Polyphasic sleep

[MiccyNarc]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphasic_sleep

Anyone tried it? I'm in the middle of an uberman sleep experiment, been on it for 4 days, on average I should have another week before I'm truly used to the schedule. Until then, it's alot of ****ing hard discipline trying to stay awake.

I've accidentally overslept twice, the first time for 4 hours, the second time for about 2, now I'm waking up from naps consistently and quickly. I have audio tracks that I listen to designed for polyphasic napping, these help alot. The only time I've overslept while listening to them was when I took my headphones off in my sleep (bastard body trying to trick me)

Today was living hell, I was a zombie all day, some people at work asked me if I was okay. That's good though, because people usually bottom out before they adapt. My dad wants to know when I'm going to quit, he's afraid I'm going to hurt myself.

Another hard part is no caffeine. Fortunately I already broke my addiction to it, but it's so tempting to down an energy drink to push me through. I must refuse though. Another issue is that it gets cold in my house at night, so I want to bundle up, but this makes me comfortable and makes me want to sleep. So I've been erring on the side of discomfort.

I refuse to sleep in bed, I'll only sleep on a couch during the day, and in my computer chair at night. This serves two purposes: A. Allows me to adapt to sleeping anywhere, B.Prevents me from getting too comfortable which leads to oversleeping.

At night I have a secondary alarm in case I sleep through my audio clip, but this hasn't been necessary for the most part.

Anyone else tried this? If it works, I'll be a happy man.

PS. I'm going to keep a log here for the next few days, it will motivate me to keep going.

 

[Raziaar]

I can't see how such short periods of sleep can be very restful as a whole.

Isn't the most recuperative part of sleep during the rapid eye movement phase, which you don't achieve until you've been asleep for a while?

 

[MiccyNarc]

I can't see how such short periods of sleep can be very restful as a whole.

Isn't the most recuperative part of sleep during the rapid eye movement phase, which you don't achieve until you've been asleep for a while?

That's the point of polyphasic sleep, it shortens your sleep pattern schedule to fit into the length of time you're napping. It shocks your body, and your life is hell for a couple days, but afterwards your body adapts to go through all of the phases of sleep, in half an hour.

 

[Raziaar]

That's the point of polyphasic sleep, it shortens your sleep pattern schedule to fit into the length of time you're napping. It shocks your body, and your life is hell for a couple days, but afterwards your body adapts to go through all of the phases of sleep, in half an hour.

Hmmm... interesting.

I hope that's not what you were doing when I made you your birthday thread!

You bastard. :monkee:

http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?t=136131

 

[Vegeta897]

Can this possibly work with masturbation.

IE can I give it a quick jerk or two through my pants at various times in the day and be satisfied?

 

[99.vikram]

I think you're breaking your biological clock...and it's not going to turn out well :|

 

[Pesmerga]

Uhh... biological clock?

Isn't that a term used for, eh... pregnancy and such?

 

[MiccyNarc]

Sleeping is one of my favorite hobbies. It's totally up there with photography, and probably breathing.

I think sleeping blows and if I could eliminate it from my life completely, I most definitely would.

It's a waste of 8 hours and you never feel like you got enough.

I can't wait for school to start again so I'll have homework to do all night because tbh playing video games all night gets boring eventually. Yeah, I know, heresy.

 

[Avoidist]

Uhh... biological clock?

Isn't that a term used for, eh... pregnancy and such?

In certain contexts, possibly (I think the term can apply to any cyclical biological process). The biological clock in this sense is simply about sleep patterns, which (funnily enough) coincide with day/night cycles which can give some people and animals an innate rough sense of time, and regulate bodily and mental patterns.

 

[MiccyNarc]

I think you're breaking your biological clock...and it's not going to turn out well :|

There's alot of people that have done it successfully and I'm already doing well, as I rarely oversleep and I wake up almost automatically from naps now.
The only hard time is between 4 and 7. This time is THE WORST, period. Every fiber in your being is screaming "GO TO BED", and you don't want to do anything else. Any fun activities you had planned just seem so unappealing compared to a warm bed.

So far I've managed to fight it well. This is the first night that I've been motivated enough to leave the computer for anything other than taking a piss or taking a nap.

 

[delusional]

It's your circadian rhythm dumb nuts.

 

[Raziaar]

I love sleep. I can't get enough of it. Sometimes I wake up after a full night's rest and i can't wait to get right back to it. It's so much more interesting and satisfying than the real world right now.

Speaking of sleep. I maketh love to my pillow tonight, writhing beneath the covers. Off I go.

 

[Dan]

haha, I just slept for 20 hours following 2 days of sleepless exams and a 5 hour redeye flight.

 

[Zephos]

I love sleep. I can't get enough of it. Sometimes I wake up after a full night's rest and i can't wait to get right back to it. It's so much more interesting and satisfying than the real world right now.

Yes.

I love the feeling when you are sleeping in, half awake/aware, half asleep. Best time for daydreaming.

 

[jondy]

I'm really interested in how this turns out, keep us posted.

 

[Smoke]

You're going to die.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Wikipedia states minimal scientific research has gone into it, which makes me lump it with alt-med, nutritionism, and other new-agey things that are absolutely bollocks.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[jondy]

Wikipedia states minimal scientific research has gone into it, which makes me lump it with alt-med, nutritionism, and other new-agey things that are absolutely bollocks.

-Angry Lawyer

Long distance sailors use it to cope with sleep deprivation, so it's been in practical use by professionals for a while now. I'm still tempted to call shenanigans, but with a guinea pig trying this out in real time, what's not to enjoy?

Don't die, MiccyNarc, science needs you

 

[evil^milk]

I hope scientists one day come up with a drug or something that'll cut the amount of time we sleep from 6-8 hrs to 2-4.

It'd be the rox.

 

[Naph]

Last holidays I completely flipped my sleeping times.
I'd go to bed at 5:00AM and wake up at 3:30pm.

But this sounds logical though.

 

[Seppo]

What was that thing called when you wake up, but can't move, you're like paralyzed for a moment, and you have a feeling that something terrifying is about to happen. Your brain is basically awake but your body is still asleep or something, and it feels completely real, some have described it as the most horrifying experience ever. You can like sense the presence of something evil.

What was it called? I want to know more about this.

 

[Raziaar]

What was that thing called when you wake up, but can't move, you're like paralyzed for a moment, and you have a feeling that something terrifying is about to happen. Your brain is basically awake but you're body is still asleep or something, and it feels completely real, some have described it as the most horrifying experience ever. What was it called? I want to know more about this.

Night terror.

http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?t=25387

 

[Seppo]

oh yeah that's what I was looking for. And the exact same thread I had in my mind.

I also read about Sleep Paralysis .

 

[Jimmeh]

What was that thing called when you wake up, but can't move, you're like paralyzed for a moment, and you have a feeling that something terrifying is about to happen. Your brain is basically awake but your body is still asleep or something, and it feels completely real, some have described it as the most horrifying experience ever. You can like sense the presence of something evil.

What was it called? I want to know more about this.

Sleep paralysis wasn't it? I've had it a few times (all of them following like 5-second lucid dreams)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis

But I've never had any feeling of terror or fear with them myself. The few times it's happened I just remember being able to hear the birds singing outside, and my arms and legs would just sort of jolt up slightly no matter how hard I tried to move them. It'd only last a few seconds, then I'd usually wake up fine a few hours later.

Edit - Balls.

 

[Seppo]

yeah also Sleep Paralysis. Pretty messed up stuff, could be fun to experience it though

 

[MiccyNarc]

Wikipedia states minimal scientific research has gone into it, which makes me lump it with alt-med, nutritionism, and other new-agey things that are absolutely bollocks.

-Angry Lawyer

I'll let you know after two weeks.

 

[Dog--]

Is it possible to adapt your body so you need NO sleep? Like sleeping less and less each night (decreasing your sleepy time by like 15 minutes), and eventually you just don't sleep? (maybe like 15 minutes per 24 hours?)

 

[Raziaar]

Is it possible to adapt your body so you need NO sleep? Like sleeping less and less each night (decreasing your sleepy time by like 15 minutes), and eventually you just don't sleep? (maybe like 15 minutes per 24 hours?)

No. It's impossible.

 

[Sheltie]

Sleep paralysis wasn't it? I've had it a few times (all of them following like 5-second lucid dreams)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis

But I've never had any feeling of terror or fear with them myself. The few times it's happened I just remember being able to hear the birds singing outside, and my arms and legs would just sort of jolt up slightly no matter how hard I tried to move them. It'd only last a few seconds, then I'd usually wake up fine a few hours later.

Edit - Balls.

Night terrors and sleep paralysis don't necessarily go hand in hand. I've had night terrors all my life (my mom even says that I had them as a baby, since I would "scream bloody murder" in my sleep). You definitely can move around while having night terrors, sometimes I'll run around screaming for a while, until someone wakes me up. The weird part is when I'm up and screaming and then I gradually fade into conciousness. It's really hard on the old layrnx.

 

[MiccyNarc]

Well, here's the update: I was on it for two weeks until I caught the flu (probably more related to working in retail than my sleep schedule). Went to school and started again. Been on it for about a week now and I feel as good, if not better than I did on 7-8 hours of sleep. For about 3 hours after naps I have a heightened energy levels, kind of like one would feel on caffeine drinks.

It hasn't adversely affected my working out either, my recovery times are about the same as they were on 7 hours of sleep.

Overall I'd say it's a success. My productivity in the wee hours is amazing, I've gotten a ton of schoolwork done between 3-6 AM. It's amazing what a 3 hour time chunk can do for you.

This is my schedule:
12-1:30: core sleep
5:30 am nap
9:30 am nap (earlier on tuesday/thursday when I have a class, the core sleep allows flexibility in sleep hours)
12:30 nap monday-wednesday-friday
1:30 nap tuesday thursday
5:30 pm nap
9:30 pm nap
Repeat.

The naps go for about 20 minutes. I'm running better on 3.2 hours of sleep than I ever did on 7. It's wonderful.

 

[Avoidist]

Wow. Glad to hear it worked out.

 

[Kadayi]

Interesting stuff, I'm not sure I could operate to a schedule like that, but good on you if it works for you.

 

[theotherguy]

Very, very bad idea.

You will experience symptoms similar to sleep apnea: chronic tiredness, loss of concentration and memory...

Your body can't simply "go through all the phases" in 15-45 minutes, and if it did, the total effect of each phase will become minimal.

You need to sleep 6-10 hours a night, every night, to get on a healthy sleep cycle. Otherwise, you begin to accumulate REM debt, and you will remember less, and ultimately get less Delta sleep (which makes you feel rested).

 

[MiccyNarc]

Very, very bad idea.

You will experience symptoms similar to sleep apnea: chronic tiredness, loss of concentration and memory...

Your body can't simply "go through all the phases" in 15-45 minutes, and if it did, the total effect of each phase will become minimal.

You need to sleep 6-10 hours a night, every night, to get on a healthy sleep cycle. Otherwise, you begin to accumulate REM debt, and you will remember less, and ultimately get less Delta sleep (which makes you feel rested).

I experienced all of that for about 4 days. Now that hell week is over, I'm in perfectly good shape.

Try it before you mock it, please.

 

[DreamThrall]

I thought the thread title read "Polyphonic sheep". This is considerably less interesting. :|

 

[MiccyNarc]

I thought the thread title read "Polyphonic sheep". This is considerably less interesting. :|

Oh well?

 

[CrazyHarij]

great to hear it worked out. i love these types of threads where people share their stories or achievements in a progressive manner. cheers

 

[Raziaar]

I experienced all of that for about 4 days. Now that hell week is over, I'm in perfectly good shape.

Try it before you mock it, please.

Well... see that's the beauty of the Human body.

One day or a couple weeks you'll feel fine and dandy. Everything will be smooth sailing, crisp and clear skies all around. Next thing you know your body will turn on you and you'll find yourself alone in a back alley with it, having sustained a dozen stab wounds to the abdomen and chest.

It'll **** you over when you least expect it. And to add insult to injury, it'll kick you when you're down and spit on you.

 

[Dan]

Well... see that's the beauty of the Human body.

One day or a couple weeks you'll feel fine and dandy. Everything will be smooth sailing, crisp and clear skies all around. Next thing you know your body will turn on you and you'll find yourself alone in a back alley with it, having sustained a dozen stab wounds to the abdomen and chest.

It'll **** you over when you least expect it. And to add insult to injury, it'll kick you when you're down and spit on you.

Wow your body sounds like a real jackass.

 

[Raziaar]

Wow your body sounds like a real jackass.

No, not my body. Bodies in general, heh. I usually feel just fine and dandy physically. But that doesn't rule me out from the random but suspiciously convenient bouts of bitchiness my body can throw out there. Heh. Sometimes for no apparent reason at all, my body will just crash. I'll have no energy, no drive, no desire to accomplish much of anything other than mumble and want to sleep some more.

It was just meant to be a joke anyways though.