Intro to Polyphasic Sleep | First attempt (lasted 30 days) | Second Attempt (lasted 7 days) | Third Attempt (ongoing)
Hey peeps! Not a lot to report today so I’ll keep this short. I struggled a bit in the early morning (6am) with tiredness during work – it was so bad I had to resort to having a very weak cup of coffee to pull myself out of it. I really didn’t want to but I felt like I had no choice. I even managed a quick 10 minute nap but I was still zombied to hell.
The coffee wasn’t very strong so it didn’t seem to affect my naps at any point during the day. That’s definitely a handy ace to have up my sleeve; if I ever plan on being up for a really long time, I can probably extend the time between naps with a bit of caffeine. But only as a last resort.
I’ve been mucking about with the length of my naps over the last few days, often setting my alarm for 30 minutes instead of 20 and meditating in the first 10. However, I’m going back to 20 – I keep falling asleep within a minute or two of laying down (meaning I’m getting 25+ minutes of sleep). Sounds like a good thing but it’s leaving me incredibly groggy and desperate to go back to sleep. It’s been quite a few naps since I woke up refreshed, so back to 20-min-naps it is!
This weekend will be my biggest test since I started polyphasic sleep. I’m going skiing for the weekend, which will pose quite a few challenges:
- I’ll be awake (and doing quite strenuous exercise) all day, with probably no chance of having a nap. I’m planning to take a little sachet of coffee in my pocket, and I’ll literally shove raw coffee in my mouth if it comes to it.
- I’ll be with other people, so even when we’re at camp I may not be able to just have a nap. If I do nap, I’ll have to tell people why (and other than this blog, I haven’t told many close friends/family about polyphasic sleep – I was saving it until I’m actually adjusted)
- Boredom – what on Earth am I going to do during the nights when everyone else is asleep? I’m taking a torch and a notebook so I’ll do some writing; hopefully I’ll have enough to fill 16 hours or total night time…
- May not have an alarm – assuming my phone battery runs out, I won’t have an alarm the second day. I’ll use the beeping alarm on my watch, but I haven’t tested it’s “wake-up-ability” yet.
- Skiing is hard work and all your muscles ache after each day. The one thing that makes it ok is the fact you can sleep it off – I don’t have that luxury. Hopefully I won’t be up all night with stiff, aching muscles :(
- Knowing which snow to eat – I’ve heard you can’t eat the yellow snow, so it will be a big challenge for me to make sure I avoid it at all costs. This may be the hardest (and most important) challenge on this list.
- Can I take my camera? I have absolutely no idea. I can leave the camera at the campsite when I go skiing, and just use it to take photos around the campsite, but will it stand up to the cold and wetness of the snow? All you people who live in snowy areas: have you used your DSLR in snow? Anything special I need to do to keep it safe?
Anyone have any tips for me for this ski trip? I’d really appreciate your input – I don’t want to oversleep but I also don’t want to die of tiredness. After all, I am going skiing to have fun!
PS: In the poll just below this post, there are 3 votes for “I sleep 3 or less hours a night.” One vote is obviously mine, I’m interested in who else sleeps 3 or less. Drop a comment if you’re not shy!
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