This morning now marks the THIRD time that I’ve overslept my 1:30 nap.  I don’t know why this is.  I do know that I have, on occasion, before the experiment slept straight through alarms.  Some days I turn them off and don’t realize.  I’m trying to figure out what happened (again) this morning, and why.

I’m also considering whether I should continue with this little experiment.

It seems I get about 4 to 5 days in when I sleep through one full 4 hour block.  To prevent this I had been using my watch alarm in combination with my cell phone alarm (since I’ve been napping on the couch, I put the phone on the glass table so that the vibration would add to the cacophony.)  One mistake might have been that the cell phone was on a book, rather than directly on the glass, where the vibration has the most violent effect.

The only good thing was that this time I woke up on my own, exactly at 6:00.  So my body’s starting to find some kind of rhythm.  But the weirdest thing is that I wasn’t really even that tired when I laid down at 1:30.  Though somehow my next thought was waking up at 6, with both my alarms still set for 2.

Apart from this incident, the experiment has been going well.  I’m not usually too tired (at least not during the day) and I haven’t had much trouble keeping the nap schedule.  It just seems that my body has other plans of it’s own.

So now I have to decide whether to scrap this experiment, or restart it for the 4th time…  part of me really just wants to go back to a normal cycle and sleep in bed with my wife for a change.  But the other part, the one that doesn’t let me quit and that knows how much better this will be for my work schedule, is screaming at me to keep going.  Either way, oversleeping means I’m going to be dead tired for the next few 4 hour blocks…

Given that I am more groggy after and before each nap now than I was a few days ago, I am inclined to believe that my body is making the adjustment, and the 5 hour sleep I accidentally got 3 days ago did indeed set me back to the beginning (or near it).

From what I’d read, days 3-10 are the hardest.  Well.  Here we go.

Like I mentioned before, I’ve been much more groggy today.  Before and after naps I feel almost drunk I’m so tired.  It’s a struggle to keep my eyes open if I sit for even a minute.  So I tried to keep myself busy with physical tasks, but I ran out of them, or it got too late.  So I tried mentally stimulating next.  Work was good because it forced me to focus, and gave me clear challenges to overcome.

I skipped my afternoon workout today, since I worked out in the morning, plus I was feeling very tired and worn out at the time.  My muscles are still recovering from the last workout.  To make up for this, I’ve been using push-ups and sit-ups to wake myself up after my naps.  It works great, but wears off pretty quickly. 

One problem I’m noticing is that when I get very tired, I clench my jaw to stay awake.  This is causing some soreness throughout my neck and jaw, and is just plain annoying on top of that.  But I’m trying to notice whenever I do it so I can stop.

The 2am – 5:30am block continues to be the greatest struggle.  I think that if I had a "simulated dawn", it might help.  Maybe I’ll give this a try if I can figure out a way to slowly turn on the lights while I’m asleep…

This is the second day since my oversleeping, but the 6th day overall of my attempt at adjusting to a Polyphasic sleep schedule.

So far, things have been easier than expected.  I’ve only had a few times that I’ve been drunkenly drowsy.  The rest of the time I feel about as rested as if I had slept a normal night.  Except that it doesn’t last as long, and I am usually getting tired about 30 minutes before naptime.

Nighttimes are the hardest times.  Things are quiet and it’s easy to get comfortable.  Plus, the combination of darkness and my habitual day-night rythm bekons me to sleep.  This is also the time I’ve selected to do my work, so it’s been pretty difficult to sit at the computer.  I’ve had to augment my hours by making sure I do some during the day as well.  Which is just as well because my 2 night blocks only gives me about 6-7 hours of work time, plus the afternoons line up better for communications back with the home office.

I’ve managed to adjust my appetite and eating schedule so that I’m not constantly binging, and that I’m eating roughly the same times I used to, allowing for fasting time during the night.  I’ve also adjusted my diet to include more fruits and vegetables, and less meats.  With the exception of the chicken/bacon/cheddar dish with honey mustard sauce we made for dinner tonight.  Yum!  I’m also avoiding caffeine and alcohol.  For the most part.

This morning, during my 5:30 nap, I had my first really vivid dream.  Many people report having vivid dreams on this schedule.  This is a good sign, because it indicates that my body is adapting, and I’m hitting that REM sleep.  But it’s not quite there yet, so I woke mid-dream to find myself even more groggy than usual.  I think that my body managed to get into sleep mode, but had trouble shifting gears so quickly to being awake again.  A little more time and I’ll get there.

The additional free time has been just enough to reduce my overall stress level, and allow me to slow down and enjoy things a bit more.  At night I struggle to find activities to pass the time and still keep awake without waking up the wife or the dog.  During the day,  I haven’t had as much time as I first thought, because my main problem had been that I already had little time between activities in which to work, so this frees up those small blocks, allowing me to work at night.  Rather than giving me large blocks of daylight free time, this has really just relaxed my days, and allowing me to take a block of time here and there.  Especially on days when I’m not tutoring.

As far as athletics go, I am noticing a decrease in performance.  Today my kicks were sluggish, though my flexibility was much better.  I’m pretty sore, but that could be more due to the constant hours on the couch, and the fact that I didn’t exercise at all last week, combined with resuming my exercise this week.  So it may not be a direct result of the sleep schedule.  Though I’m pretty sure my sluggishness was due to my being physically tired.  I’m hoping that will pass as I progress through the adjustment phase.

Schedulewise, the naps have not been in conflict with much.  I have a few tight squeezes here and there, but no blatant conflicts.  Though in order to play volleyball on Thursday nights, I might have to find a quiet nook in the school for a nap, but I can probably use Jess’ office for this.  And the great thing is that I only need to tuck in for 30 minutes, which is exactly the amount of time I have to wait between tutoring and volleyball.  Kinda nice how that all works out, eh?

Since I overslept Monday morning from 1:30 to 6:30 am, I’m considering this day 1, though I’ve technically been doing this for 5 days (I started on Friday).

Aside from the late night spans, I haven’t been all that tired between naps, and I’ve actually felt pretty normal.  Though I find myself starting to get tired 60 – 30 minutes before my scheduled naps. 

When I missed one nap, I didn’t feel too bad, but it threw everything else out of whack.  Sleeping in made it much worse, and I was so exhausted that everyone thought I was sick.

The only other major change I’m noticing is in my appetite, and how often I’m going to the bathroom.  I may be getting a slight stomach bug, or it might be due to the adjustment, I’m not sure.  But as of this morning I’m being more careful about regulating my meals, and making sure I eat well.

One of the things I’ve read that helps is good diet, and also lower exposure to man-made lighting is supposed to help you sleep not only less, but higher quality – which is what this experiment is all about achieving in the utmost.

I’ve heard that days 3 – 10 are supposed to be the worst part of the roughly 2 week adjustment phase, but so far I haven’t had any adverse affects as long as I stick to the schedule, and I really haven’t been as tired as I would have expected.  And I should know – I’ve spent plenty of nights where I slept only a few hours, if at all, and I had fully expected to be much more tired.

As for the effects on athletics, I’ve hit the gym twice now, and both times felt great once I got going.  The first time was rough, because it was right after I had slept in.  But even then I felt great once I started moving.

I’ve found that, for the later hours especially, I need to keep busy with physically engaging tasks.  So I’ve been cleaning and organizing like crazy, which helps because a clean, tidy home reduces stress (for me anyway).  I tried reading and doing stuff on the computer (even games) and my eyelids kept drooping. 

However, the extra free time has been so great, and I’ve been able to accomplish much more than I normally do, which has made me feel really good.  Plus I can do work for my job during the hours that my wife is working on her school work, and also while she’s asleep, leaving my daylight hours open for daytime activities.  It also leaves me free from distractions of the canine variety, which helps.

All in all, things are going smoothly.  We’ll see what happens over the next few days, but I definitely don’t feel like I’m only getting 2 or 3 hours of sleep at night.  I feel about the same as I usually do, and I haven’t fully adjusted yet, so I’m feeling pretty optimistic about what’s to come.

So I’ve decided to adjust my schedule to a polyphasic sleep schedule, specifically the schedule known as the "Uberman" schedule, which I’ll describe in more detail later.

I’m writing this to address the common questions I’m asked when doing this, as well as to document my experiences.

What is Polyphasic sleep?

This is one of the first things people ask me when I tell them what I’m doing.

Most people sleep on a monophasic or biphasic schedule.  This simply means that they sleep for one (mono-) or two (bi-) blocks of time each day.  Polyphasic means that the person sleeps many (poly-) times per day. 

There are many variations of this sleep schedule, ranging from some with a block of "core" sleep, and 3 or 4 naps, to schedules with frequent, short naps.

Polyphasic sleep is the best way to reduce the amount of sleep you need per day, but it’s not for everyone.  Some people need more sleep than others.  Part of this is genetics, but part is also diet and exercise related.  Studies have shown that people who eat less meat, and more uncooked fruits and vegetables require less sleep on a monophasic schedule, and have also shown increased energy levels.

Polyphasic sleep schedules are used by astronauts, soldiers, and sailors (especially solo sailors), because they work constant schedules, and cannot afford long periods of sleep, but must also retain a high level of cognitive functionality and awareness.

Why are you doing this?

The oh-so-popular second question.  The one I hear even after I’ve fully explained it – proving that many people are egocentric and cannot understand something outside of their own experiences and desires.  That’s fine with me.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion.  But that means that I have my own, too.

The short answer to this question is simply: Curiosity.  I want to see if I can do it, if it works, and how this affects my activities.  Can I do more?  Maybe study some more or play more games?  It would definitely help me keep up on chores and work, while allowing me plenty of time for fun and exploration!

The more involved answer is that, combined with my curiousity, things right now are perfectly aligned for this type of sleep schedule.

I have a lot going on, and am having trouble fitting it all in on a regular schedule.  I don’t usually get more than 6 hours of sleep per night anyways, so I know that I figure the transition might not be as difficult for me.  Plus, I’ve been sleep deprived before (to a dangerous level), so I know what to look out for, and how to handle it a bit better.

My day is typically chunked up into blocks that fit perfectly into the nap schedule.

I have no car, and therefore don’t need to worry about the dangerous effects of exhaustion during the transition phase.

I work at home, on a flexible schedule.  So I can take the naps when needed without interruption or seeming weird (by locking myself in my office and sleeping several times per day).

I am 6 hours ahead of everyone else I work with, making it better for me to work in the evenings.

So, how does it work?  Is it dangerous?

This is most people’s concern, and the honest answer is: Nobody really knows.

Nearly all sleep research is based on Monophasic sleep.  Based on this, studies have shown that cognitive functionality peaks between 4 and 6 hours of sleep, steadily falling off with more, or less.

Yes – too much sleep is just as bad as too little. 

Also – each person needs a different amount of sleep to function.  On average, this is the magical 8 hours we all know about.  But that’s an average…   Meaning there could be people who need 6 hours and those who need 10 – which averages to 8.

Claudio Stampi published a research book titled "Why we nap".  This book is now out of print, but it is the best (and one of the only) scientific studies of polyphasic sleep that I could find.  And even these are fairly inconclusive.  He does, however, find that eventually (after the body has adjusted), polyphasic sleep hits all of the usual sleep phases, but in a proportionally smaller amount of time.

It is also shown that in Monophasic sleep, few people can go below 4 hours on a regular basis, but with polyphasic schedules, people were able to sleep much less, and resulted with much more energy.  The same can be found from the various bloggers who have experimented with the schedule.

The most dangerous thing about this schedule is the transition phase.  This is no different than changing sleep due to jet lag, or shift work (actually, rotating shift work was found to be far worse, since the body never fully adjusts and though you are technically asleep, you are not getting the kind of sleep needed).

During the adjustment period (anywhere from a few days up to 2 weeks), the body becomes sleep deprived.  Because of this, when you take the scheduled nap, the body eventually adjusts to quickly dive into the most crucial sleep stages – REM specifically.  After time, things level off and you get all stages.  The body also learns that it will only be sleeping for a short period of time, so the sleep stages are accelerated. 

One of the main concerns outside of this period of sleep deprivation (which is only at it’s worst for typically 2 days or so) is that some researchers believe that during our nightly sleep is when short term memory is converted to long term, and also muscle repair.  Also, a reduction in creativity is a concern.

So far, from the accounts I’ve read, nobody has reported these effects after they have adjusted.  In fact, most state that they feel more awake and energized.

Eventually, your body adjusts and you are able to fall asleep quickly, and wake without an alarm.  This is very important for healthy sleep, because actually waking to an alarm is very unhealthy, since it interrupts the natural rythm.  Unfortunately, since the phases are so stretched when we sleep Monophasically, and most people do not adhere to a strict time schedule, most of us need alarms.

So what do you have to do?

Now here’s the meat and potatoes…   The schedule and how to keep to it! 

I am following what’s known as the "Uberman" schedule: which is 6 naps of 20-30 minutes, spaced 4 hours apart.  This totals to a total bed time of 2-3 hours.  It doesn’t sound like much, but it supposedly works.  I’ll let you know eventually.

I’ve chosen the times of 1:30, 5:30, and 9:30 (both AM and PM) for my naps because it fits perfectly into my schedule.

I wake up every day (before this experiment) at 5:45, when I immediately take the dog out, and then walk her and feed her breakfast. 

On Mondays and Thursdays, I go to Jess’ school to teach a taekwondo class.  I leave the apartment at 7, work out on my own a bit, then teach from 8 – 8:45.  Then I catch a bus home.  If I’m lucky, I’m home shortly after 9.  But if I drag my feet, I sometimes get back much later.

Every day I eat lunch at 11am, then walk the dog at 11:30, and feed her when we get back at 12. (though sometimes this schedule is advanced by 30 to 60 minutes)

On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursday nights, I tutor.  Tuesdays and Thursdays it is from 4-5pm, and Wednesdays I have 2 sessions back to back from 3-5pm. 

In the evenings, I walk the dog at 5:30 and feed her at 6.  Though sometimes this is advanced, and on the new schedule this is going to be a walk at 6, and dinner at 6:30.

You may be wondering when the heck I work, considering that whenever I go to the school I need to take a bus, which is about 30 – 60 minutes, depending whether or not I can catch one quickly.  Before now I tried to fit it in between all of this.  But with sporadic dog interruptions, this was very difficult.  I averaged 5-6 hours each day, and had to finish up the rest on nights and weekends.

On the new schedule, I will be able to work 6-8 hours each night while the dog is crated and asleep, leaving my days free for the other things that aren’t getting done, such as cleaning, Polish lessons, grocery shopping, cooking meals, etc… 

Additionally, using the hours I’ve chosen, I will be able to fall asleep with my wife when she goes to bed (9:30), and then slip back into bed for my 5:30 nap so we can wake up together at 6.  It’s a poor substitute for sleeping side-by-side, and admittedly that is far more difficult to go without, than it is to make the sleep adjustment.

Most people abandon this schedule not because they’re not sleeping enough, but becasue it doesn’t fit into the schedule of our society.  Some never make it through the adjustment, either, before they give up.

It all depends on the individual.  One person wrote that they were falling asleep standing up after the first day.  I’ve grown up staying up all night playing games, reading, and other activities, so this is no big deal to me, and I actually find the idea of falling asleep standing up after only one night to be a bit ridiculous.

Pros and Cons

So here’s the all-important decision making tool we all love so much.  Pros and cons.  This is my list, based on what I’ve read, what I’ve experienced, and what I expect.  This list will probably be different for each person.

Pros

• 21-22 wakeful hours to do stuff with (I will be able to work on languages, write more, keep the house clean and well stocked, play games, explore the city, all while working full time, exercising, and continuing to tutor for the school… The phrase "So much to do and so little time" will disappear)
• Reportedly more energy during wakeful hours
• Back and joint stiffness from sleeping doesn’t really happen when you’re only down for 20 minutes.
• My job is sedentary, so my body can still be at rest, but I can use my extra hours for more exercise – leading to a healthier life.
• Works with my current schedule and lack of car
• On this schedule, I will not feel the effects of jet lag, or any other sleep cycle change, since I can maintain the same 20 minute naps almost transparency

Cons

• Will not be sleeping next to my wife all night
• Strict schedule – missing even one nap can throw everything off
• Extremely difficult transition period. (sleep deprivation main concern)
• Constant wakefulness means eating more and using more electricity
• Lack of nightly "fast" means that I must remember to fast regularly
• People will make fun of me for it (mostly due to lack of understanding) – luckily public school prepared me for this.
• Cannot easily partake in activities that span for more than 4 hours, or overlap with a nap time.  Need to work around it somehow.
• Need to fill wakeful hours to avoid boredom and loneliness – but I have accounted for this by reserving night hours for work, and day hours for chores and other activities that keep me active and out of the house.
• Not sure how this will affect muscle repair from exercise.  One blogger wrote that they jog and haven’t noticed any difference, but that’s not the same as taekwondo.
• Hard to keep track of which day it is – days will all roll together.

My experiences so far

So far, the transition has been easier than I expected.  But I might not have hit the brunt of it yet.

I started Friday night (it’s currently Monday).  I was a bit groggy between some of the naps – spefically the ones I wasn’t able to sleep through.  But nothing debilitating.  So far the hardest part has been dealing with the constant questions and concerns, and the frustration of missed naps.

Though I usually don’t need much sleep – I also tend to take a long time to fall asleep.  This has made the napping difficult.

I’ve also had 2 times so far where I’ve experienced what’s meant by "Sleep Inertia".  It’s the reason you need to get up as soon as the alarm goes off…  you’ll fall back asleep and be out for longer than you’d hoped.  Or, if you snooze button it, you’ll wake up so much more groggy than if you’d just gritted your teeth and gotten up the first time.

Yesterday was a bad day, because I had one nap that I took early, rather than miss all together.  Then 2 naps later I was unable to sleep through.  The result was that I was so tired, I took my 1:30 nap 10 minutes early.  I then slept straight through the alarm and woke u pat 6:30 when my wife got up with the dog. 

This block of time made me surprisingly MORE tired than I had felt over the past few days of keeping to the schedule.  Worse than that, though, is the fact that this means I’m essentially starting over.  So, even though I’ve been on the schedule for 3 days now (today being the fourth), today is essentially the first day.

However, so far I’ve taken to the schedule pretty well.  In preparation, I started napping regularly a few weeks ago, and then sleeping less at night.  This was easy because we had just come off of a vacation which prevented both of us from getting a good night’s sleep, so I was already pretty tired when starting the transition.  I believe this helped.

I will try to keep a log of each day from here on out, documenting how the naps went and how I’m feeling.