I'd heard something. Or even seen something, even though I was wearing a sleep mask. It was like my brain was having a hard time distinguishing the real world from the dream world. Fun. I wonder if that weird, gradually-waking-up feeling from yesterday was the start of this. The good news is, maybe this is my body and brain adapting to polyphasic sleep? The whole idea is to enter REM sleep very quickly, so maybe this is what's happening.
More good news is that I did feel great after this nap. I was very energetic, and got tons done. Ironically after the early nap, I was worried that I was too keyed up to take my next nap, even though I took it on time. I also had a lot going on, so I was feeling a bit rushed to take this nap, which I figured did not bode well. Due to feeling a time crunch, I used the Nap26 program again, instead of the Easy2Sleep/alarm clock combo. Much to my surprise, I had a great nap! Went to sleep quickly, slept well, and awoke refreshed. Wow!
But later that evening, I started to feel like I was in trouble. Rather than starting to feel tired right around 11, which has been a pretty consistent pattern, it started to hit much earlier, like around 8. Worse, it wasn't that "yawny" kind of tired; it was that brain-dead, I'm very tired kind of feeling. I pushed through it, though, thinking that changing the timing of my core sleep would be more likely to screw me up than changing a nap.
But my head was on the pillow at 11:00 and one second, I'm here to tell you. Since I was so tired, and in an attempt to make sure I got my full 4.5 hours, I set my Shake Awake for 3:45 AM. After last night's "throw it in the floor and try to go back to sleep" experience, I also set an audible alarm for 4. I commented to my wife that if there was a night I was going to oversleep, this was it.
But I didn't. I awoke promptly at 3:45. I had slept soundly, too--no 12:45 wakeup this time. But oh, did I feel yucky. Knowing that I had the backup alarm, I stayed in bed and tried to gather myself together. I did not fall back to sleep, and finally stumbled out to the living room at 4.
This is the worst I have felt in the wee hours. It's not so much tiredness as it is that I feel very headachy, not something I'm prone to. After 90 minutes awake, I suppose I feel a little better, but still pretty yucky. We'll see how the rest of the day goes. So with more reluctance than usual, I say:
Onward!
First of all, I think this is the first time I have had to take a nap earlier than scheduled because I just could not stay awake. Forget 11 AM, it was all I could do to make it till 10. Heck, I was ready to crawl in bed after my wife left for work at 8.
It was an, um...interesting nap as well. I felt like I was on the borderline of hallucinating. I kept waking up with a start after thinking I'd heard something. Or even seen something, even though I was wearing a sleep mask. It was like my brain was having a hard time distinguishing the real world from the dream world. Fun. I wonder if that weird, gradually-waking-up feeling from yesterday was the start of this. The good news is, maybe this is my body and brain adapting to polyphasic sleep? The whole idea is to enter REM sleep very quickly, so maybe this is what's happening.
More good news is that I did feel great after this nap. I was very energetic, and got tons done. Ironically after the early nap, I was worried that I was too keyed up to take my next nap, even though I took it on time. I also had a lot going on, so I was feeling a bit rushed to take this nap, which I figured did not bode well. Due to feeling a time crunch, I used the Nap26 program again, instead of the Easy2Sleep/alarm clock combo. Much to my surprise, I had a great nap! Went to sleep quickly, slept well, and awoke refreshed. Wow!
But later that evening, I started to feel like I was in trouble. Rather than starting to feel tired right around 11, which has been a pretty consistent pattern, it started to hit much earlier, like around 8. Worse, it wasn't that "yawny" kind of tired; it was that brain-dead, I'm very tired kind of feeling. I pushed through it, though, thinking that changing the timing of my core sleep would be more likely to screw me up than changing a nap.
But my head was on the pillow at 11:00 and one second, I'm here to tell you. Since I was so tired, and in an attempt to make sure I got my full 4.5 hours, I set my Shake Awake for 3:45 AM. After last night's "throw it in the floor and try to go back to sleep" experience, I also set an audible alarm for 4. I commented to my wife that if there was a night I was going to oversleep, this was it.
But I didn't. I awoke promptly at 3:45. I had slept soundly, too--no 12:45 wakeup this time. But oh, did I feel yucky. Knowing that I had the backup alarm, I stayed in bed and tried to gather myself together. I did not fall back to sleep, and finally stumbled out to the living room at 4.
This is the worst I have felt in the wee hours. It's not so much tiredness as it is that I feel very headachy, not something I'm prone to. After 90 minutes awake, I suppose I feel a little better, but still pretty yucky. We'll see how the rest of the day goes. So with more reluctance than usual, I say:
Onward!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Day 7: Strange Day. Indeed?
Yeah, today was an odd one.
I once again took naps exactly as scheduled, 11 AM and 5 PM. I experienced a weird sleep pattern during both naps that is going to be difficult to describe. The best I can do is to say it was like I was gradually falling off to sleep, but then the whole thing went into reverse, and I gradually came back into a more conscious state. It may not sound unusual, but it felt unusual. Normally when I wake up, I wake up all at once. But it wasn't exactly waking up anyway, as I don't think I was quite asleep. And I wasn't wide awake after the experience, as I was still in a very relaxed state. Has anyone else noticed anything like this? I am confident it must be related to my new sleep schedule, and specifically related to the fact that I have been doing this for awhile, since I have not noted this phenomenon previously.
The 11 AM nap was not very restful. I'm not sure if I ever made it all the way to sleep or not. Not surprisingly, I got quite sleepy before the 5 PM nap. Felt pretty yucky, too--the weather was rainy today, and I was struggling with some weird kind of abdominal pain/tenderness. This pain lasted all day, and it hasn't completely gone away even now, though I think it has improved, at least.
But the 5 PM nap was great, and I awoke feeling energized, in spite of once again experiencing that "gradual awakening" phenomenon. I felt great the rest of the night.
The wife and I laid down for the night around 11:15. I decided to go back to pajamas, since I had started feeling a bit chilly in my skivvies. Since it was a bit past 11, and to allow a few minutes to fall asleep, I set my alarm for 4. The first weird thing is, just like last night, I woke up around 12:45. I carefully checked the clock this time to make sure I was reading it right. This would be around the time that the Easy2Sleep program would end, so I wonder if that is what is causing me to wake up. I was able to quickly return to sleep, however.
The next weird thing happened at 4. I always wondered why everyone did not own vibrating alarm clocks, since I could not imagine sleeping through one. This particular model is also difficult to figure out how to turn off in a half-asleep state. But the tired mind does not overcomplicate things when it comes to problem-solving: apparently, when the clock went off, I removed it from under my pillow and put it on the floor! But fortunately, it apparently "woke me up enough", as I found myself lying there in bed right afterwards, with the thought in my mind, "Don't I remember the clock going off?" I glanced at my watch, and noted sure enough that it was 4:05. So I'm very fortunate that I didn't seriously oversleep, and I will be inclined to set a backup alarm in the future.
At the moment, I feel just fine. The wee morning hours are starting to feel very familiar. It's funny the things you don't consider, though--I had to WD-40 the doors in our home yesterday, in an attempt to ameliorate their late-night squeakiness!
And I'm a week in! Near as I can figure, my average daily sleep for the week is pretty much identical to the amount of sleep I'm scheduling now: 5.5 hours. It's funny how that works out, in spite of the fact that I started off with a very different plan. So I've gained 17.5 hours of "life" already, over my previous 8-hour-a-day schedule! Cool!
Onward!
I once again took naps exactly as scheduled, 11 AM and 5 PM. I experienced a weird sleep pattern during both naps that is going to be difficult to describe. The best I can do is to say it was like I was gradually falling off to sleep, but then the whole thing went into reverse, and I gradually came back into a more conscious state. It may not sound unusual, but it felt unusual. Normally when I wake up, I wake up all at once. But it wasn't exactly waking up anyway, as I don't think I was quite asleep. And I wasn't wide awake after the experience, as I was still in a very relaxed state. Has anyone else noticed anything like this? I am confident it must be related to my new sleep schedule, and specifically related to the fact that I have been doing this for awhile, since I have not noted this phenomenon previously.
The 11 AM nap was not very restful. I'm not sure if I ever made it all the way to sleep or not. Not surprisingly, I got quite sleepy before the 5 PM nap. Felt pretty yucky, too--the weather was rainy today, and I was struggling with some weird kind of abdominal pain/tenderness. This pain lasted all day, and it hasn't completely gone away even now, though I think it has improved, at least.
But the 5 PM nap was great, and I awoke feeling energized, in spite of once again experiencing that "gradual awakening" phenomenon. I felt great the rest of the night.
The wife and I laid down for the night around 11:15. I decided to go back to pajamas, since I had started feeling a bit chilly in my skivvies. Since it was a bit past 11, and to allow a few minutes to fall asleep, I set my alarm for 4. The first weird thing is, just like last night, I woke up around 12:45. I carefully checked the clock this time to make sure I was reading it right. This would be around the time that the Easy2Sleep program would end, so I wonder if that is what is causing me to wake up. I was able to quickly return to sleep, however.
The next weird thing happened at 4. I always wondered why everyone did not own vibrating alarm clocks, since I could not imagine sleeping through one. This particular model is also difficult to figure out how to turn off in a half-asleep state. But the tired mind does not overcomplicate things when it comes to problem-solving: apparently, when the clock went off, I removed it from under my pillow and put it on the floor! But fortunately, it apparently "woke me up enough", as I found myself lying there in bed right afterwards, with the thought in my mind, "Don't I remember the clock going off?" I glanced at my watch, and noted sure enough that it was 4:05. So I'm very fortunate that I didn't seriously oversleep, and I will be inclined to set a backup alarm in the future.
At the moment, I feel just fine. The wee morning hours are starting to feel very familiar. It's funny the things you don't consider, though--I had to WD-40 the doors in our home yesterday, in an attempt to ameliorate their late-night squeakiness!
And I'm a week in! Near as I can figure, my average daily sleep for the week is pretty much identical to the amount of sleep I'm scheduling now: 5.5 hours. It's funny how that works out, in spite of the fact that I started off with a very different plan. So I've gained 17.5 hours of "life" already, over my previous 8-hour-a-day schedule! Cool!
Onward!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Day 6: Settling In
Another fairly uneventful day. This may be the first day that I took all naps at the pre-planned times. I'm not sure if I slept during the 11 AM nap, but I slept well during the 5 PM nap. I continue to feel fine.
It took longer than normal to fall asleep at 11 PM; I think it was nearly 30 minutes. This was at least in part due to the fact that my wife did not go to bed promptly at 11. I also ate awfully close to bedtime.
I also once again lost sleep in the middle of the night due to her restlessness; the couch is starting to look good again. I swear I think she's doing it on purpose in an attempt to have the bed to herself! I'm not sure when she woke me up. I glanced quickly at the clock and thought it said 12-something, but at another point it was 2-something, so I'm not sure if I misread the clock the first time, or if she woke me up twice. I felt okay when the clock went off at 3:30, but reset it for 4 and laid back down due to the lost sleep. I wonder if I should have set it for 4:30--we'll see how I feel throughout the day. If needed, I may either nap early, or throw in an extra one.
Oh, and my "Shake Awake" vibrating alarm clock came in the mail today. Works like a charm: compact, easy-to-use, battery-powered, and easy to set. It woke me up instantly.
Onward!
It took longer than normal to fall asleep at 11 PM; I think it was nearly 30 minutes. This was at least in part due to the fact that my wife did not go to bed promptly at 11. I also ate awfully close to bedtime.
I also once again lost sleep in the middle of the night due to her restlessness; the couch is starting to look good again. I swear I think she's doing it on purpose in an attempt to have the bed to herself! I'm not sure when she woke me up. I glanced quickly at the clock and thought it said 12-something, but at another point it was 2-something, so I'm not sure if I misread the clock the first time, or if she woke me up twice. I felt okay when the clock went off at 3:30, but reset it for 4 and laid back down due to the lost sleep. I wonder if I should have set it for 4:30--we'll see how I feel throughout the day. If needed, I may either nap early, or throw in an extra one.
Oh, and my "Shake Awake" vibrating alarm clock came in the mail today. Works like a charm: compact, easy-to-use, battery-powered, and easy to set. It woke me up instantly.
Onward!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Day 5: Boring Is Good
I'm not sure how long I'm going to be able to blog about this, at least daily, as it is getting fairly routine at this point. So not much to talk about, but this means things are going well, in spite of the fact that I'm now sleeping less than six hours per day vs. eight-plus. But they may yet get "interesting" again, as I've heard this schedule takes a month to fully adapt to, and that some of the worst sleep dep takes around a week to kick in. And I still have a desire to try to "improve" the schedule to one of the more "radical" ones as time goes on. But I don't want to rush things, as I'm definitely not completely "settled in" to this current schedule. Once that happens, I may take the next step and switch to the "standard" Everyman schedule. This would mean 90 minutes less of core sleep per night, but one or two additional naps.
My naps are at kind of a strange place at the moment, though. I'm pretty sure I'm falling asleep, and I'm waking up feeling refreshed. However, I'm not entirely certain that I'm falling asleep. I'm not 100% aware of being asleep, and I'm not recalling any dreams. The only thing that makes me think I'm falling asleep is that I am "actively listening" to the Easy2Sleep audio program as instructed, and I'm finding at the end of the nap that I don't seem to remember "hearing" it for awhile. So either I'm falling asleep, or my attention is drifting away from the audio...or lack of sleep is doing strange things to my brain. This also means that I think today is the first day that I have successfully fallen asleep for all of my naps, so progress is being made. I'm also kind of having the feeling that the naps are lasting longer than they are, which I've heard from other polyphasers is a good sign. This seems to indicate that I am moving more quickly into the REM stage of sleep, which is why polyphasers need less sleep.
So far, I would have to declare this experiment a resounding success, in spite of the early problems. I have gained an extra 2-3 hours of active time per day, with little if any downside at the moment. I think napping is a good thing for me, as it ameliorates my tendency to grind through work without taking breaks. Even if I never transition to one of the more radical schedules, though I still plan to try, this schedule feels like it would be easy to maintain, and it's giving me some of the benefits I was going for.
For the record, since I do seem to keep moving things around a bit, naps today were at 12 PM and 5:30 PM, and core sleep was 12-4:30 AM. I think I ate a little too heavily before the noon nap, and that may have hampered that nap a bit. Also, I have gone back to taking my core sleep with my wife. She has not been disturbing my sleep with her flailing (lol), and I have not been disturbing her by arising in the wee hours. I took the 5:30 nap with her as well. I had originally planned that nap for 6, and was then going to move it to 7 due to my wife not being home then, but was feeling very tired at 5:30 so decided to git 'er done. I was an hour late getting to bed for core sleep, mainly due to some sad news I received about an old schoolmate (he's very ill), but was able to drop off to sleep quickly in spite of being troubled over that. If I've gotten nothing else out of this experience, I've learned that the Easy2Sleep/Nap26 program is awesome.
The plan for today is to take naps at 11 AM and 5 PM, and core sleep from 11:00 PM to 3:30 AM. This is the schedule I want to try to stick with going forward, as well. Once I feel solidly adjusted to that, I may try to switch to core sleep from 11 PM-2 AM, with naps at 6 AM, 11 AM, 3 PM, and 7 PM. The step after that, I think, would be the same schedule with one less nap. So still 11-2 for core, with naps at 7:15 AM, 12:30 PM, and 5:45 PM. 7:15 is a crappy time for a nap, though, so I may have to tweak that one a bit. I'd probably have to push it a little later.
Onward!
My naps are at kind of a strange place at the moment, though. I'm pretty sure I'm falling asleep, and I'm waking up feeling refreshed. However, I'm not entirely certain that I'm falling asleep. I'm not 100% aware of being asleep, and I'm not recalling any dreams. The only thing that makes me think I'm falling asleep is that I am "actively listening" to the Easy2Sleep audio program as instructed, and I'm finding at the end of the nap that I don't seem to remember "hearing" it for awhile. So either I'm falling asleep, or my attention is drifting away from the audio...or lack of sleep is doing strange things to my brain. This also means that I think today is the first day that I have successfully fallen asleep for all of my naps, so progress is being made. I'm also kind of having the feeling that the naps are lasting longer than they are, which I've heard from other polyphasers is a good sign. This seems to indicate that I am moving more quickly into the REM stage of sleep, which is why polyphasers need less sleep.
So far, I would have to declare this experiment a resounding success, in spite of the early problems. I have gained an extra 2-3 hours of active time per day, with little if any downside at the moment. I think napping is a good thing for me, as it ameliorates my tendency to grind through work without taking breaks. Even if I never transition to one of the more radical schedules, though I still plan to try, this schedule feels like it would be easy to maintain, and it's giving me some of the benefits I was going for.
For the record, since I do seem to keep moving things around a bit, naps today were at 12 PM and 5:30 PM, and core sleep was 12-4:30 AM. I think I ate a little too heavily before the noon nap, and that may have hampered that nap a bit. Also, I have gone back to taking my core sleep with my wife. She has not been disturbing my sleep with her flailing (lol), and I have not been disturbing her by arising in the wee hours. I took the 5:30 nap with her as well. I had originally planned that nap for 6, and was then going to move it to 7 due to my wife not being home then, but was feeling very tired at 5:30 so decided to git 'er done. I was an hour late getting to bed for core sleep, mainly due to some sad news I received about an old schoolmate (he's very ill), but was able to drop off to sleep quickly in spite of being troubled over that. If I've gotten nothing else out of this experience, I've learned that the Easy2Sleep/Nap26 program is awesome.
The plan for today is to take naps at 11 AM and 5 PM, and core sleep from 11:00 PM to 3:30 AM. This is the schedule I want to try to stick with going forward, as well. Once I feel solidly adjusted to that, I may try to switch to core sleep from 11 PM-2 AM, with naps at 6 AM, 11 AM, 3 PM, and 7 PM. The step after that, I think, would be the same schedule with one less nap. So still 11-2 for core, with naps at 7:15 AM, 12:30 PM, and 5:45 PM. 7:15 is a crappy time for a nap, though, so I may have to tweak that one a bit. I'd probably have to push it a little later.
Onward!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Day 4: Getting the hang of it?
Or maybe this new, less-radical schedule is just easier. Or maybe it will hit me in a week. I had a great day today. I went and played tennis with a friend at 10 AM, and got home around 2. I was trying to get some stuff done, though, and didn't lay down for my nap till 3, later than planned. Had a good nap, though again I think it ran a little long. I felt only the slightest bit groggy upon awakening, but this cleared quickly.
Since the first nap got pushed late, I pushed my second nap till 7 PM. This one was a bust, though--didn't fall asleep. Honestly, I didn't feel like I needed a nap anyway.
Laid down at 11 like clockwork. Tried sleeping with the wife again, and it worked out this time. Clock went off at 3:30. Very groggy this time upon awakening, but again, it quickly passed. As of 4:30 AM, I feel great!
Onward!
Since the first nap got pushed late, I pushed my second nap till 7 PM. This one was a bust, though--didn't fall asleep. Honestly, I didn't feel like I needed a nap anyway.
Laid down at 11 like clockwork. Tried sleeping with the wife again, and it worked out this time. Clock went off at 3:30. Very groggy this time upon awakening, but again, it quickly passed. As of 4:30 AM, I feel great!
Onward!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Day 3: The calm after the storm
There is obviously not as much to talk about now, since I'm no longer taking six naps a day.
As previously suggested, I took an unscheduled, no-pressure nap at 3 PM. I tried a different technique this time. Rather than using the Nap26 audio program, I used the "Easy2Sleep" program (by the same folks) in conjunction with an alarm. Easy2Sleep is the same as the Nap26 program, just longer. It runs for over an hour, and is intended for monophasers going to bed at night. I set an alarm for 3:45, the idea being that I would allow the average 15 minutes to go to sleep, and then I'd get a 30-minute nap. This made the nap much more enjoyable than previous naps since I felt less pressure. But 45 minutes was probably too long, as I did feel kind of groggy upon awakening. I reckon I'll try 35 or 40 minutes next time.
I then laid down with the wife at 11 PM. So much for the psychological need to go to bed with her--she was moving around so much, similar to one of our nap experiences, that I got up after 30 sleepless minutes and moved to the couch anyway. Due to the later-than-planned bedtime, I set my alarm for 4 AM rather than 3:30. I woke up easily and currently feel fine. This is more like what I hoped polyphasic sleep would be--I feel like I have already "stolen" a couple of quiet hours to get things done here in the wee hours, and I don't feel like a zombie.
I'm supposed to play tennis with a friend in the morning, so it may be noon or later before I can try a nap. And that will be right after exercise, so we'll see how that goes.
Onward!
As previously suggested, I took an unscheduled, no-pressure nap at 3 PM. I tried a different technique this time. Rather than using the Nap26 audio program, I used the "Easy2Sleep" program (by the same folks) in conjunction with an alarm. Easy2Sleep is the same as the Nap26 program, just longer. It runs for over an hour, and is intended for monophasers going to bed at night. I set an alarm for 3:45, the idea being that I would allow the average 15 minutes to go to sleep, and then I'd get a 30-minute nap. This made the nap much more enjoyable than previous naps since I felt less pressure. But 45 minutes was probably too long, as I did feel kind of groggy upon awakening. I reckon I'll try 35 or 40 minutes next time.
I then laid down with the wife at 11 PM. So much for the psychological need to go to bed with her--she was moving around so much, similar to one of our nap experiences, that I got up after 30 sleepless minutes and moved to the couch anyway. Due to the later-than-planned bedtime, I set my alarm for 4 AM rather than 3:30. I woke up easily and currently feel fine. This is more like what I hoped polyphasic sleep would be--I feel like I have already "stolen" a couple of quiet hours to get things done here in the wee hours, and I don't feel like a zombie.
I'm supposed to play tennis with a friend in the morning, so it may be noon or later before I can try a nap. And that will be right after exercise, so we'll see how that goes.
Onward!
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Day 2: ...and in conclusion...
Oh come on, I'm impulsive. I started polyphasing the day after I first heard about it. You did not really expect me to stick with it, did you?
But seriously folks, I am kidding, at least to an extent. But it is true that I am a good ways off the wagon at this point.
After my not-quite-planned four hours of "core sleep" early Friday morning, I had planned naps at 11 AM, 3 PM, 7 PM, and 11:30 PM. I had planned to go to a football game Friday evening, hence the odd timing of the 11:30 nap. I then planned to shoot for three hours of core sleep, 3-6 AM. However, it crossed my mind that if the naps went well, I might try to do without the core sleep and head back in the direction of my initial goal, the Uberman schedule.
I felt pretty zombified all morning. Though I had a long to-do list prepared, I just didn't feel like I had the mental energy to do anything. (Fortunately, nothing on there was particularly time-sensitive.)
The 11 AM nap was a complete bust. I did not fall asleep at all. After the first run-through of the Nap26 program, I had no problem deciding to run it through again, since I had gotten zero sleep. I got zero sleep the second round too, so I gave up. If I can't fall asleep in 52 minutes, I'm not falling asleep. The quiet rest was at least somewhat restorative, I suppose, and the weather was once again beautiful. So I wasn't feeling miserable, but I wasn't feeling energized either. Keep coming back to that "zombie" word.
The 3 PM nap, though, was the best nap yet. Not sure how long it took me to go to sleep, but I definitely did, and feel better upon awakening. Woke up no problem just with the Nap26 "voice". I did quite a few things differently for this nap, so I felt like I was figuring out some things that "worked'. I had eaten a good meal before this nap (but not too close), and had enjoyed a tall glass of milk as well. I cranked the AC for this nap, even tough it wasn't particularly warm outside, and cranked the bedroom fan up as well. I stripped down to skivvies for this nap, as opposed to sleeping in either street clothes or pajamas as I had been previously. I also slightly decreased the volume of the audio program, and used two pillows for my head instead of one. All of these changes seemed to be positive, so I was quite optimistic about the next nap. Still felt like a zombie, though.
Partly because of this, and partly because my wife had a rough day at work, we decided not to go to the football game after all. Therefore, I took my next nap at 8 instead of 7. I was hoping that this would make me sleepier for the nap, and I also wanted to avoid getting used to a 7:00 nap, since I think 7 AM is a lousy time for a nap due to my wife's work schedule. Prior to this I had been spending most of my time trying to stay busy at the computer (though as stated, not with much success at doing anything productive). However, after the relative success of the 3:00 nap, I felt confident to try something I hadn't done so far: sit on the couch and watch TV with the wife. I was afraid that such "relaxing" would make it harder to stay awake, and this was true to an extent, but wasn't too bad. I kept catching myself trying to lay my head back, but was successful in my efforts to not let myself get too comfortable.
Pushing my next nap back to 8 PM meant it was mostly dark for this nap, so I thought that would help. Also, due to past difficulties when the wife napped with me, I asked her to skip this one, and she agreed. However, this meant she had the TV on in the next room. I had also had food before this nap (though I don't think I had milk this time), and I stuck with all the other "improvements" that had worked before.
Still, this nap wasn't quite as good as the 3 PM nap, but I guess it was okay. I was once again successful in falling asleep, but I think it took longer this time. I think I could just hear the TV over the Nap26 audio program, but I don't know if this was much of a factor or not. However, the period after this nap was probably the best I'd felt since I started this whole thing. I was able to enjoy some more relaxed time with my wife, and had even less difficulty remaining alert than I had before the nap. So I guess even small amounts of sleep help.
So it might sound like I was doing fine, but I think emotions (for want of a better word) were starting to come into play. I was getting really freakin' tired of this whole experience. I was tired of being tired. I was tired of thinking about being tired. I was tired of the stress of each nap, wondering if it was going to be successful or not. And I was tired of not feeling productive. I wasn't a happy person, folks, and I'm only willing to sacrifice my happiness for so long.
The final straw was when my wife prepared to go to bed around 11:30. The thought of once again sending her off to bed while I stayed out in the living room by myself...just made me sad. I wanted to go with her, not just because I wanted some sleep, but because I wanted to enjoy that ritual of bedtime together with her.
So I went, and I did not set an alarm. I had it in my mind, though, that I was likely to wake up after a few hours, so I still might be able to consider this "core sleep" and proceed from it somehow. And indeed I did wake up in the middle of the night. But I think the lack of a concrete plan, coupled with the mental fatigue (more than the physical fatigue) of the past few days, conspired against my arising. So, I slept through till the morning.
And I don't even really regret it. Though I did awaken with the back soreness/stiffness that was actually one of my motivating factors to try something other than monophasic sleep, it sure did feel good to get out from under that nasty sleep dep. I feel great right now, and productive again. But where does this leave me in my polyphasic journey?
I haven't given up on it, but I do think I jumped into this too quickly (especially thinking I was going to do Uberman right off the bat!) Some things that I had read since starting already had me worried that I wasn't ready to do it. The main thing I have to do is get better at napping, and I think the time to do this is while being on a fairly "normal" sleep schedule.
I don't know if I'm sure how to get better at napping, though. I guess I'm hoping it's mostly a "practice makes perfect" kind of thing. I'm also wondering if I need to tweak my napping "strategy". I read somewhere recently that it takes the "average" person 15 minutes to fall asleep, and I think this is about where I'm at. I wonder if, at least until I can get that time down, if I shouldn't create a playlist for napping with two tracks: one being 10-15 minutes of relaxing music, and then the Nap26 program. This would take some of the pressure off of feeling like if you don't fall asleep immediately, then you're not going to get a nap of the planned duration.
I also feel like I need to wait until I get my vibrating alarm clock before I attempt any of the more "radical" schedules again. That just seems like a necessary tool since I'm living with someone who's not a polyphaser.
I've also learned that I'm going to have to schedule either core sleep or a nap around 11, so that I can go off to bed with my wife. Obviously, this is important to me psychologically. I don't think I'm going to feel like I need to stay in bed with her, but I do feel like I need to go to bed with her.
So where does that leave me for right now? I'm still thinking I could do one of "easier" schedules, especially since I've "rebooted". I may try some "no pressure" naps today if I find myself feeling drowsy (no more than one or two). Looking at PD's book, the 4.5-hour Everyman sounds very doable. Since less of your sleep is from naps, and there are fewer naps as well, I think that will relieve me from my "nap pressure" while I work out the kinks. That, and it seems like the timing of naps is not quite as critical with these schedules, so if I laid down and couldn't go to sleep, I'm hoping it would be easier to just try again later. Uberman is still my ultimate goal, but this plan sounds like something I can do while I'm improving my napping. Uberman, or anything to close to it, is not. Having a sleep schedule where you get only three hours sleep per day is one thing; having a sleep schedule like that, and then not even getting the three hours, is not doable for this old man.
So, I plan to go to bed with my wife tonight around 11. It being Saturday, I don't have to be quite as concerned about waking her up in the middle of the night, so I think I'll set an alarm for 3:30, and get up. This sounds very doable since out from under the crushing tiredness I've felt the previous two days. And I doubt it will even bother her that much--I visualize quickly turning off the alarm, going out the living room, and her falling right back to sleep. If I'm understanding the scheduling principles correctly, I believe this would put the best time for my naps at 11 AM and 5 PM.
So that's where I'm at, hanging on to this thing by my fingernails. But I really am optimistic that last night's "reboot" will allow me to proceed from here.
Humbled...but still, onward.
But seriously folks, I am kidding, at least to an extent. But it is true that I am a good ways off the wagon at this point.
After my not-quite-planned four hours of "core sleep" early Friday morning, I had planned naps at 11 AM, 3 PM, 7 PM, and 11:30 PM. I had planned to go to a football game Friday evening, hence the odd timing of the 11:30 nap. I then planned to shoot for three hours of core sleep, 3-6 AM. However, it crossed my mind that if the naps went well, I might try to do without the core sleep and head back in the direction of my initial goal, the Uberman schedule.
I felt pretty zombified all morning. Though I had a long to-do list prepared, I just didn't feel like I had the mental energy to do anything. (Fortunately, nothing on there was particularly time-sensitive.)
The 11 AM nap was a complete bust. I did not fall asleep at all. After the first run-through of the Nap26 program, I had no problem deciding to run it through again, since I had gotten zero sleep. I got zero sleep the second round too, so I gave up. If I can't fall asleep in 52 minutes, I'm not falling asleep. The quiet rest was at least somewhat restorative, I suppose, and the weather was once again beautiful. So I wasn't feeling miserable, but I wasn't feeling energized either. Keep coming back to that "zombie" word.
The 3 PM nap, though, was the best nap yet. Not sure how long it took me to go to sleep, but I definitely did, and feel better upon awakening. Woke up no problem just with the Nap26 "voice". I did quite a few things differently for this nap, so I felt like I was figuring out some things that "worked'. I had eaten a good meal before this nap (but not too close), and had enjoyed a tall glass of milk as well. I cranked the AC for this nap, even tough it wasn't particularly warm outside, and cranked the bedroom fan up as well. I stripped down to skivvies for this nap, as opposed to sleeping in either street clothes or pajamas as I had been previously. I also slightly decreased the volume of the audio program, and used two pillows for my head instead of one. All of these changes seemed to be positive, so I was quite optimistic about the next nap. Still felt like a zombie, though.
Partly because of this, and partly because my wife had a rough day at work, we decided not to go to the football game after all. Therefore, I took my next nap at 8 instead of 7. I was hoping that this would make me sleepier for the nap, and I also wanted to avoid getting used to a 7:00 nap, since I think 7 AM is a lousy time for a nap due to my wife's work schedule. Prior to this I had been spending most of my time trying to stay busy at the computer (though as stated, not with much success at doing anything productive). However, after the relative success of the 3:00 nap, I felt confident to try something I hadn't done so far: sit on the couch and watch TV with the wife. I was afraid that such "relaxing" would make it harder to stay awake, and this was true to an extent, but wasn't too bad. I kept catching myself trying to lay my head back, but was successful in my efforts to not let myself get too comfortable.
Pushing my next nap back to 8 PM meant it was mostly dark for this nap, so I thought that would help. Also, due to past difficulties when the wife napped with me, I asked her to skip this one, and she agreed. However, this meant she had the TV on in the next room. I had also had food before this nap (though I don't think I had milk this time), and I stuck with all the other "improvements" that had worked before.
Still, this nap wasn't quite as good as the 3 PM nap, but I guess it was okay. I was once again successful in falling asleep, but I think it took longer this time. I think I could just hear the TV over the Nap26 audio program, but I don't know if this was much of a factor or not. However, the period after this nap was probably the best I'd felt since I started this whole thing. I was able to enjoy some more relaxed time with my wife, and had even less difficulty remaining alert than I had before the nap. So I guess even small amounts of sleep help.
So it might sound like I was doing fine, but I think emotions (for want of a better word) were starting to come into play. I was getting really freakin' tired of this whole experience. I was tired of being tired. I was tired of thinking about being tired. I was tired of the stress of each nap, wondering if it was going to be successful or not. And I was tired of not feeling productive. I wasn't a happy person, folks, and I'm only willing to sacrifice my happiness for so long.
The final straw was when my wife prepared to go to bed around 11:30. The thought of once again sending her off to bed while I stayed out in the living room by myself...just made me sad. I wanted to go with her, not just because I wanted some sleep, but because I wanted to enjoy that ritual of bedtime together with her.
So I went, and I did not set an alarm. I had it in my mind, though, that I was likely to wake up after a few hours, so I still might be able to consider this "core sleep" and proceed from it somehow. And indeed I did wake up in the middle of the night. But I think the lack of a concrete plan, coupled with the mental fatigue (more than the physical fatigue) of the past few days, conspired against my arising. So, I slept through till the morning.
And I don't even really regret it. Though I did awaken with the back soreness/stiffness that was actually one of my motivating factors to try something other than monophasic sleep, it sure did feel good to get out from under that nasty sleep dep. I feel great right now, and productive again. But where does this leave me in my polyphasic journey?
I haven't given up on it, but I do think I jumped into this too quickly (especially thinking I was going to do Uberman right off the bat!) Some things that I had read since starting already had me worried that I wasn't ready to do it. The main thing I have to do is get better at napping, and I think the time to do this is while being on a fairly "normal" sleep schedule.
I don't know if I'm sure how to get better at napping, though. I guess I'm hoping it's mostly a "practice makes perfect" kind of thing. I'm also wondering if I need to tweak my napping "strategy". I read somewhere recently that it takes the "average" person 15 minutes to fall asleep, and I think this is about where I'm at. I wonder if, at least until I can get that time down, if I shouldn't create a playlist for napping with two tracks: one being 10-15 minutes of relaxing music, and then the Nap26 program. This would take some of the pressure off of feeling like if you don't fall asleep immediately, then you're not going to get a nap of the planned duration.
I also feel like I need to wait until I get my vibrating alarm clock before I attempt any of the more "radical" schedules again. That just seems like a necessary tool since I'm living with someone who's not a polyphaser.
I've also learned that I'm going to have to schedule either core sleep or a nap around 11, so that I can go off to bed with my wife. Obviously, this is important to me psychologically. I don't think I'm going to feel like I need to stay in bed with her, but I do feel like I need to go to bed with her.
So where does that leave me for right now? I'm still thinking I could do one of "easier" schedules, especially since I've "rebooted". I may try some "no pressure" naps today if I find myself feeling drowsy (no more than one or two). Looking at PD's book, the 4.5-hour Everyman sounds very doable. Since less of your sleep is from naps, and there are fewer naps as well, I think that will relieve me from my "nap pressure" while I work out the kinks. That, and it seems like the timing of naps is not quite as critical with these schedules, so if I laid down and couldn't go to sleep, I'm hoping it would be easier to just try again later. Uberman is still my ultimate goal, but this plan sounds like something I can do while I'm improving my napping. Uberman, or anything to close to it, is not. Having a sleep schedule where you get only three hours sleep per day is one thing; having a sleep schedule like that, and then not even getting the three hours, is not doable for this old man.
So, I plan to go to bed with my wife tonight around 11. It being Saturday, I don't have to be quite as concerned about waking her up in the middle of the night, so I think I'll set an alarm for 3:30, and get up. This sounds very doable since out from under the crushing tiredness I've felt the previous two days. And I doubt it will even bother her that much--I visualize quickly turning off the alarm, going out the living room, and her falling right back to sleep. If I'm understanding the scheduling principles correctly, I believe this would put the best time for my naps at 11 AM and 5 PM.
So that's where I'm at, hanging on to this thing by my fingernails. But I really am optimistic that last night's "reboot" will allow me to proceed from here.
Humbled...but still, onward.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Day 1: Not Yet an Übermensch
Okay, transitioning to a sleep schedule like this is really, really hard. Especially for an old man like me.
I did not even plan to start yesterday, and laid down Wednesday night at 11:30 PM for a monophasic night of sleep. I awoke at 4:30 AM and felt fairly awake, so I decided to stay up, and call that "core sleep". I planned to start my Uberman nap schedule, with naps at 9 AM, 1 PM, 5 PM, 9 PM, 1 AM, and 5 AM. I figured I might not sleep during the early naps since I was starting with five hours sleep "in the bank". However, I was committed to attempting each nap on schedule, and staying in bed the entire time. I figured I'd sleep when I needed to. And I actually was a little tired with only five hours sleep for the night, so who knows.
The 9 AM nap was fine, but I don't think I slept. Got up and felt pretty good, though, if a little dazed. Noticed an interesting phenomenon, perhaps a side effect of the binaural beats: I saw stuff with my eyes closed, and not the kind of stuff I'm used to seeing. Mostly largish, swirling, dark green blobs. The color was unusually vivid. Interesting.
The 1 PM nap was probably the best one. I didn't sleep for most of it, but I think I may have dozed off for a minute at least. No vivid dreams or anything like that, though, like I hear about some folks having. Felt great upon arising--it was a beautiful day outside, so that probably helped. Still feeling the slightest bit dazed and confused, but nothing too taxing.
My wife was home for the 5 PM nap, so she took it with me. It wasn't as relaxing as the 1 PM nap, and I'm pretty sure I didn't sleep. One of our dogs was doing some loud scratching towards the end, which didn't help.
And then the 9 PM nap. I was hoping this would be my breakthrough nap, where I finally slept for most of it. This seemed likely, since it was getting close to normal sleep time anyway. But this was not to be. In fact, this was the worst nap of the day. Again, my wife chose to join me. I'm not sure why, since she generally goes to sleep for the night before 11. Unfortunately, she tossed and turned for the entire time. I have to admit I was fairly annoyed by the end of the nap. The dog was also uncooperative once again.
After this was where things got ugly. First, I went online around 10 to do some more reading about polyphasic sleep. This did not give me the boost of confidence that I would have liked, as here I was staring down my first "all nighter" in years. I experienced some severe episodes of "sleep dep" back in the day, so I know all too well how agonizing it can be. The reading I was doing was only serving to remind me. Hallucinations? I'm too damned old for that! I was also worried about how the overnight naps were going to work. Many polyphasic neophytes oversleep those middle-of-the-night naps, and this seems to be the primary cause of failure. Not to mention that it prolongs the sleep-deprived misery of the adaptation period. How am I going to set an alarm that will wake me up from what's likely to be a dead sleep, but without waking my wife up? I go online and win a bed-shaker alarm clock on eBay. That's all well and good, but what am I going to use tonight?
By 11:30, I was really feeling like shit. Tired and cranky. My wife offered me a Scotch, which in retrospect I should have turned down. It did not sit well in my stomach, compounding an already unpleasant situation. I felt like I should eat something, but frankly, this would have required too much energy.
Uncharacteristically, it was around 11:45 before my wife sauntered off to bed, and so my First Long Night began. I was very tired, and the clock was sure moving slowly, but I managed to find enough work to keep me busy. This was somewhat challenging, as I barely felt like I still had two brain cells clanging together. I had made the decision to push my next nap forward to 1:30 AM. I was trying to schedule for a social engagement I hoped to attend Friday night, and I figured the 30-minute adjustment wouldn't really make a difference, since I hadn't really had a true nap yet anyway!
By 1:30, I felt so ready for sleep. My original plan was to quietly crawl back into bed and nap with my wife, but I decided this was probably impractical, at least in the early stages where I was likely to have difficulty rousing myself from slumber. So I curled up on the couch. Since I knew this was probably going to be a tough nap to wake up from, in addition to relying on Nap26 to wake me up, I set my cell phone alarm for 2:15 and placed it on a stool near my head.
I also formulated a backup plan. Since I had already realized that my 40-year-old self was probably going to have one hell of a time jumping straight into an Uberman schedule (especially since it was becoming clear that my body had not yet "learned how to nap" by falling asleep quickly), I set an alarm clock for 6 AM. My thinking was if I could just not will myself to get up after my nap, that I could count this as "core sleep", and pursue some kind of Everyman schedule for awhile until I became better at napping. (There are variations of Everyman that allow anywhere from 1.5 hours to 4.5 hours of core sleep.) The Uberman is definitely my ultimate goal, though, as it seems to provide the most of the benefits I am looking for.
Annoyingly, it still took me quite some time to fall asleep, but I finally did and this was clearly the best doze of the day. However, I still felt like I spent more of the nap period awake than asleep. So at the end of the nap period, I decided to "call an audible"--I decided to restart the Nap26 audio program and lie back down. I was hoping to get a "true" nap in since I knew the night was probably going to be miserable otherwise. This may have been a bad call, though, since I actually felt decent at the end of the first nap period. That, and the fact that once you convince yourself that it's okay to not get up at the scheduled time...well, it's easy to stay convinced.
The second nap period was indeed a wonderful nap. Too wonderful, as sure enough, I was unable to pull out of it. That's where the half-asleep mind does you in, as I'm not really sure what happened. I know that when I finally did wake up, my cell phone ringer was off. Either I failed to turn it on before napping, or (more likely) I turned it off in my sleep. But I did wake up on my own before my alarm went off, at 5:30 AM. Felt horrible upon first awakening; indeed, I'm somewhat surprised I managed to get off the couch. But I quickly started to feel better.
So my new plan is to do an Everyman schedule for awhile, while weaning myself from core sleep as quickly as I can. My understanding is that doing it gradually, as logical as that may sound, actually makes it harder in the long run, as it lengthens the adaptation process. Remember, it's not until after that process that you really start feeling good. During it, there's no getting around it--you're sleep deprived.
So due to my social engagement tonight, I am going to shoot for naps today at 11 AM, 3 PM, 7 PM, and 11 PM. One nice thing about the Everyman schedule is that you have a little more leeway in moving your nap times. Hopefully, I'm not overdoing with that first 5.5-hour gap between sleeps. Then, I'm going to shoot for three hours of core sleep tomorrow, 3 AM-6 AM. Once I see how all of that goes (particularly the daytime naps), I'll formulate a plan for the next day. I'm not sure how valid a plan this "seat of the pants" scheduling is, but it's the best this old man can do right now.
Amusingly, I did finish up Day 1 sleeping almost exactly the total amount of time Uberman calls for, due to the failed naps. Can I count that as a victory? I got three hours sleep between the period of 4:30 yesterday morning and 4:30 today. Four hours total.
More good news, I suppose, is that I feel fairly decent at the moment (7:40 AM). Hungry, slightly headachy, and a little bit dazed. But I'm not miserable, and I feel like I have three or four brain cells clanging together now.
Onward.
I did not even plan to start yesterday, and laid down Wednesday night at 11:30 PM for a monophasic night of sleep. I awoke at 4:30 AM and felt fairly awake, so I decided to stay up, and call that "core sleep". I planned to start my Uberman nap schedule, with naps at 9 AM, 1 PM, 5 PM, 9 PM, 1 AM, and 5 AM. I figured I might not sleep during the early naps since I was starting with five hours sleep "in the bank". However, I was committed to attempting each nap on schedule, and staying in bed the entire time. I figured I'd sleep when I needed to. And I actually was a little tired with only five hours sleep for the night, so who knows.
The 9 AM nap was fine, but I don't think I slept. Got up and felt pretty good, though, if a little dazed. Noticed an interesting phenomenon, perhaps a side effect of the binaural beats: I saw stuff with my eyes closed, and not the kind of stuff I'm used to seeing. Mostly largish, swirling, dark green blobs. The color was unusually vivid. Interesting.
The 1 PM nap was probably the best one. I didn't sleep for most of it, but I think I may have dozed off for a minute at least. No vivid dreams or anything like that, though, like I hear about some folks having. Felt great upon arising--it was a beautiful day outside, so that probably helped. Still feeling the slightest bit dazed and confused, but nothing too taxing.
My wife was home for the 5 PM nap, so she took it with me. It wasn't as relaxing as the 1 PM nap, and I'm pretty sure I didn't sleep. One of our dogs was doing some loud scratching towards the end, which didn't help.
And then the 9 PM nap. I was hoping this would be my breakthrough nap, where I finally slept for most of it. This seemed likely, since it was getting close to normal sleep time anyway. But this was not to be. In fact, this was the worst nap of the day. Again, my wife chose to join me. I'm not sure why, since she generally goes to sleep for the night before 11. Unfortunately, she tossed and turned for the entire time. I have to admit I was fairly annoyed by the end of the nap. The dog was also uncooperative once again.
After this was where things got ugly. First, I went online around 10 to do some more reading about polyphasic sleep. This did not give me the boost of confidence that I would have liked, as here I was staring down my first "all nighter" in years. I experienced some severe episodes of "sleep dep" back in the day, so I know all too well how agonizing it can be. The reading I was doing was only serving to remind me. Hallucinations? I'm too damned old for that! I was also worried about how the overnight naps were going to work. Many polyphasic neophytes oversleep those middle-of-the-night naps, and this seems to be the primary cause of failure. Not to mention that it prolongs the sleep-deprived misery of the adaptation period. How am I going to set an alarm that will wake me up from what's likely to be a dead sleep, but without waking my wife up? I go online and win a bed-shaker alarm clock on eBay. That's all well and good, but what am I going to use tonight?
By 11:30, I was really feeling like shit. Tired and cranky. My wife offered me a Scotch, which in retrospect I should have turned down. It did not sit well in my stomach, compounding an already unpleasant situation. I felt like I should eat something, but frankly, this would have required too much energy.
Uncharacteristically, it was around 11:45 before my wife sauntered off to bed, and so my First Long Night began. I was very tired, and the clock was sure moving slowly, but I managed to find enough work to keep me busy. This was somewhat challenging, as I barely felt like I still had two brain cells clanging together. I had made the decision to push my next nap forward to 1:30 AM. I was trying to schedule for a social engagement I hoped to attend Friday night, and I figured the 30-minute adjustment wouldn't really make a difference, since I hadn't really had a true nap yet anyway!
By 1:30, I felt so ready for sleep. My original plan was to quietly crawl back into bed and nap with my wife, but I decided this was probably impractical, at least in the early stages where I was likely to have difficulty rousing myself from slumber. So I curled up on the couch. Since I knew this was probably going to be a tough nap to wake up from, in addition to relying on Nap26 to wake me up, I set my cell phone alarm for 2:15 and placed it on a stool near my head.
I also formulated a backup plan. Since I had already realized that my 40-year-old self was probably going to have one hell of a time jumping straight into an Uberman schedule (especially since it was becoming clear that my body had not yet "learned how to nap" by falling asleep quickly), I set an alarm clock for 6 AM. My thinking was if I could just not will myself to get up after my nap, that I could count this as "core sleep", and pursue some kind of Everyman schedule for awhile until I became better at napping. (There are variations of Everyman that allow anywhere from 1.5 hours to 4.5 hours of core sleep.) The Uberman is definitely my ultimate goal, though, as it seems to provide the most of the benefits I am looking for.
Annoyingly, it still took me quite some time to fall asleep, but I finally did and this was clearly the best doze of the day. However, I still felt like I spent more of the nap period awake than asleep. So at the end of the nap period, I decided to "call an audible"--I decided to restart the Nap26 audio program and lie back down. I was hoping to get a "true" nap in since I knew the night was probably going to be miserable otherwise. This may have been a bad call, though, since I actually felt decent at the end of the first nap period. That, and the fact that once you convince yourself that it's okay to not get up at the scheduled time...well, it's easy to stay convinced.
The second nap period was indeed a wonderful nap. Too wonderful, as sure enough, I was unable to pull out of it. That's where the half-asleep mind does you in, as I'm not really sure what happened. I know that when I finally did wake up, my cell phone ringer was off. Either I failed to turn it on before napping, or (more likely) I turned it off in my sleep. But I did wake up on my own before my alarm went off, at 5:30 AM. Felt horrible upon first awakening; indeed, I'm somewhat surprised I managed to get off the couch. But I quickly started to feel better.
So my new plan is to do an Everyman schedule for awhile, while weaning myself from core sleep as quickly as I can. My understanding is that doing it gradually, as logical as that may sound, actually makes it harder in the long run, as it lengthens the adaptation process. Remember, it's not until after that process that you really start feeling good. During it, there's no getting around it--you're sleep deprived.
So due to my social engagement tonight, I am going to shoot for naps today at 11 AM, 3 PM, 7 PM, and 11 PM. One nice thing about the Everyman schedule is that you have a little more leeway in moving your nap times. Hopefully, I'm not overdoing with that first 5.5-hour gap between sleeps. Then, I'm going to shoot for three hours of core sleep tomorrow, 3 AM-6 AM. Once I see how all of that goes (particularly the daytime naps), I'll formulate a plan for the next day. I'm not sure how valid a plan this "seat of the pants" scheduling is, but it's the best this old man can do right now.
Amusingly, I did finish up Day 1 sleeping almost exactly the total amount of time Uberman calls for, due to the failed naps. Can I count that as a victory? I got three hours sleep between the period of 4:30 yesterday morning and 4:30 today. Four hours total.
More good news, I suppose, is that I feel fairly decent at the moment (7:40 AM). Hungry, slightly headachy, and a little bit dazed. But I'm not miserable, and I feel like I have three or four brain cells clanging together now.
Onward.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Experiments in Polyphasic Sleep, Introduction
"Experiments in Polyphasic Sleep." As Dave Barry would say, wouldn't that make a great name for a band? I'm guessing most of you don't even know what polyphasic sleep is. I didn't know myself until last night, yet today I find myself deciding to experiment with something that most folks would call radical. Feel free to consult Wikipedia for more information on what polyphasic sleep is. But for those of you who do not like clicking on links, my fifty-cent definition of polyphasic sleep is as follows: sleeping several times per day instead of just once (which is called "monophasic" sleep).
Interestingly, this is not the first time I have done polyphasic sleep. Ten or fifteen years ago, I did it for a couple years, though by necessity, and not knowing it had a name. Then, I was in a tight financial spot and working two jobs, one of which was the overnight shift. So I was a "biphasic" sleeper, sleeping 9 AM-11 AM and 7 PM-10 PM. (There were also some power naps between midnight and 6 AM, but I'm not supposed to talk about those.) I would probably not be as keen to try polyphasic now if it wasn't for my experience then. In spite of the fact that this schedule sounds punishing, I didn't find it to be all that bad. I wasn't getting a lot of sleep, and was not able to sleep for eight hours straight like "normal" people. But, and I think this is one of the keys, I never had to wait all that long for it to be time to sleep again. (Yes, this makes the title of this blog somewhat inappropriate, but I have always loved that poem. Besides, "To Sleep, Perchance to Dream" sounded trite.) I always had less than eight hours till I got to sleep again, vs. you monophasers who may find yourself sixteen hours away from beddy-bye. I think that psychological boost is what made it work for me then. "Yeah, I'm tired, but I get to sleep soon." Later, when I had a chance to arrange my work schedule so that my jobs were "back to back" and not overnight, I did so, but I found this schedule to be much more arduous. I was working 8 AM to midnight, five days per week. I got to sleep almost eight hours, at night, like a "normal person". But I was in sleep debt, so I would wake up in the morning still tired, and knowing I wouldn't get to sleep for 16 hours. Ugh!
Fast forward till now. I stumbled across a blog that talked about power napping, and particularly a product called Nap26. Nap26 is an audio product that uses binaural beats to aid in power napping. I have never been much of a napper, but I'm always interested in tweaking my productivity, and I have noted an afternoon lull in my energy. So, I decided to try Nap26. I ordered it this past Monday.
On Tuesday, I was feeling drowsy in the late afternoon, and when my wife came home, so was she. So, we decided to try a power nap, even though my Nap26 CD hadn't arrived yet. So we closed the blinds, set the alarm for 30 minutes, and had at it. I did feel that I had more energy that evening as a result, though I was just a bit groggy after the nap, in spite of the short duration. (Research I have come across since then indicated that this was probably due to the nap being too late in the day.)
Yesterday (Wednesday), my CD came, and I was obviously anxious to use it. I was also feeling very tired. Though this time it was early evening before I had a chance to nap, I decided to do it anyway.
The Nap26 product is awesome. I downloaded it to my iPod, as you do have to use headphones to get the binaural effect. Lying there listening to the "waterfall", with the binaural beats ebbing and flowing just at the "surface" of my consciousness, was a luxurious and relaxing experience. Being a Type A personality, I often have trouble "letting go", but these sounds sure helped. Ironically, I'm not sure that I ever actually went to sleep during this first attempt, but one of the tenets of power napping is that you lie there relaxed with your eyes closed for the duration of the scheduled nap, regardless. At any rate, after the nap, I was refreshed practically to the extent of euphoria. I felt deliciously wonderful all evening.
This motivated me to do more research on power napping, which eventually led me to some articles on polyphasic sleeping. This immediately got my attention, due to my past experiences. The more I read, the more excited I became, and the more I wanted to try changing my sleep schedule. My reasons are several.
I guess the most exciting potential benefit is more time. I have decided to attempt the Uberman sleep schedule. This schedule calls for six 30-minute naps per day. Sounds yummy, right? But that's all the sleep you get. This means you are awake for 21 hours per day, or roughly five hours longer than most folks. An extra day and a half per week to do stuff I want? Where do I sign up? I know some folks may have trouble finding stuff to do for 16 hours a day, and end up watching TV or something, but I have never been one of those people. On the contrary, I have always found myself with more things I want to do then I have time to do. The more I think about some of the things I could do with all of that extra time, the more excited I get. And on a more philosophical (for want of a better word) level, we only have so many hours on this Earth. I'd like to make the most of mine.
Another reason is that, radical as it is, there is something about this kind of schedule that just seems right to me. Isn't it kind of what babies do naturally, until it's trained out of them? I have always been slow to get moving in the morning, and only then with the help of lots of caffeine. Of late, I also find myself awakening stiff and sore. So when I read one author's account of the "joys" of monophasic sleep, it resonated with me. Particularly the lines "prying yourself out of a coma" and "being reborn as Frankenstein's monster". You mean waking up maybe doesn't have to be that way? Over the course of my life, I learned that I feel much better if I eat several small meals throughout the day, instead of a few big ones. So might that same concept apply to sleep? Makes sense to me.
Another reason is that I am looking forward to the peace and solitude of the overnight hours. That was one thing I always enjoyed about working the overnight shift. It's a great, relaxed time to do certain kinds of work, particularly the types that call for lots of creativity and brainstorming. And there's a magic to the dawn hours, but it's just not quite the same to me if it's not after the long night. The part that got old was having to stay up all night, but that should be much different now.
I am also hoping this schedule will diminish my reliance on caffeine in the morning...though I'm sure those of you reading are thinking I'm going to need coffee by the bucketful to get by on three hours sleep per day! My wife has agreed to switch our coffee over to decaf. I'm also thinking I'll have less need of a "nightcap" at the end of a long day.
I'm also just curious! I like trying new things. It's fun--I feel like I'm playing mad scientist with myself. And I love the idea of "being ahead of the game", so to speak. This sounds like one of the ultimate "lifehacks".
But what of drawbacks? A few have occurred to me, and others who have tried this.
#1: Not surprisingly, there is an adaption phase. During this phase...well, I keep hearing the word "zombie" used. However, Steve Pavlina's approach of taking extra naps as needed during the adaption phase sounds workable. But still, even he admits that he once "stared at the wall for 90 minutes". Good times, good times...
#2: The effect on family. I am married. My wife, being sane, does not plan to join me on this journey. This obviously raises several issues. There are certain things I will not be able to do at night, since I can't disturb her. I'll also have to be careful not to disturb her getting up and down from my naps. I am also concerned that she will not like sleeping alone for most of the night, though I'm hopeful that she'll find that she sleeps better. She often complains about me hogging the real estate.
#3: The schedule is not very flexible. Missing a nap, or taking it at the wrong time, can apparently cause the whole playhouse to come crashing down. And you can't really do anything that takes longer than four hours. This may prove to be the biggest drawback. It sounds workable, but we'll see.
#4: Boredom. But as stated above, I don't think this will be a problem. The only concern is will I be able to stay occupied in the middle of the night, when options are more limited? I think scheduling will help me there, having a "daytime" to-do list and a separate "nighttime" one. Besides, there's always online poker, right?
#5: It takes discipline. Um...we'll see.
#6: Social drawbacks. You're "out of sync" with the rest of the world, in a way. And most people think you're kind of nuts. Well, I'm used to that. I do remember feeling out of sync at times when I worked nights, but the difference here is that I will be awake for a lot of the daylight hours, so I think I'll be fine.
So here I go, off on another crazy adventure! It's a little bit scary I'll admit, as I seem a little old to be reinventing my day-to-day living to this extent. But that's also part of the fun. Wish me luck! I plan to blog regularly about my progress, or lack thereof. This is one of the things I'll have time to do now!
Interestingly, this is not the first time I have done polyphasic sleep. Ten or fifteen years ago, I did it for a couple years, though by necessity, and not knowing it had a name. Then, I was in a tight financial spot and working two jobs, one of which was the overnight shift. So I was a "biphasic" sleeper, sleeping 9 AM-11 AM and 7 PM-10 PM. (There were also some power naps between midnight and 6 AM, but I'm not supposed to talk about those.) I would probably not be as keen to try polyphasic now if it wasn't for my experience then. In spite of the fact that this schedule sounds punishing, I didn't find it to be all that bad. I wasn't getting a lot of sleep, and was not able to sleep for eight hours straight like "normal" people. But, and I think this is one of the keys, I never had to wait all that long for it to be time to sleep again. (Yes, this makes the title of this blog somewhat inappropriate, but I have always loved that poem. Besides, "To Sleep, Perchance to Dream" sounded trite.) I always had less than eight hours till I got to sleep again, vs. you monophasers who may find yourself sixteen hours away from beddy-bye. I think that psychological boost is what made it work for me then. "Yeah, I'm tired, but I get to sleep soon." Later, when I had a chance to arrange my work schedule so that my jobs were "back to back" and not overnight, I did so, but I found this schedule to be much more arduous. I was working 8 AM to midnight, five days per week. I got to sleep almost eight hours, at night, like a "normal person". But I was in sleep debt, so I would wake up in the morning still tired, and knowing I wouldn't get to sleep for 16 hours. Ugh!
Fast forward till now. I stumbled across a blog that talked about power napping, and particularly a product called Nap26. Nap26 is an audio product that uses binaural beats to aid in power napping. I have never been much of a napper, but I'm always interested in tweaking my productivity, and I have noted an afternoon lull in my energy. So, I decided to try Nap26. I ordered it this past Monday.
On Tuesday, I was feeling drowsy in the late afternoon, and when my wife came home, so was she. So, we decided to try a power nap, even though my Nap26 CD hadn't arrived yet. So we closed the blinds, set the alarm for 30 minutes, and had at it. I did feel that I had more energy that evening as a result, though I was just a bit groggy after the nap, in spite of the short duration. (Research I have come across since then indicated that this was probably due to the nap being too late in the day.)
Yesterday (Wednesday), my CD came, and I was obviously anxious to use it. I was also feeling very tired. Though this time it was early evening before I had a chance to nap, I decided to do it anyway.
The Nap26 product is awesome. I downloaded it to my iPod, as you do have to use headphones to get the binaural effect. Lying there listening to the "waterfall", with the binaural beats ebbing and flowing just at the "surface" of my consciousness, was a luxurious and relaxing experience. Being a Type A personality, I often have trouble "letting go", but these sounds sure helped. Ironically, I'm not sure that I ever actually went to sleep during this first attempt, but one of the tenets of power napping is that you lie there relaxed with your eyes closed for the duration of the scheduled nap, regardless. At any rate, after the nap, I was refreshed practically to the extent of euphoria. I felt deliciously wonderful all evening.
This motivated me to do more research on power napping, which eventually led me to some articles on polyphasic sleeping. This immediately got my attention, due to my past experiences. The more I read, the more excited I became, and the more I wanted to try changing my sleep schedule. My reasons are several.
I guess the most exciting potential benefit is more time. I have decided to attempt the Uberman sleep schedule. This schedule calls for six 30-minute naps per day. Sounds yummy, right? But that's all the sleep you get. This means you are awake for 21 hours per day, or roughly five hours longer than most folks. An extra day and a half per week to do stuff I want? Where do I sign up? I know some folks may have trouble finding stuff to do for 16 hours a day, and end up watching TV or something, but I have never been one of those people. On the contrary, I have always found myself with more things I want to do then I have time to do. The more I think about some of the things I could do with all of that extra time, the more excited I get. And on a more philosophical (for want of a better word) level, we only have so many hours on this Earth. I'd like to make the most of mine.
Another reason is that, radical as it is, there is something about this kind of schedule that just seems right to me. Isn't it kind of what babies do naturally, until it's trained out of them? I have always been slow to get moving in the morning, and only then with the help of lots of caffeine. Of late, I also find myself awakening stiff and sore. So when I read one author's account of the "joys" of monophasic sleep, it resonated with me. Particularly the lines "prying yourself out of a coma" and "being reborn as Frankenstein's monster". You mean waking up maybe doesn't have to be that way? Over the course of my life, I learned that I feel much better if I eat several small meals throughout the day, instead of a few big ones. So might that same concept apply to sleep? Makes sense to me.
Another reason is that I am looking forward to the peace and solitude of the overnight hours. That was one thing I always enjoyed about working the overnight shift. It's a great, relaxed time to do certain kinds of work, particularly the types that call for lots of creativity and brainstorming. And there's a magic to the dawn hours, but it's just not quite the same to me if it's not after the long night. The part that got old was having to stay up all night, but that should be much different now.
I am also hoping this schedule will diminish my reliance on caffeine in the morning...though I'm sure those of you reading are thinking I'm going to need coffee by the bucketful to get by on three hours sleep per day! My wife has agreed to switch our coffee over to decaf. I'm also thinking I'll have less need of a "nightcap" at the end of a long day.
I'm also just curious! I like trying new things. It's fun--I feel like I'm playing mad scientist with myself. And I love the idea of "being ahead of the game", so to speak. This sounds like one of the ultimate "lifehacks".
But what of drawbacks? A few have occurred to me, and others who have tried this.
#1: Not surprisingly, there is an adaption phase. During this phase...well, I keep hearing the word "zombie" used. However, Steve Pavlina's approach of taking extra naps as needed during the adaption phase sounds workable. But still, even he admits that he once "stared at the wall for 90 minutes". Good times, good times...
#2: The effect on family. I am married. My wife, being sane, does not plan to join me on this journey. This obviously raises several issues. There are certain things I will not be able to do at night, since I can't disturb her. I'll also have to be careful not to disturb her getting up and down from my naps. I am also concerned that she will not like sleeping alone for most of the night, though I'm hopeful that she'll find that she sleeps better. She often complains about me hogging the real estate.
#3: The schedule is not very flexible. Missing a nap, or taking it at the wrong time, can apparently cause the whole playhouse to come crashing down. And you can't really do anything that takes longer than four hours. This may prove to be the biggest drawback. It sounds workable, but we'll see.
#4: Boredom. But as stated above, I don't think this will be a problem. The only concern is will I be able to stay occupied in the middle of the night, when options are more limited? I think scheduling will help me there, having a "daytime" to-do list and a separate "nighttime" one. Besides, there's always online poker, right?
#5: It takes discipline. Um...we'll see.
#6: Social drawbacks. You're "out of sync" with the rest of the world, in a way. And most people think you're kind of nuts. Well, I'm used to that. I do remember feeling out of sync at times when I worked nights, but the difference here is that I will be awake for a lot of the daylight hours, so I think I'll be fine.
So here I go, off on another crazy adventure! It's a little bit scary I'll admit, as I seem a little old to be reinventing my day-to-day living to this extent. But that's also part of the fun. Wish me luck! I plan to blog regularly about my progress, or lack thereof. This is one of the things I'll have time to do now!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Superstars
Dear wife and I, a/k/a Mr. and Mrs. Clean, are going to be on the TV show "Style" today. It's on WBIR, channel 10, today (Thursday) at 4 PM. You know you want to watch! ;-)
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
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