I just got back from two weeks on the road. First was personal time, attending a friend's wedding. Google called it ten hours of driving time. For some people, that's a two day trip, others will do it in a marathon solo drive or bring someone else and trade off.
As a polyphasic sleeper, you get another option, and one that saves on hotel costs as well. I decided to just drive through the night. I left at 6pm, timed for making a late dinner at a restaurant I love a few hours away. At 1040pm I pulled into a rest stop and slept until 1220am, an hour and forty minutes. This was enough to get me through to where I was going, getting in around 630am. Of course, you can't check into a hotel that early, so I watched the sun rise over the beach, read a book in the sun, then stretched out on a bench above the high water line around 8 and took an hour long nap.
I was able to nap regularly on most of the days I was there, but unfortunately not the day of the wedding itself. I had a work conference coming up soon, so I was departing after the reception. Had a great time, but things ran later than I hoped and, with no naps so far that day, the drive home was rougher. I took one long nap like on the drive out, but also had to supplement it multiple smaller naps. By the time all was said and done, I think I slept for close to 3 hours during that drive. It took 13 hours instead of 11.5.
Come Tuesday I was out of town again for a work conference. These are all day affairs, and really provide no opportunity for napping. I fell into a monophasic sleep pattern for the duration since there was no chance to nap and social activities were common after the sessions, often leading to late nights.
I'm back home now. Been a hectic two weeks, and need to kick myself back into polyphasic mode and get my working out started again.
When it comes to travel, as elsewhere, the ability to control your schedule is key to being able to maintain a polyphasic cycle. If you can, the benefits are great. By traveling at night, I was able to spend my first day on the beach while other friends were traveling, and my last day back home with my wife, again while they were on the road. It also saved me over $200 in hotel costs. On the other hand, if I had tried to maintain it at the conference I would have been falling asleep during presentations, which would be completely unacceptable. As always, flexibility is key.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Polyphasic Sleep, two and a half weeks later
Been a bit lax in posting on progress, but still sleeping polyphasically.
Two weeks ago, I had two days of "alarm malfunction." Not sure how, and it is certainly possible I groggily killed it instead of hitting snooze, although my wife doesn't remember it going off, either. Then again, she rarely remembers anything that happens before about 1030am, so that is not conclusive. Other than those two days, where I woke up between 6 and 7 am instead of my usual goal of 4am, I did quite well at sleeping from 1-4, with naps. Even on the days I overslept, I was getting 5-6 hours of sleep, having gone to bed around 1am. Not exactly crashing, merely oversleeping. Both days I woke up on my own more than an hour before my wife woke up, and she tends to go to bed closer to midnight.
The next week, last week, I again had a couple of off days. This time it was intentional, I was sick and did not want to get up. Sick enough that one of the days I stayed home from work. I think this is acceptable.
Today is Tuesday, and I have been up on schedule for the past three days. Yesterday was a little rough, someone was having a meeting in the normally empty room I use for my naps, which is also where my pillow is stashed.
As for what to do with the time, I am finding it useful on two fronts. Some mornings, like yesterday, I exercise. Yesterday I ran 5.2 miles before 6am had rolled around, ate a leisurely breakfast with a book and was still at work before 0730. Today my knee was hurting, so I canceled morning PT and watched last night's Daily Show and Colbert Report while getting ready for work. In to work a little after 6, which means going home earlier, too. Always nice to have time in the afternoon to get things done at home.
Two weeks ago, I had two days of "alarm malfunction." Not sure how, and it is certainly possible I groggily killed it instead of hitting snooze, although my wife doesn't remember it going off, either. Then again, she rarely remembers anything that happens before about 1030am, so that is not conclusive. Other than those two days, where I woke up between 6 and 7 am instead of my usual goal of 4am, I did quite well at sleeping from 1-4, with naps. Even on the days I overslept, I was getting 5-6 hours of sleep, having gone to bed around 1am. Not exactly crashing, merely oversleeping. Both days I woke up on my own more than an hour before my wife woke up, and she tends to go to bed closer to midnight.
The next week, last week, I again had a couple of off days. This time it was intentional, I was sick and did not want to get up. Sick enough that one of the days I stayed home from work. I think this is acceptable.
Today is Tuesday, and I have been up on schedule for the past three days. Yesterday was a little rough, someone was having a meeting in the normally empty room I use for my naps, which is also where my pillow is stashed.
As for what to do with the time, I am finding it useful on two fronts. Some mornings, like yesterday, I exercise. Yesterday I ran 5.2 miles before 6am had rolled around, ate a leisurely breakfast with a book and was still at work before 0730. Today my knee was hurting, so I canceled morning PT and watched last night's Daily Show and Colbert Report while getting ready for work. In to work a little after 6, which means going home earlier, too. Always nice to have time in the afternoon to get things done at home.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Polyphasic Sleep, Day 7; on napping
Up at 413 this morning.
On napping. Some polyphasic sleep resources list careful schedules, with recommended times for naps. I have not found many of them to be useful, except in pointing out the utility of spreading out short naps instead of taking one large nap. For sleep with a core night period, the so-called "Everyman Cycle," sleep is suggested between 1-4am, with naps at 9am, 2pm, and 9pm. I do not find this effective.
In my first polyphasic period in 2009, I tried to follow a similar plan, but found that the late night naps were extremely ineffective. I often woke tired, and it would take 15-30 minutes of grogginess to regain alertness. I did better simply skipping the late nap altogether, or trying to fit three in closer together earlier and then a long chunk awake before the core period. Prior to starting that polyphasic experiment, I was going to bed at 10pm. My first order guess would be that taking a nap too close to a time that your body associates with "bedtime" leads the body to think you are going to bed, and getting up 20 minutes later is a bit of a shock.
I also do not like the idea of having the naps rigorously scheduled. Of course, it helps to have an idea of when you plan to take them so you can plan meetings and outings, but that should only be done when necessary. Reading other blogs of people who attempt this, it is not uncommon to see them complaining of trying to stay awake. Some say it is consistently after lunch for them, some say around 11pm at night. If you cannot stay alert and functional, is that extra time doing you any good? Why not take a nap? The whole point of polyphasic sleep is the claim that a short nap can be as re-energizing as long sleep.
Today I was up at 0413, and I was at work before 0630. By 0700, however, I was getting pretty sleepy. So I took a nap. I took another at 0940. All of my naps are done with my cell phone as a timer, and last twenty minutes unless I wake up early, which is not uncommon. I expect I will probably take another nap around 2pm, and be done with naps for the day, going to bed between midnight and 1am. If I get tired in the evening, though, I can always nap.
If you sleep 3-4 hours at night and take 3 twenty minute naps during the day, you are running one 4-5 hours of sleep compared the the average 8-9. Does 20 more minutes of a nap as needed make that much of a difference? Isn't it worth it if you can actually be alert for those awake hours instead of just sitting there nodding your head?
The goal of polyphasic sleep is not to only sleep 30 minutes every four hours, or every six. The goal is to maximize alert awake time. If you can't do anything while you are awake, you might as well give up and go back to normal sleeping. If you want to be productive, accept the fundamental premise and Take A Nap!.
On napping. Some polyphasic sleep resources list careful schedules, with recommended times for naps. I have not found many of them to be useful, except in pointing out the utility of spreading out short naps instead of taking one large nap. For sleep with a core night period, the so-called "Everyman Cycle," sleep is suggested between 1-4am, with naps at 9am, 2pm, and 9pm. I do not find this effective.
In my first polyphasic period in 2009, I tried to follow a similar plan, but found that the late night naps were extremely ineffective. I often woke tired, and it would take 15-30 minutes of grogginess to regain alertness. I did better simply skipping the late nap altogether, or trying to fit three in closer together earlier and then a long chunk awake before the core period. Prior to starting that polyphasic experiment, I was going to bed at 10pm. My first order guess would be that taking a nap too close to a time that your body associates with "bedtime" leads the body to think you are going to bed, and getting up 20 minutes later is a bit of a shock.
I also do not like the idea of having the naps rigorously scheduled. Of course, it helps to have an idea of when you plan to take them so you can plan meetings and outings, but that should only be done when necessary. Reading other blogs of people who attempt this, it is not uncommon to see them complaining of trying to stay awake. Some say it is consistently after lunch for them, some say around 11pm at night. If you cannot stay alert and functional, is that extra time doing you any good? Why not take a nap? The whole point of polyphasic sleep is the claim that a short nap can be as re-energizing as long sleep.
Today I was up at 0413, and I was at work before 0630. By 0700, however, I was getting pretty sleepy. So I took a nap. I took another at 0940. All of my naps are done with my cell phone as a timer, and last twenty minutes unless I wake up early, which is not uncommon. I expect I will probably take another nap around 2pm, and be done with naps for the day, going to bed between midnight and 1am. If I get tired in the evening, though, I can always nap.
If you sleep 3-4 hours at night and take 3 twenty minute naps during the day, you are running one 4-5 hours of sleep compared the the average 8-9. Does 20 more minutes of a nap as needed make that much of a difference? Isn't it worth it if you can actually be alert for those awake hours instead of just sitting there nodding your head?
The goal of polyphasic sleep is not to only sleep 30 minutes every four hours, or every six. The goal is to maximize alert awake time. If you can't do anything while you are awake, you might as well give up and go back to normal sleeping. If you want to be productive, accept the fundamental premise and Take A Nap!.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Polyphasic Sleep: Day 6
Managed to get out of bed at 430am today.
Last time I went polyphasic for a while, I found it easiest to just make the massive switch from going to bed at 10pm and getting up at 6am to going to bed at 1am and getting up at 4am. This time around, I am finding the switch harder, but I am switching from a 1-5am schedule to a 1-4am schedule and changing from a single 1hour nap in the late afternoon to twenty minute naps throughout the day as needed, roughly three most days.
I think the less major sleep change does not produce the sleep deprivation that other people attempting this report experiencing, and that I experienced last time. That sleep deprivation leads to more efficient use of sleep time, and lets you get up earlier. This effect is enhanced by moving the initial bedtime later as well, forcing the body to stay up later than it expects.
In contrast, I now go to bed at the same time as before, roughly 1am, but I just try and get up an hour earlier. I am actually less tired than I used to be, because the spread out naps are more effective than the one hour nap was. By spreading out my naps, I can take one whenever I feel the need. It is much harder to fit in an hour long nap, so it was often less optimally timed. Being better rested makes your sleep less efficient during the core sleep period, which is, I would hypothesize, why it is harder for me to make a one hour reduction than it was to make a 5 hour reduction in core sleep.
That said, I am getting there. Thirty minutes closer. With practice I think I can get it the rest of the way.
Last time I went polyphasic for a while, I found it easiest to just make the massive switch from going to bed at 10pm and getting up at 6am to going to bed at 1am and getting up at 4am. This time around, I am finding the switch harder, but I am switching from a 1-5am schedule to a 1-4am schedule and changing from a single 1hour nap in the late afternoon to twenty minute naps throughout the day as needed, roughly three most days.
I think the less major sleep change does not produce the sleep deprivation that other people attempting this report experiencing, and that I experienced last time. That sleep deprivation leads to more efficient use of sleep time, and lets you get up earlier. This effect is enhanced by moving the initial bedtime later as well, forcing the body to stay up later than it expects.
In contrast, I now go to bed at the same time as before, roughly 1am, but I just try and get up an hour earlier. I am actually less tired than I used to be, because the spread out naps are more effective than the one hour nap was. By spreading out my naps, I can take one whenever I feel the need. It is much harder to fit in an hour long nap, so it was often less optimally timed. Being better rested makes your sleep less efficient during the core sleep period, which is, I would hypothesize, why it is harder for me to make a one hour reduction than it was to make a 5 hour reduction in core sleep.
That said, I am getting there. Thirty minutes closer. With practice I think I can get it the rest of the way.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Polyphasic Sleep: Weekends and Day 4
Weekends.
How, when you are trying to sleep four or fewer hours per day, do you deal with weekends? Back when I was sleeping for 8-9 hours a day, it was next to impossible to get me out of bed before noon on the weekends, and 2pm was not an unusual time for me to rise. I wanted 9 hours of sleep a day, but during the week my schedule would result in 6-8 far more often than 9, and that sleep debt would catch up with me. On the weekends, all I really wanted was sleep.
So how has this changed now that I am sleeping 4-5 hours scattered around the day? I still consider weekends to be a time to indulge in extra sleep, and to catch up for missed sleep during the week. The real difference is in what the body considers indulgence. While I used to get up between noon and 2pm on weekends, and would be rather upset if I had to get up before 10 for some event, on the weekends now I can't sleep past 7am, and 6am still feels luxuriously decadent. When your alarm normally goes off at 4 am, 6am feels great, and by 7 I feel how I used to when I would get up at 2pm. The big difference is that, rising at 7 instead of 2, I still have an entire Saturday ahead of me.
Today is Monday, though, and it is a different matter. Went to bed a little before 1am, with the alarm set for 4am. Somehow slept through until 5am. Oh well, try again tonight
How, when you are trying to sleep four or fewer hours per day, do you deal with weekends? Back when I was sleeping for 8-9 hours a day, it was next to impossible to get me out of bed before noon on the weekends, and 2pm was not an unusual time for me to rise. I wanted 9 hours of sleep a day, but during the week my schedule would result in 6-8 far more often than 9, and that sleep debt would catch up with me. On the weekends, all I really wanted was sleep.
So how has this changed now that I am sleeping 4-5 hours scattered around the day? I still consider weekends to be a time to indulge in extra sleep, and to catch up for missed sleep during the week. The real difference is in what the body considers indulgence. While I used to get up between noon and 2pm on weekends, and would be rather upset if I had to get up before 10 for some event, on the weekends now I can't sleep past 7am, and 6am still feels luxuriously decadent. When your alarm normally goes off at 4 am, 6am feels great, and by 7 I feel how I used to when I would get up at 2pm. The big difference is that, rising at 7 instead of 2, I still have an entire Saturday ahead of me.
Today is Monday, though, and it is a different matter. Went to bed a little before 1am, with the alarm set for 4am. Somehow slept through until 5am. Oh well, try again tonight
Friday, April 16, 2010
Polyphasic Sleep, Day Two
I have already encountered a hitch in my polyphasic sleep plans. It was, in my opinion, the largest hurdle there is when it comes to adopting this lifestyle, namely social pressure. My wife was upset that I would basically be spending no time sleeping in bed at night, and asked me to not do the Uberman schedule that is based entirely on naps with no core.
As I mentioned earlier, I had previously done the so-called "Everyman" schedule that is a core of sleep with three or four naps. I proposed going back to this cycle, and my wife was supportive, so I am changing gears and will be documenting my progress with this plan.
I will be sleeping from approximately 1-4am every day. Naps will be as needed, but are loosely planned for 9am, 2-3pm, and 7-9pm. When I did this plan before, I found that I had a decent amount of flexibility in my nap schedule, so I think I should be fine with this plan. My workplace has an empty office right next to me. I have a pillow stored in a cabinet there, so when nap time hits I can go in, lock the door, close the blinds, and rack out on the desk.
As I mentioned earlier, I had previously done the so-called "Everyman" schedule that is a core of sleep with three or four naps. I proposed going back to this cycle, and my wife was supportive, so I am changing gears and will be documenting my progress with this plan.
I will be sleeping from approximately 1-4am every day. Naps will be as needed, but are loosely planned for 9am, 2-3pm, and 7-9pm. When I did this plan before, I found that I had a decent amount of flexibility in my nap schedule, so I think I should be fine with this plan. My workplace has an empty office right next to me. I have a pillow stored in a cabinet there, so when nap time hits I can go in, lock the door, close the blinds, and rack out on the desk.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Starting a polyphasic sleep schedule
Previously, I maintained a polyphasic "Everyman" sleep schedule, where I slept for three hours at night, from 1-4am, and then took three 20 minute naps scattered throughout the day as needed, for a total of 4 hours of sleep. My nap times were fairly flexible, although there was some criticism from friends of my odd sleep habit.
I had to abandon that cycle during a cross country relocation. The trip took a month, and we stopped numerous times to visit friends and family over the holidays, which meant numerous social engagements that I could not politely escape to take a nap.
Once set up in my new home, I quickly and naturally fell into a biphasic pattern, sleeping from 1-5 am, and then taking a 1 hour nap around 5pm, for a total of 5 hours of sleep.
I am now about to attempt to go polyphasic again, with an attempt at the "Uberman Sleep Schedule." This entails 6 naps a day, 4 hours apart, for 20-30 minutes each, and no core chunk of sleep at all. I tried to start yesterday, turning my one hour nap into two twenty minute naps at 5 and 9pm. When I went to bed at 1am, though, I slept through my alarm and woke up on my own at 5am. Interesting because normally I need the alarm to get up at five, but disappointing because I failed to get up again at one. Although it isn't quite correct to say I slept through it. I set my cell phone alarm, which is much quieter, and in the interests of not disturbing my wife as I got up, I was getting up slowly and fell back asleep. Not quite the same thing, and I just need to be more assertive about getting out of bed when I try tonight.
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