tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35445962011-12-14T18:52:27.680-08:00Polyphasic Sleep Experiment: aka. Uberman sleepThis is a web log of our sleep experiments.Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comBlogger311100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-1139005342790434622006-02-03T14:19:00.000-08:002006-02-03T14:25:38.096-08:00Well, it's been 3 1/2 years since my original experiment, and I still get several emails a week asking me one common question: "Are you still doing a polyphasic sleep schedule?" I usually point people to my other blog where I made an entry about how things are going these days. You can read that entry here:The last "Polyphasic Sleep Experiment" blog entryI still love to hear from people who have Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-796802142002-08-01T01:26:00.000-07:002002-08-01T01:26:10.530-07:00Well its past the two month mark. I've gradually settled into a polyphasic sleeping pattern of 3.5 to 4.5 hours of core sleep and two or three 30 minute naps. I've been maintaining this without a slip (reboot) for quite some time. This totals about 4.5 to 5.5 hours of sleep a day, which is still a bit more than I had intended at the start of this, but still a gain on my old 8-9 hour sleep per Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-794607122002-07-26T18:52:00.000-07:002002-07-26T18:52:07.006-07:00I received the book written by Claudio Stampi today! I'll be reading it over the weekend and I'll post a short review of it soon. After reading the book and a little more research, I will be diving into the 6x30 min. napping schedule. That will reduce my sleeping time per day to 3 hours per 24 hours. Part of me is still sceptical that it will work, but from what I've read people are doing it,Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-787221272002-07-09T00:19:00.000-07:002002-07-09T00:45:33.000-07:00Day 40
I guess counting the days does not make much sense anymore. I am still living the polyphasic life more days a week than not. But I am not the perfect polyphasic sleeper, I take days off when its impossible to nap -- like over the long weekend of the 4th of July as I had guests and we were out and about doing the tourist thing. It was pretty hard to nap regularly, so I just switched Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-784872032002-07-02T18:29:00.000-07:002002-07-02T18:29:14.480-07:00Day 33
Not much in the way of updates lately. Yes, I am still on the schedule for the most part. I have rebooted the last few weekends, but beyond that, my core sleep is between 3 and 4.5 hours, and the naps are atill at the same times.
Found a pretty good link for more juicy polyphasic information : http://www.learningstrategies.com/forum/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000476.html
I am thinking of Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-779260222002-06-19T00:41:00.000-07:002002-06-19T02:20:32.000-07:00Day 20
Wow, I can't believe its already day 20!
Welcome, Shane, to the world of the polyphasic sleepers! My friend Shane just decided to join us. I've added his blog as a link of the left hand column. He's decided to live with that egg timer by setting it for 30 minutes and waking on that first 10 minute warning beep. See, we polys are creative!
Brief note on "reboot" days. Every now and Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-778984062002-06-18T11:17:00.000-07:002002-06-18T11:17:05.883-07:00When choosing an egg timer to act as your nap companion, its very important to give it a test drive! The other day, we went out to buy egg timers for a friend that is thinking of joining us in the polyphase world. It was a small, digital egg timer. It seemed very nice and had a fairly loud beep. Good stuff... or was it?
The problem was that this little device decides its a good thing to beepXeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-778981932002-06-18T11:11:00.000-07:002002-06-18T11:11:47.833-07:00Day 19
Well, I am still officially polyphasic, but I've been modifying my core sleep time depending on my schedule and need to be awake. I am tending closer to 4 hours of core sleep these days as I do not have any pressing or urgent projects at the moment. And I've decided to allow Sundays to be the "reboot" days. Basically I will return to monophasic sleep if I feel the need to "reboot". Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-778009942002-06-15T23:09:00.000-07:002002-06-15T23:09:50.843-07:00Day 15 and 16
Well its day 16. A Saturday, no less, and I managed to get up at 7am! Its been a long productive day and I am actually happy today that I am on this schedule! I was able to do so much stuff, and still get my fill of TV, vids, games, reading and just hanging out.
I think from this point on, I am going to post less. We've been through all the adjustment stories, the tips, tricksXeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-777063122002-06-13T11:28:00.000-07:002002-06-13T11:28:21.476-07:00Day 14
Today was very sloppy. I did not roll out of bed till 9:30am... Picture this: Alarm goes off at 7:00am. I get out of bed, walk across the room and hit snooze. I crawl back into bed. 9 minutes later, the alarm goes off again. I get out of bed, walk across the room and hit snooze. I crawl back into bed. 9 minutes later, the alarm goes off again... repeat every 9 minutes for an hour Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-776451972002-06-12T00:33:00.000-07:002002-06-12T14:23:32.000-07:00Day 12 and 13
Its pretty important to stick to a semi-strict schedule. The last few nights I've gotten a little sloppy and hit the snooze button a few times. And occasionally skiped a nap because I felt fine... Well it kind of caught up to me today. I was not really falling sleep during my naps anymore, and I thought that was a little odd. This morning it took a monumental effort to get out Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-776002752002-06-10T23:46:00.000-07:002002-06-10T23:47:38.000-07:00Other tips for the polyphasic sleeper
Get an egg timer - Preferably something that is small enough to carry in your pocket. Being able to nap where ever you happen to be is a good thing. With an egg timer, you can find a shady piece of grass, or curl up under your desk, or even nap in your car and not fear oversleeping. Get an egg timer that has a constant alarm, and not just a single *bingXeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-775998692002-06-10T23:30:00.000-07:002002-06-10T23:49:02.000-07:00Day 12
I am feeling pretty good today! I am wide awake, able to work, and clear headed. I am in the same mental state as when I was a monophasic sleeper. I guess I am now fully adjusted to this sleep schedule, and have been for the last few days. We'll see in the next few days to make sure, but it looks like 10 days is the time it takes to fully adjust to this cycle.
So if you are thinkingXeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-775545012002-06-09T22:48:00.000-07:002002-06-09T22:48:43.953-07:00Day 11
Hit all my naps at the proper times, plus of minus half an hour. Felt pretty good today, although I got hit with a case of apathy. I sat and watched TV most of the day. Totally unproductive. Not sure why, I had several things planned, but I just never seemed to get the motivation to get dressed and going. Instead I loafed on the couch in my sweats all day. I guess thats a pretty Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-775156612002-06-08T18:52:00.000-07:002002-06-08T18:52:10.943-07:00Day 10
Its now day 10. I think that I've started to adjust. I am usually not tired during my waking times, except for just before the nap times. I am still not hitting REM suring naps. But new theory is that we should not be getting REM sleep during naps anyway. We should be getting the light sleep, the kind that is supposed to rejuvinate without leaving you tired. There are so many Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-774698982002-06-07T11:04:00.000-07:002002-06-07T11:04:03.890-07:00Day 8 and 9
Sorry I could not post yesterday. The power went out yesterday. They say it was a tree, but can a single tree take out a city? It was the alien space craft, I just know it. (just kidding, I am not the victim of sleep deprived illusions).
Yesterday was hot, and there was no power. Amazing how reliant we are on electricity. My life just kinda stopped. No TV, no Internet, no Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-773951982002-06-05T16:33:00.000-07:002002-06-05T16:33:43.063-07:004pm nap. Was feeling sleepy just before. It was the good drool-all-over-the-pillow kind of sleep. Felt great after.
Talk today about moving the core sleep about a bit. 2am - 5am or 3am - 6am. Its summer and it would be nice to get more core sleep time in. I think 1am to 4am might fit my own schedule well.Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-773895362002-06-05T13:57:00.000-07:002002-06-05T13:57:55.473-07:00Day 7
One week has passed! So I am half way through the initial two week trial. If I am fully functional at the end of the next 7 days, I will continue this throughout the summer and see how it goes.
Today feels fairly normal. Took a nap at 11:20am and did manage to fall asleep. Good sign. Getting up after 3 hours of sleep is getting easier, but its still by no means easy. I've been able Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-773537752002-06-04T18:07:00.000-07:002002-06-04T18:07:39.480-07:00I've been hitting all the naps on time, and I am actually falling asleep now. Thats a good thing. I was a bit worried that I was not falling asleep, thus missing out on the important REM sleep, but I've started to adjust. Its really quite hard to sleep when its bright out. I may have to invest in a pair of sleeping shades, you know, the kind you get on airplanes to sleep. Reminds me of my Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-773390442002-06-04T11:09:00.000-07:002002-06-04T11:16:23.000-07:00Day 6
Today I feel pretty good. I am not tired, and my brain seems to be working. I've been hitting all my naps and not oversleeping. This morning, I awoke from core sleep a few minutes before the alarm went off. I actually felt really good at that time, even though I had only been asleep for 3 hours. I was pleasantly suprised! Of course I shut my eyes to wait for the alarm and was awoken Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-772931122002-06-03T10:10:00.000-07:002002-06-04T11:16:13.000-07:00Day 5
It was pretty hard to get up this morning, but not as hard as it was on Saturday. Back to work starting today, so things should be easier. Its more convenient to regiment a schedule with work to provide the skeleton. Plus Karl and Mark are about so there is that mutual support thing which helps a lot. I probably could not have done this alone, this long. So if you out there are Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-772743282002-06-02T21:17:00.000-07:002002-06-02T21:17:27.490-07:00My ISP has been out most of the day, and it still drops the connection every five minutes, but fear not! I have not forgotten day 4!
The day started in tradgedy for this experiment. I lay down for my midnight nap, and set the egg timer for 20 minutes. Well, the egg timer either did not work, or I rolled over on it and paused it, or I slept right throught it. Lets just say that I got many Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-772361272002-06-01T18:48:00.000-07:002002-06-01T18:48:38.736-07:00No caffine today for me. After this mornings fatigue wore off, I've been feeling okay all day. My naps are starting to work; I am falling sleep during the naps at last. I am a little concerned about the sleep inertia (the grogginess you feel after sleeping more than 20 minutes) from the core sleep. This morning sucked, plain and simple. It was painful. I am contemplating a move to the full Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-772224952002-06-01T09:57:00.000-07:002002-06-01T09:57:27.113-07:00Day 3
I always thought that today would be the worst day. You know what? It is! I woke up this morning after core sleep and was completely zombifed. I think that today, I will have no problems falling asleep for the naps. Up till now, I've only fallen asleep during a couple of the naps and none were REM sleep naps, just light sleep. Today I hope to crash down through the sleep stages and Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-771898352002-05-31T10:37:00.000-07:002002-05-31T10:37:09.056-07:00Day 2
Well, I've made it to day 2. I think this will be the real start of the adjustment period. I am pretty brain dead this morning. Thoughts are slower, and I find myself spacing out if I am not activly engaged in some task. Coffee, mmm. Not sure how coffee will effect my naps, but its helping me to stay awake. I am tried, but not as tired as I expected.
According to Dr. Stampi, the Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-771761802002-05-31T01:08:00.000-07:002002-05-31T01:08:21.576-07:00I've just risen from my midnight nap. Now the home stretch to 4am when I can sleep soundly for 3 hours...
I just have to make a brief comment about time. Our lives are so structured and patterned. We wake up the same time every day. We go to the same school or job and put in our time, rushing home to catch our favorite TV show, get some chores done, and maybe have a little time for a hobby Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-771682412002-05-30T20:20:00.000-07:002002-05-30T20:20:58.136-07:008pm nap is over. I fell into a very sound sleep, even though there is a heat wave and the room was a sauna! Kinda sleepy dazed right now tho. Need to do something to clear the head -- EQ? Sure =)Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-771606922002-05-30T16:48:00.000-07:002002-05-30T16:48:30.263-07:00Just a quick update. Noon nap was great, felt good and refreshed after 20 minutes. Prior to nap, I had a few periods where I was pretty drowsy. I can just imagine it getting worse over the next few days before the body adjusts. I would recommend anyone tying this to minimize driving or operating heavy machinery during the adjustment time!
About to hit the 4pm nap. Been wide awake since the Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-771459112002-05-30T09:31:00.000-07:002002-05-30T09:31:20.000-07:00Day 1 - 9:30am
Well, Karl, Mark and I have been through one day. Its been 24 hours since we started anyway. I am very sleepy as you can imagine. We met at a local diner at 2am for decaf coffee and pie. Then I slept from 4am to 7am. It was hard to wake up, but not impossible. First core sleep is passed, now I am looking forward to the naps! Yesterday's naps were kind of meaningless -- I Xeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-771179762002-05-29T15:21:00.000-07:002002-05-29T15:53:22.000-07:00Some notes:
Most people are monophasic sleepers, that is, they get all their daily sleep in a single long period. I believe that we are perfectly capable of polyphasic sleep, which just means that we can get our sleep in several sleeping periods instead of one long one. But how long do you need to sleep? Polyphasic sleep is not very common and the most cited examples are from popular pop-mythXeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3544596.post-771161142002-05-29T14:26:00.000-07:002002-05-30T16:45:45.000-07:00Welcome. This blog was created to keep a running journal/diary of an experiment with alternative sleep methods. In particular, a small group of us are attempting to adjust to the Uberman Sleep Schedule, more technically described as a polyphasic sleep schedule. The essence of it is a short 3 hour core sleep time in the early morning, and several 20 minute naps (every 4 hours) spaced throughoutXeebanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17529240798979996043noreply@blogger.com