Intro to Polyphasic Sleep | First attempt (lasted 30 days) | Second Attempt (lasted 7 days) | Third Attempt (ongoing)
Yesterday I mentioned I was going to try and bit more rigid with my naps, at least until my polyphasic sleep is back on track (I’ve been oversleeping a lot ever since I went on a ski trip). It’s nearly killed me.
Yup, I’m back to the zombie feelings and lethargy that plagued me during my initial few days of adjustment (though I will concede, a tiny bit less intense. But still pretty bad.) Looks like you really can’t go back to monophasic sleep (sleeping 8hrs consecutively) and then expect to go back to polyphasic without any trouble. At least not for an extended time like I did. However, I will say I’m better-equipped to deal with the lethargy; probably because I know what I’m in for and I know this will only last a few days. I feel I’ve been a bit more functional this time around because I’ve been forcing myself to work, to go out, to eat, to cook, etc. When I first started polyphasic and hit the wall, I didn’t do much other than sit around the house killing time. It’s definitely easier to cope with zombie-ness if you stay active!
I’ve stuck mostly to the nap times I set out yesterday, though I had to move two naps around a bit because of work commitments (they’re in bold). So I’ve napped:
6pm 10pm 12.30am 5am 9am 12am 3pm
…for a total of 7 x 20 min naps, or 2hrs 20 min. Given that’s less than the 3-3.5hrs I was sleeping a week or so ago when I was at the peak of my polyphasic sleep abilities, I think I’m doing well to copy with tiredness. Though we’ll see how I go tonight – late night/early mornings are the most tiring, especially given I have to work 4hr blocks and can’t nap during them. The plan is to stick to this rigidness and cross my fingers.
In the below poll, I’ve noticed quite a few people have said they’re sleeping 3hrs or less. I’d love to hear from you; are you on polyphasic sleep? Are you on a strict or flexible schedule? How long have you been doing it? And how are you finding it? If you’re too shy to drop a comment in the box below, shoot me an email: 
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