Friday, December 4, 2009
Day 15 - The Change
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Day 07 - Attack of the Monophase
One thing I noticed about the massive oversleep was how much I had adjusted already to having those extra hours in the day - I had a bunch things I needed to do and had planned to do most of them between 5 and whenever. Had to rush to get it all done. Ah well. Better luck next time.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Day 06 - Finally Useful
During the night I finally had the energy and the willpower to do more than just try to stay awake or blob on the couch. Very encouraging. Played a game of chess, read for a bit, then did sparring and weights training. It's been a long time since I've done any boxing - every time I forget how hard it is... Highly effective cardio workout though, and a good way to warm up for weights. Some people have wondered if muscles have enough time to recover on a polyphasic sleep cycle - it's a bit early for me to say really, but Steve has done some long runs since starting Uberman and each time he recovered just fine. It's certainly not something that I think merits worrying about.
I'm pretty happy with where I am currently in the experiment - though I'm not fooling myself that hard times are over, and I don't know just how much I can push the schedule (as I will have to do from time to time) before it becomes ineffective. Wait and see.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Day 05 - The Real World Intrudes
On the black side of that balance sheet, I'm dreaming in pretty much every nap now. It's quite a change - for example, I set my alarm for 5 minutes instead of 25 by accident recently. Fell asleep, woke up with alarm, was already dreaming and felt like I had slept for hours. I felt, in fact, like that nap would've been sufficient. Steve's tried that in the past though, and found that you'll be fine for the first 2 hours or so and then need another nap. Hmm. Could be a new flavour of polyphasing in the works... UltraUberman - Twelve 5 min naps a day! In all seriousness I think Thomas Edison was on a very similar schedule. Crazy man. The wonders that our bodies are capable of, eh?
Monday, November 23, 2009
Day 04 - A Good Night
Steve got back today from a couple days away - it does really help having another poly in the house. Apart from obvious things like making sure each other wakes up on time, it's helpful to have someone to bounce experiences and ideas off of. There's been so little real research done into this area (in spite of its blogcult popularity over recent years) that you are pretty much flying solo. There are only the most basic guidelines and rules to follow, and most "what ifs" are unanswered. So any personal experience is valuable. Also talking to Steve about setting up more of a routine - should help the nights pass more productively. I imagine it won't be stuck to religiously (knowing me) but if there's some sort of structure there I'm sure it'll help.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Day 03 - What Dreams May Come...
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Day 02 - Rewards of Action
Friday, November 20, 2009
Day 01 - So it begins
Well, after many weeks of research, debate and procrastination I've finally decided to switch to the Uberman polyphasic sleep cycle. My flatmate Steve and I had planned to start together, but life rarely goes by the book so he got about a two week jump on me. Ah well. Experience is a good teacher but it's usually nicer if it's someone else's experience, not yours. So I'm not complaining.
As for how the 'polyphasic experience' is going, it's really too early to begin to say. Started naps at 2am Thurs 19th after a full nights sleep on Wed-Thurs. Went on a (5? 6?) many hour hike on Thursday - went really well. Wasn't tired at all, kept to regular naptimes etc. Got home, felt fine. But come 12am it was getting quite difficult to stay awake, and my 2am nap was away off in the foggy theoretical future. Discovered reading was not a good occupation in these circumstances (duh). Made it through, then went for a two hour walk after my 2am. Auckland + no people = not too bad. Amazing what a difference the stillness (and even the lower temperature) makes. It's now coming up to my 6am and I'm doing okay - definitely ready for a sleep. Feeling good overall though. But Day 01 is nothing - the next few days are the crucible.