Polyphasic Sleep

Step 11 2007-09-04 to 2007-09-07

I have high hopes for this pattern of core sleep plus periodic half-hour naps. I am still oversleeping on occasion but generally I am able to stick to this schedule. An extra two hours per day is not as much as I'd hoped for, but it is nothing to sneeze at. It makes my day feel like about half of it is taken up with work, and half remains for Everything Else. Previously I felt like nearly all of my day was taken up with work.

The second-level benefit I was seeing last week, of eating a lot more healthily, has dropped some. I'm still drinking less coke and eating better than I was, but not to the same degree. For example I had some very greasy fried chicken for lunch the other day - tasty I must admit but I didn't supplement it with any greens or anything. From just these two weeks' evidence, it looks like a reverse correlation - the less sleep I get, the more healthy food I eat. However, the drop off also might be due to me falling back into more usual habits after a week of extraordinary novelty. It is Too Soon To Tell - a properly scientific attitude prohibits drawing conclusions from so little data.

I've shifted my nap times slightly to fit with my work schedule better. I'm currently sleeping as follows:

core sleep: 2:00AM - 6:00AM
nap: 10:30AM - 11:00 AM
nap: 2:30PM - 3:00PM
nap: 6:45PM - 7:15PM
nap: 10:30PM - 11:00PM

I have two problem areas: the 10:30PM nap is very hard to wake up from, and it's hard to get up at 6. I just started using a second alarm at 6, which I have placed across the room. This morning that alarm was successful in getting me up in time.

Comments

[KronoNaut]

Perhaps rather than going by the clock, you should listen to your body. If you are sleepy, take a 1/2 hour power nap. When you wake, eat a light healthy meal. -g

[IvanJM]

Keeping in mind that it takes 21 days to set a new habit, I don't want to suggest too much messing with the schedule. However, have you "ever" had an easy time getting up at 6am? Our bodies have natural rhythms (circadian). At certain points in a 24 hour period I get tired, and if I were asleep it would be quite difficult to wake. When I was younger, and stayed up all night, needing to go to bed would hit me about 4:30-5ish. Setting my alarm to wake me during one of these times problematic. I wake easily between 8-10, sometimes even on very little sleep. The 6 time is not, generally speaking a usual time for humans. It's actually about the time we start coming back from deepest sleep and dream again. And 10 is roughly the time we start entering that stage of sleep. I'm not suggesting you make changes, just offering an explanation for why these times are more difficult for you. Light can be a helpful tool in modifying sleep patterns. Try asking your partner to turn the light on once you've fallen asleep so that you are waking to a lit room. Perhaps read up on the effects of different kinds of lighting. A useful tool many use is having something extremely important you have to do when you wake. Not something you are going to have trouble falling asleep thinking about, but something you simply have to do right away. Proteins and fats generally take longer to digest, and offer their energy over time. Carbs offer faster energy over a shorter time. You may want to consider eating small meals soon after you wake up (yes, that's five, but if you research it you'll find this is actually a recommendation from may of the most successful healthy eating plans). Try and make sure these meals are balanced from a perspective of controlling how much energy you want to have (more slow energy for your 6:45 and 3:15, meals faster energy for the rest). The odds are good you won't have as much trouble after a month, so you don't need to worry about having to reinforce your new pattern forever. Though the food plan is generally a good idea for anyone.