Polyphasic Sleep System

[Kothar_Isk]

Well after sleeping in for the seventh time. andrew and I have looked up as many other people's accounts on trying this system and have found that steve pavlina's account was an atypical. so we ended going into this thing really under preped. we have made a lot of progress and are determined to stick with it.
we have found a coralation between eating eating very well and succeding in this.
so for roud 2 we have started to aygment out diet with high protien snacks at the after getting up from each cycle and purchased two more alarm clocks and a loud 60min kitchen timer.

so here goes round two but at least we have a head start.

[Guest]

First, let me introduce myself. My name is Andrew, and I am the person who is converting to polyphasic sleep with Kothar Isk.

I noticed that Kothar's posts are generally incomplete, and not accurate. I intend to correct that.

First, let me mention that we are attempting to adapt to the Uberman Sleep Schedule. This is a polyphasic sleep system where you have six small (less than 1/2 hour) naps evenly spaced throughout the day, each 4 hours apart.

If you want a very fine example of how the Uberman Sleep Schedule is supposed to work, you should check out Steve's Blog where he gives a very detailed report. It is very informative and inspirational. You should really check it out.

You should also know that Steve makes a living improving his life. He is one of those enlightened individuals who simply decides to do something, and then does it. Don't expect to live up to his results. If you expect yourself to do so, you are probably in for a bad surprise.

So, down to brass tacks. Me and Kothar have been adapting for a few weeks now. We are not fully adapted yet. Kothar's expectations are sometimes untempered by defeat, and as a result, he counted a few unhatched chickens.

Also, we are both coming at this from different angles. I have been trying to find a good way to cut down on my sleep for a couple of years now. I hate the idea of spending a third of your life in a coma. When I discovered the Uberman Sleep Schedule, I wanted to try it, but I knew that between work, and everything else, I wouldn't be able to adapt unless I had somebody helping me.

Enter Kothar. Somehow, I psyched Kothar into trying this crazy thing with me. At the time, I think he was just looking foreward to testing his limits and seeing if it would actually work. I wasn't. I was trying to change the way I live my life. I think that his general determination has risen to the occasion, but I also think that of the two of us, I am still more serious about this.

Before I talk about my experiences, let me say what I consider a successful transition.

1) I will wake up refreshed and awake after every nap.
2) I will not be tired at all during the day
3) I will awake from every nap before the alarm (set for 1/2 hour)
4) I will not sleep more than 25 hours over the course of an entire week
5) I will become drowsy and tired just before each scheduled nap

Even Steve Pavlina did not achieve all of those results within a week. A common mistake that most people make, is that they assume that they have transitioned after the first 2 goals are met. Then they slack off, and get their A.S.S. (Anti-Sleep-Schedule) handed to them in grand style.

To avoid writing a novel, I will stop here for today.

Next: I will talk about some of the most common difficulties that people tend to experience during transition, and how they have hit me and Kothar

[Kothar_Isk]

Thank you Andrew for filling in the many gaps that I have left I have never been very good at writing to inform or writing in general. but I have been at least trying to keep people somewhat abreast of the situation.
Also looking back on my post here I realize that although I may have thought that I was thinking and thus writing clearly and completely I see that I was horribly wrong and that my mind is still not quite running up to speed.

And one last thing I envy you writing. just look at those precise sentences and the flowing informative format. Damn you! where can I learn to write like the genius I think I should be?

[Guest]

Last time I talked about what the Uberman Sleep Schedule is, and what a successful transition actually means.

In theory, you could transition fully into the Uberman Sleep Schedule in two weeks. The problem with theories, is that real life tends to get in the way. I have been trying to transition now for four weeks. So much for theories.

So whats the problem? Well, not falling asleep mainly.

The transition into the Uberman Sleep Schedule is essentially built upon a foundation of depriving yourself of sleep for a few days until your unconscious brain folds to your 30 minute demands, and accepts Healthy Delta and R.E.M. sleep without going through those pesky theta waves and K-complexes.

(The More You Know: Standard healthy sleep involves only 5 repetitions of R.E.M. sleep. A sixth segment, Stage 4 Delta sleep, is required for healthy sleep, but only occurs once in each monophasic sleep cycle.)

It isn't really very surprising that it isn't easy to reset decades of trained sleeping patterns. I will give fair warning that you should not try this if you have only a casual interest in it. Resetting your BioRhythm is difficult at best, impossible at worst.

Trouble comes in several areas:


Alarm problems:

1. Reactive response.
Many people wake up hours later, having turned off the alarm in their sleep. Don't fall into that trap. Keep your alarm far away.

2. Silent Alarms.
Many alarms just aren't that loud. Heavy sleepers often sleep right through alarms which are designed to go silent after 5 minutes. Setting up a computer style, endless alarm may help a lot.

3. Faulty Ringers.
Sometimes alarms simply don't go off. Better to get a back-up alarm clock just to be sure.


Human Stupidity

1. The Comfy Chair.
Don't pick the deepest, most plush accomodating surfaces and blankets to sleep in. I recommend laying your super soft downy comforter on the floor, and using it as bedding, with simple sheets as blankets. Use that bed as extra shelf space to remove temptation.

2. Snoozing.
"Resting your eyes" or "taking a quick break" are just ways of asking for an unplanned 6-hour nap. Don't do it.

3. Lounging.
If you lie down, you will fall asleep. Period. Make sure to set your body into an upright position after waking up, and don't, under any circumstances, lie down until nap time.


Drowsiness

1. Boredom
Having an activity that engages your mind is critical. And don't stop at just one. Sometimes one activity will wake you right up, and sometimes it won't help at all. Make sure you have several things that follow a wide range of mental activity. You should have at least one activity that requires you to be physically active, one activity that is a familiar but engaging hobby, and one activity that is relatively unfamiliar to you. Each one will wake you up in a different way, and if one isn't doing the trick, switch to the other.

2. BioRhythm
Humans are built for the day. Expect to have a much harder time staying awake at night, and a surprisingly easy time staying awake during the day (the reverse may be true for nocturnal sleepers). Try to make the night less night like. Leave your light on, and create some background noise while you sleep at night. Try and reserve special attention to these times, and focus on making it through.

3. Energy Depletion
You are already breaking up your sleep into six evenly spaced chunks, you might as well do it with food as well. Maintaining a constant level of energy is important. Make sure to eat during the night, and follow any cravings you have.

4. General Health
Eating right, getting enough fluids, and taking care of yourself are what separate Steve Pavlina from most people. The healthier you are, the easier things will get.


Commitment

1. Holding out
Remember: this is going to be tough. Make sure that you set your entire self to success. If you commit to this casually, you will fail. Don't allow even a little complacency with the idea that you might not pull this off. Make a few affirmations. To quote Ty's blog "I will Get Through This. I am Unstoppable. I am in Complete Control, like a Bad Ass Ninja Commando"

2. Giving up
Success is just failing with enthusiasm. So you slept for 5 hours straight. Get your lazy butt up and don't let that B.S. happen again (Unless you want to spend a third of your life in a Coma. In which case, by all means, give up).

3. The Buddy System.
Enroll somebody to help. If you are like most people, your friends and family will say that you are an idiot for trying this. But you also probably know at least one person who is just as dumb as you are, and you can get them do do this with you. Bunk Up in the same room. Offset your sleep times so that one of you is always awake to wake up the other.


Maybe I sound like a commercial advertisement, but thats because there really isn't much point in telling everybody about this. Just a few people who are tired of missing a huge chunk of their life sleeping, who want a change.

Also, I am still adapting. So is Kothar. So you should make sure you take my tips with a grain of salt. Speaking of adapting, I suppose that I have yet to cover exactly what the trasition process is like. So...

Next: I will talk about the actual transition itself, what it feels like, and what it is like to integrate the Uberman Sleep Schedule into a standard 8 hour working day.

[reaper]

I am actually considering trying this because school and work demands this semester are crazy, so keep posting your results guys much apreciated

[Guest]

Update: This is a post where I am saying that I am postponing my transition to the Uberman Sleep Schedule for a while.

This isn't because of the Uberman Sleep schedule itself, But my car just kicked the bucket, and frankly, I need the rest of my life in order before I can adapt to something like this.

I could probably still keep going, but everything seems a bit off without my car, and since it's demise, I have yet to smile for more than five consecutive seconds. I really can't do something as ambitious as reprogramming my biorhythm while I am in a depression.

I will proceed later however. I promise.

By the way, don't try this while attending classes. Wait till break.