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David Hausladen · 11-06-2006, 01:42 AM

Polyphasic Sleep, Day 0

I will be starting polyphasic sleep in about two-and-a-half hours, so I'm posting a brief description now of the method and strategies I'll be using.

The schedule will be Buckminster Fuller's "Dymaxion" sleep, which is four 30-minute naps per day. My naps will take place at 12am, 7am, 12pm, and 5pm--those times are slightly irregular, but they work best with my schedule. For each nap, I'll start three* alarms set for 30 minutes and each placed at a different place in my bedroom, and then go to bed. Following every nap, I'll immediately go outside for a quick 15-minute walk to keep me from falling asleep again and help me to wake up completely*.

My goal is to follow the schedule for at 30 days, from 2006-11-06 to 2006-12-05, and then evaluate whether it's been successful enough that I want to continue it long-term.

I should be posting the log for my first day in a little over 24 hours, once I've had the first four naps.

* Actually starting the schedule very quickly convinced me to make two minor alterations to the plan. First, two alarms is enough, especially if I place them on opposite ends of the room. Three alarms is overkill and it's too likely to wake my dear mother when I scramble to turn them all off at the end of the midnight nap. Second, following my naps can be any kind of activity, not just walking, as long as it gets me out of the bedroom immediately and wakes me up; it's somewhat impractical to walk at 12:30am, so I'll go down to the kitchen for a midnight snack instead. Similarly, after my 7am nap I can take a shower to ensure that I wake up. The critical point is that I get out of bed and don't fall back into it.

11-06-2006, 01:42 AM	#2 (permalink)
David Hausladen Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 201	Polyphasic Sleep, Day 0 I will be starting polyphasic sleep in about two-and-a-half hours, so I'm posting a brief description now of the method and strategies I'll be using. The schedule will be Buckminster Fuller's "Dymaxion" sleep, which is four 30-minute naps per day. My naps will take place at 12am, 7am, 12pm, and 5pm--those times are slightly irregular, but they work best with my schedule. For each nap, I'll start three* alarms set for 30 minutes and each placed at a different place in my bedroom, and then go to bed. Following every nap, I'll immediately go outside for a quick 15-minute walk to keep me from falling asleep again and help me to wake up completely. My goal is to follow the schedule for at 30 days, from 2006-11-06 to 2006-12-05, and then evaluate whether it's been successful enough that I want to continue it long-term. I should be posting the log for my first day in a little over 24 hours, once I've had the first four naps. Actually starting the schedule very quickly convinced me to make two minor alterations to the plan. First, two alarms is enough, especially if I place them on opposite ends of the room. Three alarms is overkill and it's too likely to wake my dear mother when I scramble to turn them all off at the end of the midnight nap. Second, following my naps can be any kind of activity, not just walking, as long as it gets me out of the bedroom immediately and wakes me up; it's somewhat impractical to walk at 12:30am, so I'll go down to the kitchen for a midnight snack instead. Similarly, after my 7am nap I can take a shower to ensure that I wake up. The critical point is that I get out of bed and don't fall back into it. Last edited by David Hausladen; 11-08-2006 at 05:13 AM.