Due to a hectic schedule my sleep routine has been anything but routine. I can see why people end up going back to monophasic sleeping. There have been days where it just isn't possible to get away for 20 minutes to sleep. Many days it may by possible, but just not convenient. I have had to teach a class that demanded all my time during the day. The company I work for recently moved in a whirlwind weekend which didn't really accommodate nap times. I have had to travel to teach.
My sweet wife is very supportive, so my 9pm nap time is almost always available. The only problem is that when I haven't taken my other naps during the day, my 20 minute nap tends to become a long night's sleep. I hate that! I think I will just skip my 9pm when I haven't gotten the other naps.
The last 10 days have been extremely inconsistent. My sleep is haphazard. I hope that the coming weeks will settle down and I can get a routine back.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Polyphasic Sleep Log: Days 25-30
This week was not very accommodating to a polyphasic sleep schedule. A couple things threw me off. First of all, I was teaching a computer security class that took every spare moment of class time to cover all of the material. That made the 4pm nap impossible. My lunch naps were thrown out the window when my car started having problems on Tuesday. If it sits in the cold for too long it has a hard time starting. So I spent my lunches trying to work on the car.
I ended up going to bed at the same time as the kids a couple times this week. That was the whole reason I started this new sleep schedule was to be able to stay up later than my kids! So, this coming week looks much more accommodating to polyphasic sleeping. I am up early now. If I get my naps today I will be able to stay up until 1am again and get back on track. I guess I like the flexibility that I have with my sleeping now. Sleeping used to dictate to me when it happened. Now I can take control of when I sleep (depending on my schedule).
I ended up going to bed at the same time as the kids a couple times this week. That was the whole reason I started this new sleep schedule was to be able to stay up later than my kids! So, this coming week looks much more accommodating to polyphasic sleeping. I am up early now. If I get my naps today I will be able to stay up until 1am again and get back on track. I guess I like the flexibility that I have with my sleeping now. Sleeping used to dictate to me when it happened. Now I can take control of when I sleep (depending on my schedule).
Monday, February 9, 2009
Polyphasic Sleep Log: Days 22-24
Well I would like to say I have been a dedicated polyphasic sleeper, but this weekend was about the most monophasic I have slept since I started this adventure.
Thursday night I got to bed a 1ish and then didn't wake up until the sun had started to rise. I opened my eyes and realized it was getting light. AAAH! That meant I probably was late to teach seminary! Sure enough, it was already 7am and I totally missed seminary. That also meant that I slept for 6 hours. And it meant that I was even late for my work meeting! Once again I don't remember any alarm going off. I think I've grown accustomed to my alarm and must be sleeping through it?
Friday's naps didn't work too well either (maybe because I got 6 hours sleep the night before) I think my noon nap worked OK, but I didn't get my 4pm nap at all. I didn't get out of work early, and when I finally got out and tried to take a little nap, I felt like I should just go home. So I did. the 9pm nap didn't quite happen either. I did lay down for it, but I didn't fall asleep very much (if at all). So Friday night I ended up sleeping through my alarm again and didn't wake up until sunrise again. I think I got about 7 hours of sleep.
Saturday I didn't take any naps. I didn't take an 8am nap because I had barely woken up by 8am. My noon and 4pm naps didn't happen because I was just enjoying my Saturday with the fam. Friends came over in the evening and we played until midnight, so the 9pm nap didn't happen either. I was sooo tired by midnight that I didn't make it until 1am for my normal core sleep phase. Then when I woke up Sunday morning it was 9am. I got 8 hours sleep. I pretty much ended up with a "normal" sleep schedule for those couple of days.
I miss the extra time I had when I was dedicated. So, Sunday I made sure to take all my naps. They were slightly off schedule, but I got all 3 naps in. I didn't take my 8am nap, because I was still asleep :). I got a 1:30pm, a 4:30pm, and a 9:15pm nap. So I made it to 1am without much of a problem. I decided to try to get a 3 hour core, but slept through the alarm, or turned it off in my sleep or something. I woke up naturally at 5:15ish, for a 4 hour core sleep. Now I'm up writing this blog post! I'm going to have to do my morning nap at 7am instead of 8am because of work.
Thursday night I got to bed a 1ish and then didn't wake up until the sun had started to rise. I opened my eyes and realized it was getting light. AAAH! That meant I probably was late to teach seminary! Sure enough, it was already 7am and I totally missed seminary. That also meant that I slept for 6 hours. And it meant that I was even late for my work meeting! Once again I don't remember any alarm going off. I think I've grown accustomed to my alarm and must be sleeping through it?
Friday's naps didn't work too well either (maybe because I got 6 hours sleep the night before) I think my noon nap worked OK, but I didn't get my 4pm nap at all. I didn't get out of work early, and when I finally got out and tried to take a little nap, I felt like I should just go home. So I did. the 9pm nap didn't quite happen either. I did lay down for it, but I didn't fall asleep very much (if at all). So Friday night I ended up sleeping through my alarm again and didn't wake up until sunrise again. I think I got about 7 hours of sleep.
Saturday I didn't take any naps. I didn't take an 8am nap because I had barely woken up by 8am. My noon and 4pm naps didn't happen because I was just enjoying my Saturday with the fam. Friends came over in the evening and we played until midnight, so the 9pm nap didn't happen either. I was sooo tired by midnight that I didn't make it until 1am for my normal core sleep phase. Then when I woke up Sunday morning it was 9am. I got 8 hours sleep. I pretty much ended up with a "normal" sleep schedule for those couple of days.
I miss the extra time I had when I was dedicated. So, Sunday I made sure to take all my naps. They were slightly off schedule, but I got all 3 naps in. I didn't take my 8am nap, because I was still asleep :). I got a 1:30pm, a 4:30pm, and a 9:15pm nap. So I made it to 1am without much of a problem. I decided to try to get a 3 hour core, but slept through the alarm, or turned it off in my sleep or something. I woke up naturally at 5:15ish, for a 4 hour core sleep. Now I'm up writing this blog post! I'm going to have to do my morning nap at 7am instead of 8am because of work.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Polyphasic Sleep Log: Days 19-21
My thought of reducing my core sleep hasn't happened. I did the one night where I got 1 1/2 hours of core sleep and one extra nap. The next night I had a headache. I don't know for sure that it was related, but I have had it happen before, when I get a little sleep deprived. So, I've kept my normal schedule of 3-5 hours core sleep and 4 naps fairly well until last night.
I'm not sure what happened but my 9pm nap turned into a core sleep phase. I didn't really get down until after 9:30. I think I didn't get the alarm reset. I woke up at about 2:30am. I figured that was 5 hours and I would get up and stay up. I have my hardest times when it's before the dawn. It's dark and everyone is asleep, so my body just says, "what in the world are you doing up at this time of day?" I stayed up for a little over an hour preparing a seminary lesson before going back down for another hour and a half nap. I was pretty tired after the nap, but I had to go teach seminary (from 6:00-6:45). I was prepared but tired. After seminary I drove home and pulled the car into the garage, laid the seat back and got a 10min nap. When I woke up I felt really good. I woke up without the alarm, it was fairly dark in the garage, and I felt like I had just gotten a nice night's sleep. I am wondering if I would have felt better for seminary with a shorter nap.
I am learning that I do pretty good with only 10 minutes nap when I wake up naturally. I don't always take the full 20 minutes. I have not been very strict with my naps. I kind of go with the flow and just sleep when I want to. I sometimes sleep longer than I want to, but I will usually sleep when I feel tired. I wonder if the lack of discipline is what derails me sometimes.
For the most part, I don't feel like this is a big experiment anymore. It's just normal for me. It feels like I've been doing this for a lot longer than 21 days.
I'm not sure what happened but my 9pm nap turned into a core sleep phase. I didn't really get down until after 9:30. I think I didn't get the alarm reset. I woke up at about 2:30am. I figured that was 5 hours and I would get up and stay up. I have my hardest times when it's before the dawn. It's dark and everyone is asleep, so my body just says, "what in the world are you doing up at this time of day?" I stayed up for a little over an hour preparing a seminary lesson before going back down for another hour and a half nap. I was pretty tired after the nap, but I had to go teach seminary (from 6:00-6:45). I was prepared but tired. After seminary I drove home and pulled the car into the garage, laid the seat back and got a 10min nap. When I woke up I felt really good. I woke up without the alarm, it was fairly dark in the garage, and I felt like I had just gotten a nice night's sleep. I am wondering if I would have felt better for seminary with a shorter nap.
I am learning that I do pretty good with only 10 minutes nap when I wake up naturally. I don't always take the full 20 minutes. I have not been very strict with my naps. I kind of go with the flow and just sleep when I want to. I sometimes sleep longer than I want to, but I will usually sleep when I feel tired. I wonder if the lack of discipline is what derails me sometimes.
For the most part, I don't feel like this is a big experiment anymore. It's just normal for me. It feels like I've been doing this for a lot longer than 21 days.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Polyphasic Sleep Log: Days 16-18
Once again, I am going to merge several days into one blog entry. I actually do have something that isn't just the same old stuff this time.
Friday was a normal polyphasic day. Naps on schedule all day long, no problems falling asleep, and no sleepiness throughout the day. I feel like I have totally adjusted to my nap schedule.
Friday night's core sleep was a feeble attempt at reducing my hours of sleep. I ended up "sleeping in" until about 7am. Needless to say, I didn't take my 8am nap. A 6 hour core sleep actually turned out to be an OK thing. The weekends are not as structured as weekdays, so my schedule gets pushed around. Saturday we went to visit Grandma during what normally would have been my 12pm nap. Driving home at 1:30pm after not getting my nap was a drowsy, sleepy ride (it's only a 15 minute drive, but I was ready to sleep). I finally got down for my nap at around 2pm... and decided not to worry about keeping it short. I think I slept for an hour or so. We had my niece's baptism at 4:00pm, so I got up, got ready and got going. After the baptism we were invited to spend time with the family, and stayed until about 9pm. I did get another nap after we got home. So, it turned out to be pretty much impossible to take my naps at the normal times. I only got 2 naps, instead of 4 (with one nap being extended to 1 hour).
At 1am I went down for my core sleep with the idea that I would try to keep it a little shorter... 7 hours later I was waking up at 8am. I have pretty much decided that on the weekends I am going to not worry about it too much. Weekends would seem to be the better time to get less sleep, since I don't exactly have to be mentally sharp. Due to the lack of normal nap times it turns out to be a good time to grab the extra recharge sleep phases. Church runs right through my 12pm nap time, and since I got 7 hours of sleep I didn't worry too much about trying to sneak away for a quick nap. I was able to get a nap sometime in the afternoon, and then again at around 9pm. 2 naps instead of 4. I didn't have any noticeable tiredness, until about 11:30pm. I had recorded the Super Bowl and decided to watch it then, and have a snack to keep me up during the game. I watched until half time which lined up perfectly with my 1am core sleep. BUT... I decided to take a 15 minute nap and get up to watch the rest. I was actually able to get up! Normally, I don't have the motivation to get up, but now I actually had something to give me that extra incentive (the second half!) I was pretty tired for a while after waking up, but once I got awake enough, I was OK until about 3:30am. Then I got a shortened core sleep of 1 1/2 hours. Woke up around 5am and got ready to teach seminary. For those of you who may scratch your head at that, it's an early morning Scripture study class for high-school kids. They are studying the New Testament this year, and I am substituting pretty regularly these days. We are in Romans and learned about Grace. So, that is another motivator to get less sleep.
We'll see how I do this week. Maybe I will actually shift to a shorter core sleep this week.
Friday was a normal polyphasic day. Naps on schedule all day long, no problems falling asleep, and no sleepiness throughout the day. I feel like I have totally adjusted to my nap schedule.
Friday night's core sleep was a feeble attempt at reducing my hours of sleep. I ended up "sleeping in" until about 7am. Needless to say, I didn't take my 8am nap. A 6 hour core sleep actually turned out to be an OK thing. The weekends are not as structured as weekdays, so my schedule gets pushed around. Saturday we went to visit Grandma during what normally would have been my 12pm nap. Driving home at 1:30pm after not getting my nap was a drowsy, sleepy ride (it's only a 15 minute drive, but I was ready to sleep). I finally got down for my nap at around 2pm... and decided not to worry about keeping it short. I think I slept for an hour or so. We had my niece's baptism at 4:00pm, so I got up, got ready and got going. After the baptism we were invited to spend time with the family, and stayed until about 9pm. I did get another nap after we got home. So, it turned out to be pretty much impossible to take my naps at the normal times. I only got 2 naps, instead of 4 (with one nap being extended to 1 hour).
At 1am I went down for my core sleep with the idea that I would try to keep it a little shorter... 7 hours later I was waking up at 8am. I have pretty much decided that on the weekends I am going to not worry about it too much. Weekends would seem to be the better time to get less sleep, since I don't exactly have to be mentally sharp. Due to the lack of normal nap times it turns out to be a good time to grab the extra recharge sleep phases. Church runs right through my 12pm nap time, and since I got 7 hours of sleep I didn't worry too much about trying to sneak away for a quick nap. I was able to get a nap sometime in the afternoon, and then again at around 9pm. 2 naps instead of 4. I didn't have any noticeable tiredness, until about 11:30pm. I had recorded the Super Bowl and decided to watch it then, and have a snack to keep me up during the game. I watched until half time which lined up perfectly with my 1am core sleep. BUT... I decided to take a 15 minute nap and get up to watch the rest. I was actually able to get up! Normally, I don't have the motivation to get up, but now I actually had something to give me that extra incentive (the second half!) I was pretty tired for a while after waking up, but once I got awake enough, I was OK until about 3:30am. Then I got a shortened core sleep of 1 1/2 hours. Woke up around 5am and got ready to teach seminary. For those of you who may scratch your head at that, it's an early morning Scripture study class for high-school kids. They are studying the New Testament this year, and I am substituting pretty regularly these days. We are in Romans and learned about Grace. So, that is another motivator to get less sleep.
We'll see how I do this week. Maybe I will actually shift to a shorter core sleep this week.
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