Sleep Log Week 1

To understand this blog, you really need to read the previous one first: Sleep Experiment.

Everything I read indicated the transition into polyphasic sleep is not enjoyable or easy. You have to essentially sleep deprive yourself until your body recognizes that you're still getting adequate sleep, just at a different rhythm. I decided to make this leap during spring break when there would be far fewer things going on, but started the transition even before the break by getting in the habit of taking daily naps. I'm not sure why nappers are thought to be lazy, but I figured if I was doing this I couldn't let myself be concerned with what others think. I found a couple couches at school, brought a pillow to campus, and began taking a nap or two a few weeks ago.

During finals week I pushed myself farther by staying up later and only getting ~5 hours of sleep at night and relying more on my naps to get through the day. I was pleasantly surprised how well I felt, and found midnight-2 A.M. to be a very productive period. I considered just staying with that schedule, but curiosity really did kill the cat.

Thursday I gave my last review session, had no more tests to take myself, and made the plunge with my wife's modest support. This is now my 4th night, and I'd have to conclude the experiment is working! My weekend sleep hours looked about like this:

Saturday: 3-3:30 am, 6-6:45 a.m., 8-8:45 am, 11-11:30 am, 5:45-6:30 pm, 10:30-11:45 pm
Sunday: 3-3:30 am, 6-6:30 am, 8-8:45 am, 1-1:30 pm, 4-5:30pm, 11-11:45 pm
Monday: 2-2:30 am

It's now 4 am on Monday, and I'll be going down for another nap in a little bit. Crazy! As you can see, I haven't been exact at the timing between naps and have occasionally over slept. Sunday night in particular I hit a wall while playing games at a friends due to the large gap between naps. The 11 pm nap wasn't great, but I'm keeping with the program. I physically feel a lot better when I keep the schedule regular, but it seems there is some flexibility in the exact timing of the naps. My 1pm nap on Sunday afternoon was one of the best I've had: I woke completely refreshed and felt as if I'd been sleeping a long time. Right now I'll admit my head is a bit foggy and I'm not doing great. My worst time of day is the 6-10 am block, but even that will hopefully become productive and enjoyable time soon.