So it's been... two weeks? Since I last posted. Updates on the biphasic experiment!
Firstly, I am still sleeping biphasically. That being said, once university starts in a week and a half I am almost 100% positive I will switch back to monophasic sleep.
Why?
Plainly, biphasic sleep leaves you more tired. I can function fine as a normal human being sleeping biphasically, but I have found that higher level thinking (which will be very much needed in my all 400-level class schedule this upcoming semester) does not come as easily, and I am not as "sharp" as I am while sleeping monophasically. Meaning that my mindless drivel-ridden retail job can be done fine while on biphasic sleep but dealing with super stressful situations or engaging your brain for long periods of time is less productive than what my previous monophasic self could have handled.
Despite all this, I can say that I have become addicted to waking up early. My new planned schedule is to get up at 6am each morning, a suggestion that previously would have prompted hysterical laughter rather than serious consideration.
Conclusion: Worth a try! Even if you decide not to keep it, alternative sleeping habits are most definitely an experiment you should consider. If I ever have several weeks of time that hold nothing important, I will seriously ponder trying out even more extreme forms of non-monophasic sleeping.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Switching Over: Day Three
I definitely found the sweet spot when I woke up this morning. I was physically tired, but it was easier to drag myself out of bed and I was mentally sharper throughout the day. It's only three days in, but I am already a FIRM believer in planning your sleep schedule around 90 minute increments. Regardless of how you sleep, the 90 minute schedule works, folks.
I had difficulty falling asleep for my nap, and in my genius state of alertness I set my alarm for 5:30pm instead of 6:30 (my nap starts at 5) so my lovely sleep was rudely interrupted by the alarm prematurely, meaning that I was pulled out of deep sleep when my nap ended. Naturally, this did not help my grogginess.
Logged effects.
Appetite: Pretty much the same as yesterday. Some increase, but not crazily so.
Eyes: I realized today that 90% of my eye strain comes from the fact that there is a problem with my new eye glass prescription. I switched to my old glasses and my eyes felt tremendously better after only 20 minutes. My eyes are still tired, but I'm guessing a day or two with my old glasses until I fix my new ones will help both redness and focusing issues.
Difficulty Sleeping: It took me a while to fall asleep for my nap. As I write this (11:15pm) I'm still holding my energy so I hope I don't have difficulty sleeping tonight.
Fatigue/Tiredness: Continued mild amounts on both scores. I think today was a slight improvement over yesterday, but it could be wishful thinking. I did notice that I had more moments of energy than yesterday, but it was up-and-down with wanting to sleep.
Productivity: Not much to report here either. Tomorrow will be a better judge of this since I work all day.
I had difficulty falling asleep for my nap, and in my genius state of alertness I set my alarm for 5:30pm instead of 6:30 (my nap starts at 5) so my lovely sleep was rudely interrupted by the alarm prematurely, meaning that I was pulled out of deep sleep when my nap ended. Naturally, this did not help my grogginess.
Logged effects.
Appetite: Pretty much the same as yesterday. Some increase, but not crazily so.
Eyes: I realized today that 90% of my eye strain comes from the fact that there is a problem with my new eye glass prescription. I switched to my old glasses and my eyes felt tremendously better after only 20 minutes. My eyes are still tired, but I'm guessing a day or two with my old glasses until I fix my new ones will help both redness and focusing issues.
Difficulty Sleeping: It took me a while to fall asleep for my nap. As I write this (11:15pm) I'm still holding my energy so I hope I don't have difficulty sleeping tonight.
Fatigue/Tiredness: Continued mild amounts on both scores. I think today was a slight improvement over yesterday, but it could be wishful thinking. I did notice that I had more moments of energy than yesterday, but it was up-and-down with wanting to sleep.
Productivity: Not much to report here either. Tomorrow will be a better judge of this since I work all day.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Switching Over: Day Two
And so ends the second day of my biphasic sleeping journey. Today was very similar to yesterday, with the same difficulty getting up in the morning and mild lethargy throughout the day. (Another enjoyable walk while witnessing the sun rise!)
Interestingly, I hit a wall of tiredness about 3:30pm, and was very glad to finally reach my 5pm nap. It's 11pm now and I'm starting to lose my steam. So it seems 11/2-2 hours before each sleeping section is where I meet my match for now.
So far my worst problem is the extreme grogginess I feel when I wake up from my nap. By body has no interest in being torn from sleep. It probably takes me about 45 minutes before I am conscious enough to have a proper conversation. Strangely, waking up from my core sleep is not as difficult (although I' m not exactly jumping out of my bed with joy) despite my complete lack of history of ever getting up early in my entire life. Odd.
I had to tell my mother (whom I live with) about this experiment so she doesn't wake me up in the middle of my nap, and I believe there is now another strike against the sanity of Julia! Ah, family.
Logged effects of Day 2:
Appetite: Still increased, although not as much as yesterday. I also came prepared and ate a full lunch instead of a light lunch like yesterday, and that definitely helped.
Eyes: Slightly better from Day 1 in terms of tiredness and inability to focus. Redness is about the same.
Difficulty Sleeping: Interestingly, both nights I have woken up during my core sleep, but fallen back asleep almost immediately. Nap time took maybe 20-30 minutes to fall asleep, but I was OUT for the rest of the nap. As mentioned above, drowsiness following the nap is still a problem.
Fatigue/Tiredness: Comprobable to yesterday. See second paragraph of this post for details.
Productivity: I spent most of today doing things that required movement, which definitely helped my energy levels and focus. Overall productivity was the same as the average monophasic day, but it took me longer to do the things I needed to do. Reaction time was also slightly delayed.
Interestingly, I hit a wall of tiredness about 3:30pm, and was very glad to finally reach my 5pm nap. It's 11pm now and I'm starting to lose my steam. So it seems 11/2-2 hours before each sleeping section is where I meet my match for now.
So far my worst problem is the extreme grogginess I feel when I wake up from my nap. By body has no interest in being torn from sleep. It probably takes me about 45 minutes before I am conscious enough to have a proper conversation. Strangely, waking up from my core sleep is not as difficult (although I' m not exactly jumping out of my bed with joy) despite my complete lack of history of ever getting up early in my entire life. Odd.
I had to tell my mother (whom I live with) about this experiment so she doesn't wake me up in the middle of my nap, and I believe there is now another strike against the sanity of Julia! Ah, family.
Logged effects of Day 2:
Appetite: Still increased, although not as much as yesterday. I also came prepared and ate a full lunch instead of a light lunch like yesterday, and that definitely helped.
Eyes: Slightly better from Day 1 in terms of tiredness and inability to focus. Redness is about the same.
Difficulty Sleeping: Interestingly, both nights I have woken up during my core sleep, but fallen back asleep almost immediately. Nap time took maybe 20-30 minutes to fall asleep, but I was OUT for the rest of the nap. As mentioned above, drowsiness following the nap is still a problem.
Fatigue/Tiredness: Comprobable to yesterday. See second paragraph of this post for details.
Productivity: I spent most of today doing things that required movement, which definitely helped my energy levels and focus. Overall productivity was the same as the average monophasic day, but it took me longer to do the things I needed to do. Reaction time was also slightly delayed.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Switching Over: Day One
And so has begun day one of my biphasic sleep cycle experience!
My night sleep consisted of 1:00-5:30 am. 4 1/2 hours to start, although I eventually hope to sliver it down to 3. I haven't seen the sun rise since my trip to an amusement park two months ago. It's very strange to get up while it's still dark, yet oddly satisfying.
Also, taking a walk when all the insane morning joggers are attempting to sweat their way through life is entertaining in the extreme. "HA!" you say as you contentedly stroll through the neighborhood with your Glee blaring through your headphones. "Try walking next time, crazy joggers. It's equally refreshing and you never have to look constipated!"
My 90 minute nap is scheduled for 5pm. I must stay busy to avoid sleeping temptations.
Edit at end of Day 1:
Logging the effects I noticed throughout the day.
Appetite: Most definitely increased, especially for grains. However, I have a history of craving carbs whenever I pull an all-nighter or don't get enough sleep, so I am hoping this will reduce once my adjustment period is over.
Eyes: Slightly red after core sleep, but noticeably bloodshot after my 90 minute nap. More troublesome, however, is the increased tiredness/difficulty focusing. This may be in part to my brand new eyeglass prescription, but I have difficulty doing my #1 time wasting activity for any serious length of time: reading fiction on my computer! Again, I expect this side effect will lessen with time.
Difficulty sleeping: I fell asleep fairly quickly during my 90 min nap, although I was pretty groggy when my alarm went off for it.
Fatigue/Tiredness: Mild amounts of both, as to be expected with sudden decrease of sleep and continued physical activity. Even though I felt super tired for about an hour after my nap, following that my energy level rose.
Productivity: I definitely noticed that I had more time on my hands. I'm still enough in "summer mode" and I wasn't so tired that the boredom drove me mad, but I will have to invest in some hobbies/projects/other activities so that I don't lose my mind or succumb to the desire to sleep more than I should. Luckily, the next few days will keep me busy, so I should be all set.
My night sleep consisted of 1:00-5:30 am. 4 1/2 hours to start, although I eventually hope to sliver it down to 3. I haven't seen the sun rise since my trip to an amusement park two months ago. It's very strange to get up while it's still dark, yet oddly satisfying.
Also, taking a walk when all the insane morning joggers are attempting to sweat their way through life is entertaining in the extreme. "HA!" you say as you contentedly stroll through the neighborhood with your Glee blaring through your headphones. "Try walking next time, crazy joggers. It's equally refreshing and you never have to look constipated!"
My 90 minute nap is scheduled for 5pm. I must stay busy to avoid sleeping temptations.
Edit at end of Day 1:
Logging the effects I noticed throughout the day.
Appetite: Most definitely increased, especially for grains. However, I have a history of craving carbs whenever I pull an all-nighter or don't get enough sleep, so I am hoping this will reduce once my adjustment period is over.
Eyes: Slightly red after core sleep, but noticeably bloodshot after my 90 minute nap. More troublesome, however, is the increased tiredness/difficulty focusing. This may be in part to my brand new eyeglass prescription, but I have difficulty doing my #1 time wasting activity for any serious length of time: reading fiction on my computer! Again, I expect this side effect will lessen with time.
Difficulty sleeping: I fell asleep fairly quickly during my 90 min nap, although I was pretty groggy when my alarm went off for it.
Fatigue/Tiredness: Mild amounts of both, as to be expected with sudden decrease of sleep and continued physical activity. Even though I felt super tired for about an hour after my nap, following that my energy level rose.
Productivity: I definitely noticed that I had more time on my hands. I'm still enough in "summer mode" and I wasn't so tired that the boredom drove me mad, but I will have to invest in some hobbies/projects/other activities so that I don't lose my mind or succumb to the desire to sleep more than I should. Luckily, the next few days will keep me busy, so I should be all set.
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