Polyphasic Sleep Experiment: Day 1
So it's now 24 hours into it. It's not as bad as I thought it would be.
Now there's a key point to be noted in the specific terminology "not as bad": it's still bad.
Okay. “Bad” is a strong word. "Uncomfortable" or "unpleasant" might be better substitutions.
Generally, I feel like (surprise, surprise!) I haven't slept.
So, I’m gonna give a catalogue of the first 24 hours… this will be in quite a bit of detail, actually, but I don’t think I will maintain this level of detail unless things start getting “interesting”. The main reason I include such detail is that it is my plan to follow the general course laid out here: lots of activity (so I don’t just sit and fall asleep), mentally stimulating activities (at least early on, when I am able) spiced with some menial “thoughtless” tasks. If things change, I’ll let you know.
So… on with the show!
Starting yesterday, 2005.11.15:
1st polynap at around 5:30 pm or so. Generally worked well, as I’m used to napping at this time, just not getting up so soon. My body protested getting up a little, but not much. My mood was generally good, but then, at this point, I’d gotten the same amount of sleep as usual. Spent a good deal of time setting up the blog and creating the first post.
2nd polynap at 9:00 pm. Again, slept without a hitch. No lucid dreams though, but I wasn’t really expecting any on the first day. Shortly after the 2nd, I made and ate dinner. Generally at that point, I spent some time catching up on my blog reading and reconnecting with friends. I was still good mood and had no noticeable downsides. Of course, still in basically normal sleep mode, with actually a little extra bit of short naps.
3rd polynap at 12:30 am. My body didn’t protest this one at all, really. My wife was still awake, so I wandered back to where she was and, again, continued my catch-up on information. Made myself some Earl Grey tea and had a few cookies, along with some orange juice. The juice was included specifically because there have been spotty references around that fruit juices in general eased the transition. Some point specifically to grape juice, but I think that this is probably someone taking the armchair speculation of the kuro5hin post on polynapping as fact:
…I will often crave strange things that I don't recall craving in the past. One great example of this is grape juice; I now drink this regularly, but before I switched I don't recall ever wanting it. My speculation is that my body isn't producing enough of some chemical that it would normally produce in stages 3 and 4 deep sleep.
I recall some other places claiming that one should just drink more juice in general, too, with no scientific backing for it. But even if the basis for the “drink lots of juice - it makes it easier” claim is bunk, a bit more orange juice in my life certainly couldn’t hurt me. And usually if your body craves something, it needs it for some reason*, so I think the kuro5hin poster was justified.
* Even with addictive chemicals, if I recall – your body just adapts to the presence of the addictive chemical, and relies on it for functioning. Remove the chemical, and then your body “needs” it. Could be wrong though.
Anyway, these types of tips are some of what are throwing up warning flags for me: a lot of the information out there is not based on any sort of scientific basis, and are really just rumor heaped on speculation. I’ll post more on this later.
Back on the topic of the last 24 hours: I spent the hours between 3 and 4 finishing the catch-up, and then re-reading the first 2 chapters of Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time. I must be the only geek who hasn’t finished this book. I’ve started it about half a dozen times, and always got distracted. Usually when I get distracted for long enough, I need to start all over again to satisfy my sense of completeness. As a result, it’s still unread. In any case, it’s one of the things that I’m determined to finish as a result of my extra time.
4th nap at 4:00 am. Honestly, this one was a bit tougher to wake up from. While still clutching my cell phone (my portable alarm clock for this experiment), I seriously considered spontaneously going for the schedule that has 3-4 hours of “core sleep”, but figured that, were I to give in to that little temptation so early, I would probably do it again. So I skipped it, forced myself into a brightly lit room, and my drowsiness cleared in a minute or two.
I grabbed a bowl of soup at this point and some cold water, and picked up my reading again. This time I started reading I’m Just Here for the Food by Alton Brown, which I’ve been borrowing from my brother. My sister-in-law was already emphatically asking to have it back less than a week after I borrowed it, so I figured that it needed a higher priority on the reading list. So far, so good: it’s clear, concise and entertaining. Plus, it contains all the info on cooking that recipes don’t tell you: the whys of cooking. Apparently his show, Good Eats is of a very similar format. I haven’t watched it yet (no cable), but I might just make a special effort if this quality continues.
I also did some minor chores around the apartment (watering the plants and mild cleaning), but it’s less interesting than the reading, I think.
That’s how I continued until I needed to get ready for work, around 6:30 am. At this point, I was getting a little fatigued, but the shower really felt nice. I felt good. I had to switch out of my contact lenses at this point to my glasses, because my eyes were drying out somewhat and getting irritated. This was an unforeseen, but perhaps should have been an expected occurrence. I will probably get some drops to accommodate it tomorrow if my eyes don’t adapt.
5th nap at 7:00 am. This one was placed here so that I could get a nap before work, one during lunch, and then one immediately after work, so I could still keep with it in light of my desk job. No problem waking up this time, as I had the pressing need of going to work. However, I don’t recall the moments of napping my alarm and exiting the spare bedroom (where I’ve been doing all the naps), just entering the kitchen. Weird, but not unheard of when I’m sleep deprived.
Cup of Earl Grey in hand, I was off to work, where things went pretty smoothly through the morning. No real problems focusing or programming yet. Just hope that continues until the weekend or Thanksgiving.
6th and final nap of the 24 hour stretch at 11:30 am. Right on my lunch break, I went out to my car and leaned back the front-passenger seat to nap. Worked out well; I was asleep quickly, woke with no problems, and felt quite invigorated as I walked back to my desk. I really felt positive about this whole thing at this point, hoping beyond reason that my transition period was freakishly short. In retrospect, the invigoration probably had to do with the briskness of the air as I walked from my car to the office building (it’s chilly here!) combined with building adrenaline regarding a presentation to be made on my project status. The alertness and clarity carried me clear through the presentation and ensuing discussion, though, so I can’t complain.
Interestingly, my speech during the presentation often felt very detached, and I was having mild trouble completing thoughts completely coherently. Oddly, though, my use of floundering words (“uhs" and “ums") was significantly reduced during my presentation. I’m not sure if it’s a result of the sleep dep, or just me making a much stronger conscious effort not to use those words. Maybe I should have waited a day or two to start this, but it’s all past now.
So I was riding high after that, in a good mood and all. But it started getting rough right around 3:30 – 4:00 pm. I’m wondering if that stretch from the 11:30 nap to the 5:15 nap is just too long; I can probably delay it some, and will do so tomorrow, moving it back to more like noon-ish.
I made it in the end, slugging through some non-mental work until I could get home for that nap. It was kinda hairy there, though, and I did find myself very muddled sometimes. I don’t want to resort to caffeine in most instances, especially if I’m within a few hours of a nap, but I’ll certainly do so if I have to. The point was to perform the experiment in a way that was compatible with a standard day job. Caffeine, in particular cases, may make it a little more compatible.
So, here I am, ready for round 2, and looking forward to reading more tonight!
-sean
Now there's a key point to be noted in the specific terminology "not as bad": it's still bad.
Okay. “Bad” is a strong word. "Uncomfortable" or "unpleasant" might be better substitutions.
Generally, I feel like (surprise, surprise!) I haven't slept.
So, I’m gonna give a catalogue of the first 24 hours… this will be in quite a bit of detail, actually, but I don’t think I will maintain this level of detail unless things start getting “interesting”. The main reason I include such detail is that it is my plan to follow the general course laid out here: lots of activity (so I don’t just sit and fall asleep), mentally stimulating activities (at least early on, when I am able) spiced with some menial “thoughtless” tasks. If things change, I’ll let you know.
So… on with the show!
Starting yesterday, 2005.11.15:
1st polynap at around 5:30 pm or so. Generally worked well, as I’m used to napping at this time, just not getting up so soon. My body protested getting up a little, but not much. My mood was generally good, but then, at this point, I’d gotten the same amount of sleep as usual. Spent a good deal of time setting up the blog and creating the first post.
2nd polynap at 9:00 pm. Again, slept without a hitch. No lucid dreams though, but I wasn’t really expecting any on the first day. Shortly after the 2nd, I made and ate dinner. Generally at that point, I spent some time catching up on my blog reading and reconnecting with friends. I was still good mood and had no noticeable downsides. Of course, still in basically normal sleep mode, with actually a little extra bit of short naps.
3rd polynap at 12:30 am. My body didn’t protest this one at all, really. My wife was still awake, so I wandered back to where she was and, again, continued my catch-up on information. Made myself some Earl Grey tea and had a few cookies, along with some orange juice. The juice was included specifically because there have been spotty references around that fruit juices in general eased the transition. Some point specifically to grape juice, but I think that this is probably someone taking the armchair speculation of the kuro5hin post on polynapping as fact:
…I will often crave strange things that I don't recall craving in the past. One great example of this is grape juice; I now drink this regularly, but before I switched I don't recall ever wanting it. My speculation is that my body isn't producing enough of some chemical that it would normally produce in stages 3 and 4 deep sleep.
I recall some other places claiming that one should just drink more juice in general, too, with no scientific backing for it. But even if the basis for the “drink lots of juice - it makes it easier” claim is bunk, a bit more orange juice in my life certainly couldn’t hurt me. And usually if your body craves something, it needs it for some reason*, so I think the kuro5hin poster was justified.
* Even with addictive chemicals, if I recall – your body just adapts to the presence of the addictive chemical, and relies on it for functioning. Remove the chemical, and then your body “needs” it. Could be wrong though.
Anyway, these types of tips are some of what are throwing up warning flags for me: a lot of the information out there is not based on any sort of scientific basis, and are really just rumor heaped on speculation. I’ll post more on this later.
Back on the topic of the last 24 hours: I spent the hours between 3 and 4 finishing the catch-up, and then re-reading the first 2 chapters of Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time. I must be the only geek who hasn’t finished this book. I’ve started it about half a dozen times, and always got distracted. Usually when I get distracted for long enough, I need to start all over again to satisfy my sense of completeness. As a result, it’s still unread. In any case, it’s one of the things that I’m determined to finish as a result of my extra time.
4th nap at 4:00 am. Honestly, this one was a bit tougher to wake up from. While still clutching my cell phone (my portable alarm clock for this experiment), I seriously considered spontaneously going for the schedule that has 3-4 hours of “core sleep”, but figured that, were I to give in to that little temptation so early, I would probably do it again. So I skipped it, forced myself into a brightly lit room, and my drowsiness cleared in a minute or two.
I grabbed a bowl of soup at this point and some cold water, and picked up my reading again. This time I started reading I’m Just Here for the Food by Alton Brown, which I’ve been borrowing from my brother. My sister-in-law was already emphatically asking to have it back less than a week after I borrowed it, so I figured that it needed a higher priority on the reading list. So far, so good: it’s clear, concise and entertaining. Plus, it contains all the info on cooking that recipes don’t tell you: the whys of cooking. Apparently his show, Good Eats is of a very similar format. I haven’t watched it yet (no cable), but I might just make a special effort if this quality continues.
I also did some minor chores around the apartment (watering the plants and mild cleaning), but it’s less interesting than the reading, I think.
That’s how I continued until I needed to get ready for work, around 6:30 am. At this point, I was getting a little fatigued, but the shower really felt nice. I felt good. I had to switch out of my contact lenses at this point to my glasses, because my eyes were drying out somewhat and getting irritated. This was an unforeseen, but perhaps should have been an expected occurrence. I will probably get some drops to accommodate it tomorrow if my eyes don’t adapt.
5th nap at 7:00 am. This one was placed here so that I could get a nap before work, one during lunch, and then one immediately after work, so I could still keep with it in light of my desk job. No problem waking up this time, as I had the pressing need of going to work. However, I don’t recall the moments of napping my alarm and exiting the spare bedroom (where I’ve been doing all the naps), just entering the kitchen. Weird, but not unheard of when I’m sleep deprived.
Cup of Earl Grey in hand, I was off to work, where things went pretty smoothly through the morning. No real problems focusing or programming yet. Just hope that continues until the weekend or Thanksgiving.
6th and final nap of the 24 hour stretch at 11:30 am. Right on my lunch break, I went out to my car and leaned back the front-passenger seat to nap. Worked out well; I was asleep quickly, woke with no problems, and felt quite invigorated as I walked back to my desk. I really felt positive about this whole thing at this point, hoping beyond reason that my transition period was freakishly short. In retrospect, the invigoration probably had to do with the briskness of the air as I walked from my car to the office building (it’s chilly here!) combined with building adrenaline regarding a presentation to be made on my project status. The alertness and clarity carried me clear through the presentation and ensuing discussion, though, so I can’t complain.
Interestingly, my speech during the presentation often felt very detached, and I was having mild trouble completing thoughts completely coherently. Oddly, though, my use of floundering words (“uhs" and “ums") was significantly reduced during my presentation. I’m not sure if it’s a result of the sleep dep, or just me making a much stronger conscious effort not to use those words. Maybe I should have waited a day or two to start this, but it’s all past now.
So I was riding high after that, in a good mood and all. But it started getting rough right around 3:30 – 4:00 pm. I’m wondering if that stretch from the 11:30 nap to the 5:15 nap is just too long; I can probably delay it some, and will do so tomorrow, moving it back to more like noon-ish.
I made it in the end, slugging through some non-mental work until I could get home for that nap. It was kinda hairy there, though, and I did find myself very muddled sometimes. I don’t want to resort to caffeine in most instances, especially if I’m within a few hours of a nap, but I’ll certainly do so if I have to. The point was to perform the experiment in a way that was compatible with a standard day job. Caffeine, in particular cases, may make it a little more compatible.
So, here I am, ready for round 2, and looking forward to reading more tonight!
-sean
posted by Sean @ 11/16/2005 07:53:00 PM
2 Comments:
I'm off for the next 2 days (Thur+Fri), and if your journey goes anything like Steve Pavlina's you're gonna be hitting the worst of it during that period. You're more than welcome to call me at ANY hour if you decide you need someone to converse with to keep you through any particular rough patches.
Don Trembly is in, too, and will likely be with me tonight, hanging out -- so that's added incentive. I'm very interested in your endeavor and look forward to reading about it!!!
--Ross
I always admire crazy people ready to hurt themselves for science.
You are smart enough for me to bet you a survival time of no more than 6 days.
I will come back to your blog daily to see the outcome.
btw: never tried this myself - just know it would kill me :)
Good luck man
Milan C.
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