This is the second post from our February Featured Blogger, polyphasic students Diego, Liam, Taus, and Amanda of Get Polyphased. In this post we get an update on their adaptation process - the make or break period that many in the polyphasic community say is key to this new sleeping style. Each one has handled adaptation differently, which may relate to the fact that everyone's sleep is inherently different.
Three Days In: I'm Exhausted
Five Days In: Adaptation Bites
Diego
Staying up late has proven to be very difficult.
We have gotten through the first week of this project but It's been rough. Staying up late has proven to be very difficult.
Over the three week nights that we did this project, I read two full books. The problem with books is that I have a hard time staying awake, no matter how good the book is. I tried TV as well, and got similar results.
On Friday, however, I tried to stay up by playing some video games. I found that this was way easier than reading, and I think it has something to do with the fact that on a video game there is user input. This would have been a great weekend plan, had I not gotten sick on Friday night.
At about 11 pm I came down with a fever (I think it was probably a plea from my body to get some sleep). I tried to ignore it but that didn't help. I went to bed early in the hope that some rest would make the fever go away. It did.
After 6 hours of rest, I felt better but still decided to take it easy Saturday night to ensure my recovery. Last night I started getting back on track with a 3 hour night. I plan on trying to shift down to two hours tonight. I am now behind schedule, but I hope to be able to get back on track quickly.
Liam
I am extremely tired right now because of this project.
I am extremely tired right now because of this project. It has been a real challenge to get my body adjusted to polyphasic sleep, yet surprisingly, I am functioning quite well for 3 hours of sleep ( I got my black belt in karate and went out with friends until midnight with little problems).
Saturday night, I took my nightly nap, and since it was only my second nap instead of third, I thought it would be a good idea to turn off the alarm and then lie in bed for a bit to be more awake for the rest of the night.
At 9:00pm my alarm went off. I turned it off and closed my eyes for a few minutes - and opened my eyes at 9:00 the next morning. I guess that’s just my body telling me that it’s not adjusted to polyphasic sleeping, but oh well.
I have a piano lesson now, but when I get home I will take my 30 minute nap, and then sleep from 1-3.
At least, that’s the plan.
Taus
My weekend was really, really long
My weekend was really, really long. I was awake for most of it and used my time to be very very productive. I used Netflix to get caught up on stuff and watched Sherlock, Firefly, and Doctor Who. Then I played Starcraft 2
I failed on Friday night, slept from 8:30-1:00 but spent the rest of my weekend doing the whole system pretty well. A nap every 5-6 hours and 2 hours of sleep - I’m actually starting to enjoy it.
My naps are fully REM according to the Zeo, which is cool, and a bit strange because so far all of them have been lucid dreams.
My weekend was pretty uneventful until about 4:30 monday morning. I looked at the clock is was 4:30 then what felt like a few seconds later I looked at the clock. It was 5:30. I think I fell asleep but I have no recollection of it or anything else for that hour.
Amanda
I am trying to find something to keep me up
This weekend went pretty well. The naps during the day went well but I started pushing back my night nap until sometime around midnight. When it gets late, staying up is harder to do so I thought that doing that would fix it and give me an energy boost to stay up until my 2 hour stretch. This didn’t work and actually made me more tired. Currently, I am trying to take my nightly nap around 9.
I’m also trying to find something to keep me up because neither reading nor watching T.V. has been very successful.
I also have the issue of having hockey practice at 5:30 am. Although I am able to get up and perform well at practice, it saps up a lot of the energy I have for the day which makes me especially tired at night.
My wife and I are both going to bed late at night, and waking up long after the sun rises, but our sleep in between is erratic and broken by periods of restlessness. It’s like we have become untethered to the cycles of the sun or any other outside conditions.
For February's Featured Blogger we're thrilled to present not just one but four bloggers. Diego, Liam, Taus, and Amanda are high school students who decided to try out polyphasic sleep for two weeks to see if they could reap the benefits of all that extra time without sacrificing on "good" sleep. In addition to their school work, they regularly blogged about their experiences on Get Polyphased and presented their findings at a recent Boston Quantified Self Meet-Up. Polyphasic or not, these kids are rock stars - and proof that you're never too young (or old) to explore the mysteries of sleep!
Senior Spring: Let's Get Polyphased
Hi all - Diego, Liam, Taus, and Amanda here.
We're four students from Beaver Country Day School studying at a term-long academic program called NuVu. NuVu is a joint program between our school and a handful of Ph.D students and MIT graduates.
This term at NuVu is split into 4, two-week studios; all of these studios revolve around our main theme for the term, the brain. The studio we're currently involved in is called Quantified Self and our project is to experiment with polyphasic sleep and experience (or not) its benefits.
What is Polyphasic Sleep?
In a nutshell, polyphasic sleep is changing one's sleep cycle to maximize awake time and unlock a new way of living. It consists of taking multiple naps during the day instead of one long sleep at night, with the idea that periodic naps allow you to rest but still "do more".
The Uberman schedule -- which we're ultimately attempting to do--consists of taking 20 minute naps every 4 hours, for a total of 2 hours of sleep each day.
Quick Tip: If you want to try polyphasic sleep, do it with a friend. You can help keep each other awake and doing things with friends is fun.
The next two weeks are going to be spent trying to adapt to polyphasic sleep pattern, and we'll track our progress on this blog so keep an eye out for updates, pictures, and videos.
Anyway, thanks for checking out this first post and we hope that this project can help you gain a better understanding of what polyphasic sleep is.
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