Intro to Polyphasic Sleep | First attempt (lasted 30 days) | Second Attempt (lasted 7 days) | Third Attempt (ongoing)

I decided that now was the perfect time to give this crazy Polyphasic Sleep thing a real crack, so I’ve started in earnest this morning. The first couple of naps were the hardest to wake from (12.30am and 4.30am), possibly because it was late night. I’ve actually been training myself to jump up the second my alarm goes off so there’s no chance of a lie-in. To do that I’ve made it into a competition where I see how quickly I can turn off the alarm and be out of the bedroom/off the couch. Surprisingly it’s worked so far; I always find myself standing in the lounge-room before I’m even conscious. I can recall being launched out of bed and turning my alarm off but it’s as if somebody else was controlling my body. My subconscious kicks ass.

I had to move my 8.30am nap to 9.05am as I had an electrician come in to fix some lights. I felt absolutely fine until I laid down for my nap. Before doing polyphasic I used to take a good 30 minutes to fall asleep, but this time I was out within 30 seconds. I like that; it was nice not having to lay there waiting for sleep to come. I was jolted awake by the sound of my alarm screaming in my ears and for some reason I swore it had been several hours that I’d slept. I was extremely confused; it took me a good minute of staring at the clock to work out what the numbers were saying and to my relief I hadn’t overslept at all. Really hated that feeling, hopefully waking up isn’t always going to be this hard. As bad as the “pain” of getting up is, I’m more worried that my brain might refuse to wake up. I’d hate for my body to betray me like that.

One of the “side-effects” of polyphasic sleep is a hugely-increased appetite; I can certainly attest to that. I’m HUNGRY, and this is coming from a guy who doesn’t normally eat much during the day. I went down to my local markets and grabbed as much fruit, vegies, nuts and meat as I could carry. I’ve been stuffing my face with this food and I still can’t seem to stop eating. I also seem to be craving stuff I haven’t really craved much before; more than anything else I seem to be wanting vegetables. I just ate a 1kg bag of carrots this morning.

During the walk to the markets my head was very foggy (don’t worry, I walked, I didn’t drive) and my conversation skills slipped a tiny bit (but not really all that noticeable). It was a strange feeling to be walking around at 9.30am when to me it felt like 4pm since I’d already been up a full day without sleep. People were starting their days and I felt that “disconnection from the world” thing I mentioned in the previous article. Not a bad feeling; just a strange one. Another thing I’ll say is it feels like I’m sort of half-dreaming and I can’t fully wake up, as if I’m almost awake but not quite there yet. It’s not horrific but I don’t want to feel like this for too long.

In the afternoon/evening my naps seemed more refreshing but I’m still suffering from a general feeling of fogginess/tiredness. It’s painful only being able to temporarily keep it at bay with 20-minute naps. It’s like having a perpetual itch that you’re only allowed to scratch for 3 seconds every 4 hours :( My brain is constantly screaming, “Go to sleep go to sleep go to sleep” like a nagging voice in the back of my head that I can’t shut off. Maybe that’s why people fail at this; it’s really really hard to keep up the willpower.

I supposed another way to look at it is that even though it sucks only getting 6 x 20 minute naps, it makes things easier being able to say to yourself, “Only another 4 hours until my next nap.” With “normal” sleeping patterns (8 hours per night) if you get tired during the day, that’s too bad. You have to down a coffee or 3, consume lots of sugar or just struggle through the day and evening until finally you collapse into bed that night. I’d rather the inconvenience of needing to take a short nap every 4 hours if it means I have constant, stable energy through the day.

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