Polyphasic Sleep - Day 2

I got up from my 06:45-07:15 nap still feeling refreshed, even though I still couldn't sleep all the way through. A bit tired, true, but in a much better shape than I had expected. There's only one day done so far, though, so the worst is sure to be ahead..

Today was surprising and interesting. I went to work by foot (35-40-minutes walk). I wasn't feeling tired, but I had no idea how I would feel later on. I thought I would gradually become a zombie by the end of the day, but quite the opposite happened. I was alert most of the time (I almost nodded once or twice, but not more), and feeling great, though there still was this nagging feeling of being a bit tired - you know, when you should have been in bed two or three hours ago. This is not what I was expecting.

The nap at midday happened as usual - I could only sleep for the last 5 to 10 minutes. The server room is not the most comfortable place. Everything was going well for the afternoon, and by 17:00, I was still feeling great. I walked back home and went to sleep, though, again, I only slept for 5 to 10 minutes.

As I was preparing my dinner, I kept thinking that this couldn't be normal. Still, I know how I'm feeling - normal. I decided to go to the gym. The way I was seeing it was that I needed to sleep more during the naps, so if I exhaust my body, this should be easier, shouldn't it? On the other hand, this was possibly playing with fire, but I really was feeling great. So, with only about an hour of sleep during the previous 44 hours, I went to the gym.

This was the first time I went during the evening - I always go in the morning, before work. It went very well. I sweated a bit more than usual, though I can't be too quick to say it's because of my current condition. I started feeling a bit more tired at around half of my work-out, so I was eager to see how my next nap was going to go.

My training ended at 21:10, and I got home (by foot) at 21:30, took a shower, and waited for 22:00. I still wasn't really tired, and for a moment after I went to bed, I thought the exercise would keep me wide awake again. I can't know for sure, but I think I managed a 10-minutes sleep, 15 if I was lucky.

I woke up a bit groggy, but it lasted about 5 minutes. I spent the next two hours on reddit, and chatting with the previous boss at the lab I work at.


---- Updated at 01:15 --------
I had another nap at 00:30, followed by a breakfast. Still no sign of any zombie-like condition. Part of me is hoping that I'll get through the adaptation phase just like that, but reason gets in the way of such conclusion.

Also, I'm starting to think that the nights are too long. This is what I wanted all along, so why am I not enjoying it as much as I should?

When I was playing the piano, starting at around 01:30 I began to feel increasingly tired. Not the sleep-deprived debilitating feeling, but rather a "just let me sleep for an hour" kind. Of course, this would defeat the purpose of going through this adaptation phase. I thought about going back to bed at 02:00, only one hour after my last nap, but decided to wait for my self-appointed 03:00. I figure that if, right now, I start going to sleep when my body needs it, I'm just going to slowly get back to a one-night sleep. Until I'm used and comfortable with polyphasic sleeping, I need to stay close to the schedule.

At around 02:15, I started to be really tired, to the point where I couldn't just sit idly in front of the computer. I would expect to be this tired at the same time, but yesterday! I have no idea right now how it works. I got up and played some Rock Band 2, but even with the interaction with a guitar, I was missing some notes because of lack of sleep. I guess this is happening right now! I really hope that I'll fall asleep very quickly.


---- Updated at 03:50 --------
I'm surprised it started so quickly! I woke up after my 03:00-03:30 nap, almost feeling like shit. It took more time than I anticipated to actually fall asleep. I guess it's like babies that are so tired that they can't fall asleep. I slept most of the 30 minutes, and I woke up remembering my dream (which is a very good sign). After waking up, I stayed propped on an elbow on the bed for about 15 minutes. Now I need to stay active physically or mentally. If I just stay in front of the computer (browsing reddit for example), I risk falling asleep on the chair. This greatly limits what I can do during the night.

It took 15 minutes, a plum and some almonds to dissipate the tiredness. Right now, I'm okay, but it may come back anytime.

In his beginnings, Steve Pavlina added a seventh nap some time in the night, until he got more used to polyphasic sleeping. This actually seems like a good idea, or maybe I could ease myself into that state by having one longer nap (like an hour or two). I have to go against the latter, because it wouldn't help my body to fall asleep into an REM cycle right away - I think it would be even worse.

Then it got better. I watched the second episode of The Big Bang Theory, which I actually liked, contrary to what I remembered of the first episode. I then watched a BBC documentary about what one degree really is. I actually fell asleep during the end of the documentary, 30 or 40 minutes, and woke up at 07:00. I skipped the 07:00 nap, and will have to be more careful in the future.