Intro to Polyphasic Sleep | First attempt (lasted 30 days) | Second Attempt (lasted 7 days) | Third Attempt (ongoing)
This morning I slept for 5 hours.
Everything had been going perfect the day before; I’d woken up feeling amazing after the last 2 of my naps and I felt like some of the zombies were dying down a little bit. I had to work from 12am-4am this morning, and during the last half hour I started to feel really tired. I pushed through it, eventually laying down for a nap at 4am. I didn’t wake up until 9.30am.
What happened? I woke up from the 20minute nap at 4.20am, went to the toilet and grabbed myself a drink. In my state of sleep deprivation, my brain convinced me it would be a good idea to sleep just one more nap, and then I’d get up. I guess I didn’t set another alarm, even though I swear to God I have a memory of doing so.
To anyone reading this, I’m sure you’re thinking, “Why don’t you just fight the urge to go back to bed, just use willpower and self-resolve?” I even have that thought myself, even though I know it’s unhelpful. When you’re seriously sleep-deprived as with polyphasic sleep, when you’re feeling like a zombie it’s like you’re not even conscious. You still have thoughts and feelings and actions, but it feels like your subconscious is in control and you’re just watching (and watching through a fog/haze). No matter how much willpower I have, I keep getting sleep-deprived to the point where willpower doesn’t even count anymore; my body/brain is going to trick me into oversleeping.
I’ve also tried to get things right in terms of diet, amount of time between naps, going outside during the day, etc. I’ve had a lot of raw food as well but I still keep making these “unconscious mistakes” when I get up from naps. I’ve convinced myself that I can’t go back to sleep after a nap no matter how much it hurts, but my subconscious doesn’t seem to be onboard with that and keeps taking over and making me oversleep. Maybe that’s the point – maybe I need to spend some time brainwashing myself (well, a psychologist would call it Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) into wanting to get up immediately after a nap, no matter what.
The whole point of polyphasic is to get yourself sleep-deprived to the point where your body says, “OK, I’m going to have to start making use of these 20-minute naps because I’m clearly not going to get 8 hours of sleep anymore.” That process took me about a week last time. However, this time my body seems to be fighting a lot harder, as if it thinks, “If I fight hard enough I’ll eventually win and have a 5hr nap which will get me back on track sleep-wise.”
To say I’m disappointed would be an understatement; I’m honestly depressed by it. Yup, I’ll get over it in a few hours, but I’m starting to have that nagging voice in the back of my head saying, “Maybe you can’t do this. Almost everyone fails at polyphasic and eventually has to do a modified version such as a big sleep + an afternoon siesta, sleeping for a total of 5 hours or so. What makes you think you’re special?” I also feel a little more alone in my experiment than when I started. During the first few weeks I had countless people commenting and asking me questions about polyphasic sleep, both on here and on my tumblr. Now nobody comments (possibly because it’s getting repetitive: success, fail, strong resolve, success, fail, strong resolve, etc.)
Yes, I’m doing this for myself first and foremost. I’m doing this because it’s interesting, it will (eventually) make me more productive and because I had a few days during my first attempt where I felt wide-awake all the time, for 21.5 hours a day. But it’s easier (and far more interesting) having people show interest and engage with you during your experiment. An experiment for just yourself, even if you keep a blog to keep yourself honest, makes it too easy to walk away from.
But that’s not me. I’m stubborn and full of pride, to a fault. I’m furious and depressed but most of all I’m full of stubborn resolve. As “punishment” to myself, and also to get myself back into that required state of sleep-deprivation, I’m not letting myself sleep until 4am tomorrow at the end of my work shift. 5 hours is more than enough sleep to survive off for today, so good job body, you won. But now I’m taking back the reigns.
[php-to-page file=/home/handyand/public_html/polyphasicContentsv2.php]
[poll id=”1″]