The bad news: I gave up on polyphasic sleep on day 15. I just couldn't find it in me to keep going - and I still think it's mainly because of the crummy naps I was taking in the office bathroom.
The good news: this experience has shown me that I can survive with much less sleep than I thought I needed. This week, for example, I never slept more than 6 hours, probably getting more like an average of 4.5 hours. Friday night I slept just 8.5 hours, instead of the 10 or more hours I would have slept had I had a week like this a month ago, and I feel perfectly fine now on Saturday.
I've also gotten better at fighting through sleep deprivation and learned that 20-minute naps can be helpful. So while I didn't end up sticking with a polyphasic schedule, I'm happy that I tried it.
Someday, when I have a job with a more flexible schedule, I'll definitely try this again.
06 March 2010
27 February 2010
Weeks 1 and 2 in review
My original hope was that I wouldn't have to do anything like this since I would just stick to the schedule as planned every day and so there would be no need to calculate how long I had slept. Yes, quite naive of me. I'm still going to say that applies for naps though: I've only ever completely missed one, although the couple times I've overslept so much that a nap has gotten skipped. Still, for the most part it's been 3 20-25 minute naps every day, so I'm just going to record my core sleeps:
Week 1:
Day 1: 3 hrs
Day 2: 3 hrs
Day 3: 4 hrs
Day 4: 3 hrs
Day 5: 3 hrs
Day 6: 3 hrs
Day 7: 3 hrs
Average: 3.15hrs
Week 2:
Day 8: 9hrs
Day 9: 3hrs
Day 10: 3hrs
Day 11: 6hrs
Day 12: 3hrs
Day 13: 3hrs
Day 14: 4hrs
Average: 4.5hrs
So on Week 2 I've been oversleeping every 3 days and sleeping an average of 4.5hrs. Seems about as good a reason as any to try out the 4.5+2 schedule. Based on my experience this past couple weeks I'm pretty sure even if I'm getting very poor naps I'll be able to function with 4.5hrs/night of sleep. The downside, of course, is that may day becomes an hour shorter - but it's not like I've been that pressed for time lately.
Also, I really need to figure out how long my sleep cycles are at night so I can pick the exact right amount of time to sleep.
Week 1:
Day 1: 3 hrs
Day 2: 3 hrs
Day 3: 4 hrs
Day 4: 3 hrs
Day 5: 3 hrs
Day 6: 3 hrs
Day 7: 3 hrs
Average: 3.15hrs
Week 2:
Day 8: 9hrs
Day 9: 3hrs
Day 10: 3hrs
Day 11: 6hrs
Day 12: 3hrs
Day 13: 3hrs
Day 14: 4hrs
Average: 4.5hrs
So on Week 2 I've been oversleeping every 3 days and sleeping an average of 4.5hrs. Seems about as good a reason as any to try out the 4.5+2 schedule. Based on my experience this past couple weeks I'm pretty sure even if I'm getting very poor naps I'll be able to function with 4.5hrs/night of sleep. The downside, of course, is that may day becomes an hour shorter - but it's not like I've been that pressed for time lately.
Also, I really need to figure out how long my sleep cycles are at night so I can pick the exact right amount of time to sleep.
Days 14 and 15: continuing difficulty
Things have still been rough, mainly because I haven't been able to find a comfortable way to nap in a bathroom stall. It's actually sad because during the day I'll feel really tired and even have microsleeps every now and then, but when I walk over to the bathroom and try to nap there I don't feel nearly as sleepy. Finding it easier to sleep when I don't want to has been a problem for me before, but it's pretty annoying for it to be happening when I'm this sleep-deprived. I'm still convinced that poor napping is the main reason for my troubles, but I can't think of a good solution to this issue.
Might be a good idea to switch to 4.5hrs + 2naps until I get it figured out. I could definitely use the added flexibility that only requiring 2 naps will give me, and the nap timings should be even more flexible with a 4.5-hour core sleep.
Might be a good idea to switch to 4.5hrs + 2naps until I get it figured out. I could definitely use the added flexibility that only requiring 2 naps will give me, and the nap timings should be even more flexible with a 4.5-hour core sleep.
24 February 2010
Day 13: the elusive bathroom nap
Still having a lot of trouble napping in the bathroom. Actually, my right arm has felt weird all day, and I think it's because I pinched a nerve trying to sleep on it for my first two naps of the day.
On the bright side, the nap I took on the cab home was great, and I feel completely refreshed.
I'm starting to get the impression that this schedule is completely workable, except that I'm not getting quality naps in the office bathroom. Thinking back to the times I've been tired or overslept (which includes this morning, unfortunately, when I woke up at the right time then went back to sleep for nearly an hour), they've all come after days at the office, when I haven't been able to take good naps.
I'm going to go to the bathroom in my house and experiment with positions.
On the bright side, the nap I took on the cab home was great, and I feel completely refreshed.
I'm starting to get the impression that this schedule is completely workable, except that I'm not getting quality naps in the office bathroom. Thinking back to the times I've been tired or overslept (which includes this morning, unfortunately, when I woke up at the right time then went back to sleep for nearly an hour), they've all come after days at the office, when I haven't been able to take good naps.
I'm going to go to the bathroom in my house and experiment with positions.
Days 9 through 12: on the wagon, off the wagon
On Day 9 (Saturday, the morning after I overslept) I jumped back on the wagon, made it through Day 10, but on Day 11 I fell asleep around 12:30am and ended up sleeping over 6 hours. Now it's Day 12.
Yesterday I was miserable: I had a headache for much of the night, and I felt cold again at night when I was trying to stay awake. Today I feel great, and I'm hoping it's not just because I got 6 hours of sleep last night, but that I'm adapting.
On the bright side, even if I only feel good today because of the extra sleep, the very fact that 6 hours counts as extra sleep for my body now is quite heartening. I'll try to keep up the 3hrs+3naps schedule, but if I don't make significant progress soon I'll considering 4.5hs+2naps.
In other news, still experimenting with ways to take naps in the office bathroom. It's always been difficult to find a comfortable position, but I think I'm close to a breakthrough. Then again I think that after every nap, and I can never remember what the new position was by the time I get to my next nap.
Oh, and one more thing: I'm moving my entire schedule back 30 minutes, so that I sleep from 330-630, 1130-1150, 1650-1710, 2210-2230.
Yesterday I was miserable: I had a headache for much of the night, and I felt cold again at night when I was trying to stay awake. Today I feel great, and I'm hoping it's not just because I got 6 hours of sleep last night, but that I'm adapting.
On the bright side, even if I only feel good today because of the extra sleep, the very fact that 6 hours counts as extra sleep for my body now is quite heartening. I'll try to keep up the 3hrs+3naps schedule, but if I don't make significant progress soon I'll considering 4.5hs+2naps.
In other news, still experimenting with ways to take naps in the office bathroom. It's always been difficult to find a comfortable position, but I think I'm close to a breakthrough. Then again I think that after every nap, and I can never remember what the new position was by the time I get to my next nap.
Oh, and one more thing: I'm moving my entire schedule back 30 minutes, so that I sleep from 330-630, 1130-1150, 1650-1710, 2210-2230.
20 February 2010
Day 8: epic failure
God dammit. I slept like 9 hours last night.
I don't remember exactly when, but I was trying to read in my room sometime between 12am and 1am, and I was thinking it was really cold in my room so I decided to sit up in bed to read until I warmed up. Before I knew it I had laid down to get more comfortable, turned out the lights, and decided to go to bed early but wake up at 7. Now, I had been thinking about going to sleep at 2:30 but still waking up at 7, so it's not like this was entirely unplanned, although I'm not sure whether it was 2:30 by the time I turned out the lights, and even if not I had already failed by sleeping a bit before then.
Of course, I didn't wake up at 7 - well, I did, but I quickly turned off my alarm and went back to bed until nearly 10.
It was a hard night to stay awake because the past three days had been very busy at work, and the last two nights I couldn't get to bed at 4 because I had too much work I was so tired yesterday that . But I'm still pretty disappointed with myself. Here's what I'll do from now on to prevent this from happening:
Oh yeah, also that nap from yesterday. I took it. And a few extra, although that apparently wasn't enough to keep me from catastrophically failing later that day.
Days are so short when you don't wake up at 7. I better get started on all the work I have to do this weekend.
I don't remember exactly when, but I was trying to read in my room sometime between 12am and 1am, and I was thinking it was really cold in my room so I decided to sit up in bed to read until I warmed up. Before I knew it I had laid down to get more comfortable, turned out the lights, and decided to go to bed early but wake up at 7. Now, I had been thinking about going to sleep at 2:30 but still waking up at 7, so it's not like this was entirely unplanned, although I'm not sure whether it was 2:30 by the time I turned out the lights, and even if not I had already failed by sleeping a bit before then.
Of course, I didn't wake up at 7 - well, I did, but I quickly turned off my alarm and went back to bed until nearly 10.
It was a hard night to stay awake because the past three days had been very busy at work, and the last two nights I couldn't get to bed at 4 because I had too much work I was so tired yesterday that . But I'm still pretty disappointed with myself. Here's what I'll do from now on to prevent this from happening:
- Don't get into bed just because I'm cold. Instead put on more clothes, drink something warm, maybe do some calisthenics to warm up my body.
- If whatever I'm doing isn't keeping my interest and it's not something I absolutely have to do at that time, switch to something that I'll enjoy more, like watching TV.
- On weekends, put my alarm somewhere where I'll have to get out of bed to turn it off.
Oh yeah, also that nap from yesterday. I took it. And a few extra, although that apparently wasn't enough to keep me from catastrophically failing later that day.
Days are so short when you don't wake up at 7. I better get started on all the work I have to do this weekend.
19 February 2010
Days 6 and 7: ridiculously busy
Haven't had time to update because of two consecutive 15-hour days at work. No idea how I would have survived days like this if I hadn't switched to this schedule - quite fortuitous, actually. And rest assured that I've been sticking to the schedule - if anything I've been getting less sleep. Who would have thought that I'd ever have trouble getting my work done by 4am?
I've been feeling better and better during the day, except for the hour or so before and after my 4am-7am core sleep, which continues to be brutal.
Stating to have issues with the logistics of taking three naps in a day since I started working on client stuff. As I told Dan before, that's going to be the biggest challenge of this schedule.
Today's Day 8, and there's a meeting at noon that conflicts with my first nap. Moreover, it might be hard to nap right before or after it because the team I'm working with is going to be trying hard to get materials ready for a client meeting at 3pm. This brings us to the first cliffhanger of my blog: what will become of my nap? DUN DUN DUN.
I've been feeling better and better during the day, except for the hour or so before and after my 4am-7am core sleep, which continues to be brutal.
Stating to have issues with the logistics of taking three naps in a day since I started working on client stuff. As I told Dan before, that's going to be the biggest challenge of this schedule.
Today's Day 8, and there's a meeting at noon that conflicts with my first nap. Moreover, it might be hard to nap right before or after it because the team I'm working with is going to be trying hard to get materials ready for a client meeting at 3pm. This brings us to the first cliffhanger of my blog: what will become of my nap? DUN DUN DUN.
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