Here be the record of my first week trying the 3-Hour Everyman polyphasic schedule. Overall I'm pretty impressed with how well I've done (usually I'm complete shite for self-control when it comes to sleep) but I do wish I had done better. Especially getting up on weekdays.
As I
posted previously, the sleep deprivation wasn't near as bad as I expected and passed quickly, and it was easier to get up than I thought. Way easier. Which I'm attributing to twenty minutes being just the right amount of nap time to get rested but not give you that shitty zombie feeling like you shouldn't have even slept at all. Prior to this naps were a double-edged sword for me, and usually I was crankier and more tired after a nap than I was before it.
My only mess ups came from an alarm not being enough or being set incorrectly and me oversleeping as a result. Oh, I also consciously skipped one nap on the day I started due to company and holiday festivities.
Naps are at 10:00am, 4:00pm, and 10:00pm and my core sleep is from 2:00am until 5:00am. Tuesday through Saturday I work 6:00am to 2:30pm with a thirty-minute lunch break. I work at a computer providing technical support for the Navy and Marine Corp bases around the country. At the time of this writing I have a one-month old baby and live with my lady who's off work on maternity leave.
Here we go!
Saturday, July 4th:
Today will be my jumping off point. Fittingly enough, last night I went to sleep around the time I have scheduled for myself (2:00am) because Lil' Jonas had a tummy ache (apparently; babies are hard to read) and kept us up. I had napped around 4:00pm for a couple of hours before going to bed. My alarm started going off at 5:00am and got up finally around 5:20am.
I'll try to stay away from a lot of caffeine, but this morning I had a Starbucks Doubleshot as I drove into work. Had some brown sugar oatmeal also around 9:00am.
I was pretty tired, but no more so than I have been in the month since Jonas was born. After I got into work my energy level as about normal and I could read/sit still for long hours without getting sleepy or anything.
First Nap:
Couldn't start right at 10:00am as I had to change desks unexpectedly to cover for someone at work who decided to leave a little early. Found a comfy chair and put my feet up, put on my trusty blue hoodie, covered my eyes, and listened to Moby Dick (as I always do when I nap at work). Started the timer at about 10:17am.
Started to dream thinly (people wanted me to do something, I can't remember what) then a noise woke me with five minutes to go. Rested in the chair, got up when alarm sounded. Not groggy or blurry, felt normal. (One strange thing I'm still experiencing is a little bit of excitement as I try to nap because I'm eager to start and experience this whole thing. It's a lot less now but for about four days I felt it every time I tried to sleep.)
Second Nap:
Right on time. Walked the dogs in mild heat for about twenty-five minutes before hand. Surfed the Internet on the couch for ten minutes or so before laying down to cool off and rest. No dreams, barely any sleep if at all. I think I "exercised" too close to the nap. My middle-aged pug and puppy-aged beagle walked pretty quick and the later pulls something awful the entire walk. I made a mental note to wait until after the nap to walk them in the future since everyone says excercise right before sleep is bad.
Third Nap:
Skipped altogether. Had company over and there were fireworks! It's midnight now and I'm not tired, but my red eyes do hurt (dryness and soreness). Decided to just stay up and wait until my scheduled core nap. If I understand it correctly this is the best thing to do when missing or having a nap pushed back too far.
Overall I had good energy today, tired here and there but nothing horrible at all. It may be the excitement of starting the experiment/change but I actually feel less tired than I have in the past couple of weeks. Could also be the holiday and having friends over. Halo (OG Halo, mind you) with friends would keep anyone awake!
Sunday, July 5th
Wasn't tired last night, could be used to the lack of sleep or just because company was over. Sat in bed in the dark and watched a new movie, hallucinated a couple times about bugs just on the edge of my field of vision. The last hour or so was a little tough, head bobbing but no sleeping. Turned in right at 2:00am and think I fell asleep pretty fast. No dreams that I can recall.
Alarm went off at 5:00am, didn't feel overly tired at first waking. Sleep-logic convinced me to maybe sleep an extra 1.5 hours to make up for my skipped nap, but apparently I hit the snooze too much and didn't get up until a little after 8:30am. Kinda blown my schedule already. I did dream during the second run of sleep, but not as deeply as normal. Feel semi-groggy.
First Nap:
Even though I got up late I still started to get a bit tired before 10:00am. Laid down right on time, slept pretty well but no real dreams. Trying to sleep in my bed with a teddy bear over my eyes while Kasey and the baby hang out in the living room to avoid interruptions. Alarm on my watch didn't go off, maybe slept about forty-five minutes before they came in and got me.
Second Nap:
On time again, light dreaming. Got sleepy a bit before the nap, maybe a little more than thirty minutes before. Up on time. Started falling asleep on the couch afterward for a few seconds, got up and got moving. Made coffee, loaded some dishes in the dishwasher. Sleepiness passed before the coffee was ready. Wicked nap-wood after my second nap until I totally woke up, which seems to be happening a lot during and after these naps. (Nap-wood is probably exactly what you're thinking it is. It happens to me when I'm either comfortably super-tired or during some naps.)
Third Nap:
On schedule. Don't think I slept, did relax pretty well though. Got up on time, felt refreshed. Got tired shorty before 10:00. I'm trying to concentrate on not forcing myself to sleep and just enjoy being still. Watching my breath, etc, and doing half-assed meditation at each of these, so even if I don't sleep I'm still getting some benefit. Which helps me relax about not immediately passing out come nap time.
Monday, July 6th
Core Nap:
Went to bed a little behind schedule, Jonas was crying a bit. Fell asleep fast, dreamed a little but not as full as normal yet. Didn't reset alarm from day before and woke up naturally around 5:00am but accidentally fell asleep again until after 6:00am. It didn't even feel like any time had passed between waking up at 5:00am and again after 6:00am. Strongest case of this I've ever had. I can't actually remember when I woke up now! It was way later than it should have been, though.
First Nap:
On time, no real sleep since I slept too much before. Got close though. Up on time.
Second Nap:
Right at 4:00pm, was starting to doze on the couch right before hand. Fell asleep quickly and had light dreams. Watch alarm is pretty weak when I'm actually asleep and didn't wake me up on time. Kasey came in and woke me up forty minutes after I laid down. Pretty groggy afterward; my eyes were doing that non-teamwork thing for a while and after I rocked Jonas to sleep I actually fell asleep myself off and on for about an hour or more. Ugh. Kasey got an awesome
picture of us though, passed out with mouths agape, so it was worth it.
Third Nap:
A little late due to Jonas and dinner, but only ten minutes or so. Ate right before I went to lay down. No sleep, just lots of relaxing. Set my phone alarm this time! No grogginess or tiredness.
Besides falling asleep all day things seem to be going well. Looking forward to the work week and being forced stay up during the day. It could be my extra napping but I don't feel as tired as I did before. I dunno, we'll see how it goes when I've been strictly on the 3-Hour Everyman for a week or more. I think starting this when I was already sleep deprived was actually a good idea.
Tuesday, July 7th
Core Nap:
Laid down on time, Jonas woke us up about fifteen minutes later though. Fell back asleep pretty fast and had pretty full dreams right up until the alarm went off. Kinda laid there for another twenty minutes, got up. A little tired but nothing more than any regular pre-Jonas morning, and a lot better than any post-Jonas work morning so far. A little yawny as I sat down to work but nothing crazy.
First Nap:
Started to get a little sleepy about an hour before 10:00am, work got crazy busy as it got closer but I made sure I could leave on time. Tried to slow my breathing and relax as I walked to the Quiet Room, which is basically a clean bathroom with a deadbolt, a chair, and a collector for used needles. The taped memo on the door says it's for general use.
I sat in hard plastic chair, overturned an empty recycling bin and put the hood of my sweatshirt over my eyes and my feet up. Headphones lost the rubber part so no Moby Dick today, sadly. Only seven minutes in I heard loud footsteps coming to the door, obviously a lady. Instead of leaving when she saw the Occupied sign she hovered outside the door, sighing and tapping her toe a little. I gave her four minutes and then left. Laid my head down at my friend's desk on the call center floor for the rest of the time. Needless to say, no sleep. Cranky!
Feel less tired though. No sleep-dep yet which either means I'm used it from before or just really sleeping way too long lately.
Second Nap:
Out at Kasey's mom's house. Got tired around 3:00pm on the drive over from the pediatrician. Laid down maybe fifteen minutes late. Felt nice and sleepy, slept a little bit, thin dreams again. Not too deep but really restful. (Which I'm thinking now may be the indication of deep sleep; I keep trying to compare these naps to an 8+ hour night.) No grogginess, up right on time. My 4:00pm nap is by far the best one so far; probably because for about a week prior to this we'd lay down for a long nap around then.
Third Nap:
Got home late in the 9:00pm hour, cleaned up a little, went and laid down on time. No sleep, got comfy though. I think it's still weird for me to go to sleep alone and that could be one factor holding me back. It's always kind of weirded me out to sleep solo ever since I first moved in with someone. Got up on time, maybe four minutes of sluggishness then had good energy until later in the night. Started to nod off a little with an hour to go, was able to stay awake.
Work, errands, etc were all good today. Did a lot but wasn't tired until my naps neared and it wasn't painful or disabling. (This is also the day I started to feel small bouts of euphoria and some time dilation.)
Wednesday, July 8th
Core Nap:
Jonas was cooperating and we all laid down right on time. I took a long shower before hand, which I was a little worried about as they tend to wake me up, but I fell asleep really quickly. Had nice full dreams until
buttface the little one woke up crying with five minutes to go. Got up, changed him, was super cranky. Tried to lay back down and catch up on my lost minutes (my sleep-brain convinced me it was a good idea) and I fell asleep again quickly, more dreams. Alarm problems had me waking up thirty minutes later by my lady and rushing to get to work, super cranky again.
Hard time driving, eyes wanting to close, brain definitely trying to do the microsleep thing. Turned the AC way up and fought it off, but it was very hard . Burny eyes. After food and a few more hours I felt better, about up to normal, just tired like I haven't been the past few days. I wonder if the ten minutes made that much of a difference, or maybe taking that extra "nap" screwed me over. I should have just stayed up.
First Nap:
Headed towards a break room I figured would be deserted and it was full of trainees. Wandered around a bit, then headed to the Quiet Room. Same time as yesterday that lady showed up again, stood outside the door and talked on her cell phone. I didn't even wait this time, just left. Laid my head down on a friend's desk, blared Moby Dick and put my hood over my eyes. My friend came buy and clapped me on the back, but left after a few minutes of talking. The cleaning lady (for some insane reason) was vacuuming so I turned the iPod up. Actually fell asleep, but no dreams. Felt pretty good when I got up, barely groggy and it left quickly.
Second Nap:
Because of mandatory overtime I had to work until 4:30pm instead of 2:30pm so had to sleep again at work. Skipped all the running around and went straight to my friend's desk, played my Melville, and laid my head down. About the same quality of sleep as before, just barely got there then woke up, but didn't feel slow or groggy afterward. Not bad for being slumped over on a hard desk surface on a call center floor.
Third Nap:
Laid down on time, got very comfortable but it's hard to tell if I slept or not. A lot of these naps seem to get very close to deep sleep but for now are just some minutes of unconsciousness. Was pretty cold when I got out of bed, groggy in the eyes for a couple of minutes but then back to normal. It's weird that the 10:00pm nap isn't the best one so far, I would have guessed that's the one that actually put me to sleep. Had good energy to clean, etc, until my core nap.
(Near) Perfect Polyphasic Day!
Thursday, July 9th:
Core Nap:
Got a little sleepy about an hour before 2:00am, was laying on the couch and cuddling which is probably why. I told Kasey if she let me fall asleep I'd bite her face off. She kept me up when I started to fall asleep and we folded laundry to stay up until it was time. Laid down fifteen minutes before 2:00am but made sure I kept a light on and stayed awake until it was actually time. Wasn't difficult like it has been before, even laying down in the covers. Fell asleep quickly, had some dreams (not good enough to remember though) and woke up with Jonas about fifteen minutes before 5:00am. Kasey got up with him and took him into the living room to change/feed him and I quickly fell back asleep until about 5:15. I don't know if I need to stay up if woken before then end of the 3 hours or try to make it up, I don't want to get the cycles confused and set myself back.
First Nap:
Skipped all the running around and went straight to my friend's desk, laid my head down about twenty minutes late though. A co-worker had just quit and I walked them out with my supervisor and then back in, walking fast since I only get 30 minutes. I also had a Doubleshoot and a cup of coffee at 5:30am and 8:30am. Watch beeped when it shouldn't have, with ten minutes to go, and confused me. All of which probably contributed to a less restful nap than usual. Just bad overall.
Second Nap:
Cuddled on the couch with Kasey and Jonas instead of going into the bedroom to try and sleep alone. Set the alarm on my cellphone, but accidentally hit AM instead of PM. Fell asleep quickly but slept for about an hour. Moderately groggy when I got up, ate some peanut butter from the jar and kept moving, passed pretty quickly. Twenty minutes is definitely the magic number for naps.
Third Nap:
Cuddled again, experience and instinct tell me I fall asleep faster that way. Just call me an old softy. Took a bit to fall asleep, but seem to have gotten a fair amount. Jonas woke us up with three minutes to go. No grogginess, got right up and started doing constructive type tings.
Friday, July 10th:
Core Nap:
Got tired towards the tail end of the night, probably from the bad nap at 10:00am and/or getting too much sleep at 4:00pm. Kind of upsetting as I had a good streak going. Started dozing off on the couch with an hour to go, got up and rocked the baby, loaded the dishwasher, etc. Held it off until we laid down right at 2:00am and fell asleep without trouble. Jonas the Alarm Clock stayed quiet all night and even stayed asleep as I woke at 5:00am this morning.
I think the hard end of the Everyman adaptation period is starting to hit. At night I'm sleepier than I have been and yesterday before my 4:00pm I felt the strongest sleep-dep silliness I have all week. This morning wasn't the hardest morning by far, but it was definitely more difficult than it has been.
First Nap:
Work was pretty slow, was able to get away easily. My co-worker and bosses now follow me on Twitter and other social stalking tools so they're aware of my new sleep schedule and what I go to do at 10:00am for my lunch. I only had to explain briefly once what I was doing, now they just ask with a little laugh, "Nap time?" Went straight to the quiet corner of my friend's desk, listened to Moby Dick and relaxed pretty quickly. It feels like I slept for a bit, but no dreams. Woke up refreshed, no grogginess.
Second Nap:
Hung out on the couch for thirty minutes after driving home in Friday traffic a little tired, but not uncomfortably so. Laid down on the couch with my lady and our baby and fell asleep quickly, overslept because my trusty cell phone alarm died and my watch didn't get me up. Slept maybe an hour. Was groggy, hard to get up. Got active cleaning, messing with Jonas, etc, and it went away gradually.
Third Nap:
Comfortably sleepy before my 10:00pm nap. I've been watching my food intake right before my naps (which I wasn't doing before) and it seems to help. Haven't eaten much since before my 4:00pm nap, but not hungry. Laid down in the mostly-dark bedroom, relaxed to my breathing and a CD my dad gave us that has bells playing with the sound of rain. No dreams again, but felt good when I woke up. Got dressed, put my hoodie on as I've learned I get really cold after these naps, made food, etc.
I didn't have any crazy tiredness today, but at work between my second and third nap my sense of time did seem really off (kept thinking it was Saturday, which may have just been because work was slow for once) and had a strong feeling of surreality. My work performance wasn't affected, it was just interesting for a few hours to feel like maybe I was dreaming.
Saturday, July 11th:
Core Nap:
Maybe eight minutes late, getting the baby ready to be still. Nice and healthily tired, laid down and dozed off quickly, woke up maybe a few minutes in to replace his pacifier (which we call his Friend) then right back out. Had more solid dreams than I've had in a while, which I remembered briefly a few hours ago but are lost again. I smiled when I woke up because I could remember them. Also, I had this really strong sensation of smelling BBQ sauce when I got up. Strong enough to look around like maybe someone brought some ribs into the bedroom. No idea what that was about. For nearly all intents and purposes my household is vegetarian.
A little tired on the way to work, not bad. Had a Doubleshoot at my desk early on (I made the mistake of over-rubbing my eyes as I logged in and it made a ton more sleepy) but didn't eat before my first nap.
First Nap:
Headphones on, hoodie up, feet up, Moby Dick playing. Laying back in a chair instead of forward on my arm across a desk. It's so hard to tell how long I sit there before sleep, but it didn't seem take very long. Had one thin dream, woke up and rested for maybe another five minutes before the alarm went off. Refreshed, no BBQ smell.
And here we've come full circle. I was gonna complete it for the rest of the day, but I didn't get around to blogging again on this until now and can't remember the details.
I realize this is pretty tedious on both ends, so I'm thinking of only doing highlights for the next couple of weeks. I do like having a detailed record of how strict I've been and how I've felt, etc so who knows. Y'all may be bombarded with another stalker-esque log of my habits.
Night night night night night.
- David
