Monday, June 1, 2009
Natural
Really not much to report. I'm rarely tired at any time except for the early morning, from about 2:00-4:00. And even that tired time is slowly improving. This is the end of day 5 of my transition. Something is so weird about this. What about all of the tiredness and struggling I read about in other people's blogs? Why have I never slept through my alarm as so many other people do? Why is this so easy for me? Maybe some people are naturally more suited to polyphasic sleep, which is an idea I've been thinking about all along. I don't think it's something I did. Unless my ovo-lacto-pesco-vegetarianism and my frequent walks have something to do with it, I think there's just something in my nature that makes me a natural at polyphasic sleep.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Mistake. First, only?
Oh noes! I got careless. Very careless. I had a feeling something would go wrong after my 4:00 nap, because there was nothing I wanted to do.
I went through the nap like normal and woke up to my alarm after thirty minutes. I actually remembered a bit of my dream for a longer time. And then I made the mistake. I was comfortable, so I lay there for a bit. I was on my stomach with my head up, and I thought I would be okay for just a few moments of this. I noticed how easily my eyes seemed to shut without me telling them to, but still I didn't get up. Couldn't be bothered.
Next thing I know, it's 7:15 and my mom is coming in my room to ask me a question, expecting me to be awake. Dang! I slept for two and a half hours! I don't even feel any better after it. And I didn't get my second slice bike ride. Grrar!
But I'm forgiving myself for that slip-up, resolving not to make the same mistake twice, and sticking to my schedule as planned for the rest of the day. Busy day today, with Sunday school, worship, a meeting in the afternoon, and youth group in the evening. But my naps will be fine.
I went through the nap like normal and woke up to my alarm after thirty minutes. I actually remembered a bit of my dream for a longer time. And then I made the mistake. I was comfortable, so I lay there for a bit. I was on my stomach with my head up, and I thought I would be okay for just a few moments of this. I noticed how easily my eyes seemed to shut without me telling them to, but still I didn't get up. Couldn't be bothered.
Next thing I know, it's 7:15 and my mom is coming in my room to ask me a question, expecting me to be awake. Dang! I slept for two and a half hours! I don't even feel any better after it. And I didn't get my second slice bike ride. Grrar!
But I'm forgiving myself for that slip-up, resolving not to make the same mistake twice, and sticking to my schedule as planned for the rest of the day. Busy day today, with Sunday school, worship, a meeting in the afternoon, and youth group in the evening. But my naps will be fine.
Early Morning Progress
The rest of the time until now was a little better. After my 20:00 nap, I felt much improved. I submitted my unfinished manuscript to CreateSpace, and soon I will get a free copy of it. I think being able to hold part of my book, in real book form, will be great motivation to finally finish.
It's almost time for my 4:00 nap now, which means I made it through first slice, the most difficult slice, without that horrible tiredness and burning eyes. My body is slowly but surely adjusting. Maybe soon I'll actually be productive during this time instead of having to mindlessly read or watch a movie. I feel good right now; clearheaded, alert, and not tired. Definitely progress in the right direction.
Hmm... what shall I do after my 4:00 nap? I won't bike until it's light out, which is about 5:45. Maybe I'll write--not working on my novel, no major projects--just writing for fun. I can think of an old story that might be interesting to continue.
It's almost time for my 4:00 nap now, which means I made it through first slice, the most difficult slice, without that horrible tiredness and burning eyes. My body is slowly but surely adjusting. Maybe soon I'll actually be productive during this time instead of having to mindlessly read or watch a movie. I feel good right now; clearheaded, alert, and not tired. Definitely progress in the right direction.
Hmm... what shall I do after my 4:00 nap? I won't bike until it's light out, which is about 5:45. Maybe I'll write--not working on my novel, no major projects--just writing for fun. I can think of an old story that might be interesting to continue.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
I asked for it...
Today has not been a good day. I've been tired almost constantly. My only respite is when I'm active. I was tired even in third slice, which is usually the best one. I felt good when I took my dog on a walk in fourth slice, and I went outside to shoot hoops in fifth slice. Those times were the highlights of my very drowsy day. It's hard to keep my eyes open while looking at this screen. It's a small miracle that it's easier to keep them open while watching an episode of Xena. lol.
Despite my terrible tiredness, I still feel optimistic about all of this. Wasn't I just complaining that it was too easy? Now I got what I asked for. And today hasn't been a total loss. I worked more on revising my novel. It's not going to be complete in time to get a free copy before the deadline that CreateSpace is offering, but I'm going to upload however much of my manuscript I have ready for publishing. That's about seventy pages right now.
It's so funny to me that I'm dreadfully tired while I sit on the couch, but when I go outside and play basketball I feel great. Does using more energy make me feel more energetic? It would seem so.
Despite my terrible tiredness, I still feel optimistic about all of this. Wasn't I just complaining that it was too easy? Now I got what I asked for. And today hasn't been a total loss. I worked more on revising my novel. It's not going to be complete in time to get a free copy before the deadline that CreateSpace is offering, but I'm going to upload however much of my manuscript I have ready for publishing. That's about seventy pages right now.
It's so funny to me that I'm dreadfully tired while I sit on the couch, but when I go outside and play basketball I feel great. Does using more energy make me feel more energetic? It would seem so.
Generally Not a Zombie
I went on a pleasant evening walk with my brother around 23:00, and then took my 00:00 nap. I felt absolutely great in the beginning of first slice, but then I finished the book I was reading and everything went downhill. My eyes were really tired and they had that slight burning feeling from being open too much. My brain was ready to fall asleep. I decided to take my second nap at 3:00 instead of 4:00 because I was just that tired. After that nap, I felt less like I was about to fall asleep, but my eyes were still very tired of being open. Tried closing them, but it was too risky. Tried reading, didn't work. Finally I watched a movie, and that worked fairly well. Maybe that can be a regular thing: watching a movie late at night. Anyway, the movie lasted until about 5:30, at which time I decided it was light enough outside that I could go on a bike ride, which I did. I biked 5.6 miles and I feel great. No tiredness or fatigue while I biked, aside from a very normal amount of leg tiredness after going up long hills. I stretched after my bike ride, of course. Then I ate breakfast (apple jacks with soymilk) and sat down at my computer to write this. The rest of my naps today will probably be right on schedule: 8:00, 12:00, 16:00, 20:00.
Something doesn't seem fair about all of this. So far I seem to have it really easy. Aside from my wee-hours-of-the-morning war to stay awake, I generally feel alert and chipper, and very non-zombie-like. From the other blogs I've read by polyphasic sleepers, the transition is usually extremely difficult and tiring. But this is my third morning and, again excluding the couple of hours when my eyes burn in the early morning, I feel really great. As if I were made to be a polyphasic sleeper. Feels natural.
My favorite parts of my polyphasic days are when I'm exercising. I love walking with my brother, or walking the dog, or riding my bike. Anything active is just really enjoyable. Those are also the times when I feel completely untired, with no sign of the fatigue that should supposedly accompany missing three full nights of sleep.
Something doesn't seem fair about all of this. So far I seem to have it really easy. Aside from my wee-hours-of-the-morning war to stay awake, I generally feel alert and chipper, and very non-zombie-like. From the other blogs I've read by polyphasic sleepers, the transition is usually extremely difficult and tiring. But this is my third morning and, again excluding the couple of hours when my eyes burn in the early morning, I feel really great. As if I were made to be a polyphasic sleeper. Feels natural.
My favorite parts of my polyphasic days are when I'm exercising. I love walking with my brother, or walking the dog, or riding my bike. Anything active is just really enjoyable. Those are also the times when I feel completely untired, with no sign of the fatigue that should supposedly accompany missing three full nights of sleep.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Some Slices are Easy as Pie
Third slice is still the best one of the day. I actually didn't even feel tired during that time. I watched two episodes of Xena, ate lunch, and showered. At 13:30 I took a nap, and shortly thereafter I went to Starbucks to meet with a friend. As I drove, I paid careful attention to how I felt and how I was concentrating. Everything was fine; I didn't feel drowsy, and I had no trouble focusing on driving. I didn't feel sleepy during that fourth slice, but I could feel my fine motor skills getting worse (omg. I had difficulty just laying down my playing cards in neat stacks! argh! lol), and my mind couldn't keep up with the world sometimes. But I didn't feel sleepy and I did feel happy. Driving home was just as easy as driving there, I'm pleased to report.
I took my fifth nap of the day near 17:00 when I got home, and then my sister and her husband came over for dinner to celebrate my high school graduation (I homeschool, so it was a small family event). I felt alert and good until 20:00 approached. I started to feel very sleepy, and finally at 20:30 I excused myself and took my sixth and final nap of the day. Now I'm in sixth slice, feeling a little tired but easily able to continue awake until midnight, when the new day will begin.
I fall asleep during every nap now. I'm surprised at how easily that happened. I think I usually take a while to fall asleep. I'm guessing it's faster now because of my lack of sleep. I'm pretty sure I'm dreaming every nap now, too. More than once I have dreamed that my alarm goes off, and I wake up for real, and a second later my real alarm goes off. Kind of humorous, actually. It's also interesting to note that I always feel like I've slept longer than I really have.
Until this evening, my body had been feeling warmer than usual, and it was pleasant. I dislike being cold from the air conditioning running all the time. But now, my body feels more sensitive to cold, and I'm huddled in my pink hoodie, trying to get warm. And I'm eating chocolate chip cookie dough, which is irrelavent but delicious.
I took my fifth nap of the day near 17:00 when I got home, and then my sister and her husband came over for dinner to celebrate my high school graduation (I homeschool, so it was a small family event). I felt alert and good until 20:00 approached. I started to feel very sleepy, and finally at 20:30 I excused myself and took my sixth and final nap of the day. Now I'm in sixth slice, feeling a little tired but easily able to continue awake until midnight, when the new day will begin.
I fall asleep during every nap now. I'm surprised at how easily that happened. I think I usually take a while to fall asleep. I'm guessing it's faster now because of my lack of sleep. I'm pretty sure I'm dreaming every nap now, too. More than once I have dreamed that my alarm goes off, and I wake up for real, and a second later my real alarm goes off. Kind of humorous, actually. It's also interesting to note that I always feel like I've slept longer than I really have.
Until this evening, my body had been feeling warmer than usual, and it was pleasant. I dislike being cold from the air conditioning running all the time. But now, my body feels more sensitive to cold, and I'm huddled in my pink hoodie, trying to get warm. And I'm eating chocolate chip cookie dough, which is irrelavent but delicious.
The Battle Against Drifting Off
I said I would write again after the evening was over, but here it is now and night has already passed. I was pretty tired after my nap, which I postponed until 1:30 because I'm shifting the times back a bit to space my naps around seeing a friend this afternoon. Being able to stretch naps like that is pretty cool. Imagine a friend asking you to hang out at three o'clock in the morning, and you replying, "Oh, sure. I'll just start my eight-hour block of sleep earlier so I'll be awake to hang out." People just don't do that. My naps are wonderfully flexible.
Anyway, here's a more in-depth status update for people interested in my polyphasic transition.
First slice (today that was from 2:00-5:30) was extremely difficult. I tried listening to an audio book, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but I felt myself in danger of drifting off because I let my eyes close while I listened. So I gave up on the audio book and snuggled down into an armchair with a real book. I didn't know how I would make it those next couple hours. I drank some fruit juice because I hear that helps give an energy boost in those down times. But still every minute was difficult. My body was complaining about how I was keeping it awake. I had to keep moving and shifting in my seat, because something almost like pain would gather in my limbs if I stayed still too long. Very odd. Finally I stood up and walked around the room several times and stretched, trying to wake myself up more. It basically worked. By the end of that first slice, it was a lot easier to stay awake reading my book. Still, though, I was extremely grateful for my 5:30 nap.
Second slice is a lot better. At 6:00 when I woke up, I walked the dog. Again, it was very pleasant to get out in the early morning air and get some exercise. That worked up an appetite, so I had a banana milkshake and some toast for breakfast. My eyes feel tired, but my body feels ready to stay awake until my next nap.
My mood is still good. Usually when I lose sleep, I get a little irritable and grouchy. That was one of my mom's trepidations when she let me start this transition. Fortunately, I still feel generally cheerful and positive, especially in the mornings.
My concentration seems fine, but I don't really have a way to test it and get quantitative data. I'm focusing pretty easily on writing this, if that's any indication.
Anyway, here's a more in-depth status update for people interested in my polyphasic transition.
First slice (today that was from 2:00-5:30) was extremely difficult. I tried listening to an audio book, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but I felt myself in danger of drifting off because I let my eyes close while I listened. So I gave up on the audio book and snuggled down into an armchair with a real book. I didn't know how I would make it those next couple hours. I drank some fruit juice because I hear that helps give an energy boost in those down times. But still every minute was difficult. My body was complaining about how I was keeping it awake. I had to keep moving and shifting in my seat, because something almost like pain would gather in my limbs if I stayed still too long. Very odd. Finally I stood up and walked around the room several times and stretched, trying to wake myself up more. It basically worked. By the end of that first slice, it was a lot easier to stay awake reading my book. Still, though, I was extremely grateful for my 5:30 nap.
Second slice is a lot better. At 6:00 when I woke up, I walked the dog. Again, it was very pleasant to get out in the early morning air and get some exercise. That worked up an appetite, so I had a banana milkshake and some toast for breakfast. My eyes feel tired, but my body feels ready to stay awake until my next nap.
My mood is still good. Usually when I lose sleep, I get a little irritable and grouchy. That was one of my mom's trepidations when she let me start this transition. Fortunately, I still feel generally cheerful and positive, especially in the mornings.
My concentration seems fine, but I don't really have a way to test it and get quantitative data. I'm focusing pretty easily on writing this, if that's any indication.
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