Weird sleeping schedule

[Jim Westergren]

I found a few posts here on the forum suggesting a different sleep schedule (polyphasic sleep).

I think I did the opposite some time ago and I would like to hear your thoughts about that.

I had backlog in my internet company and I worked 20-30 hours until exhaustion and then slept about 9 hours and then 20-30 hours work and so forth. I did that for a week or more.

I live alone and all my work is internet related with mostly US clients, so it does not matter which times of the day or night I do things.

Is this patter bad or good? And why? Any links for me to see?

Thanks!

[SuperStar]

I have also done a similar thing - I think some call it "free running" sleep schedule. Since I work from home, and since I moved to a new city and didn't have any friends or anything, I just worked until I was too sleepy and then slept until I was awake. I ended up shifting about 2 hours forwards every day, so in 2 weeks I had gone all the way around the clock back to normal day/night schedule. It was kinda fun.

[Scott Bird]

A great resource for all things sleep-related is the book Sleep : A comprehensive handbook by Tefilo L. Lee-Chiong. In it - and elsewhere, although I don't have the links in front of me - free-running sleep is a type of CRSD (Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorder). Not necessarily a bad thing, but certainly unusual.

Personally, I've never tried it with any sort of boundaries or note-taking, but it only seems to work for a week or so. I've never tried - nor would I think I'd be able - to sustain it indefinitely.

Out of interest, what are your current sleep schedules like?

[Cessin]

This is so strange.
For the past couple years my sleep seems to have a mind of it's own. I complained to a few people I know and they all suggested sleeping pills of some sort. I blew that idea off. If anything, I go natural.
I've been concerned about my sleeping habits, which are:
about three hours at the most.
Through out the day and night I get anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour.
All totaled between five to six hours, depending on what physical work I do.
I don't do anything, no work, no commitments of any kind. I retired early, and I attributed my sleep problem with not working.
I have a yard and vegatable garden I take care of, go to a gym, ride a bicycle hard and fast, and walk in the woods with my dog. I'm on line about five to six hours a day.

Now, after reading so many other people doing the same thing, I feel like the pillow has been jerked out from under my head. Hee haw!!!! I'm normal.
Thanks guys for sharing your sleep habits.

[Rawvolta]

I don't know much about sleeping schedules, but what I know for sure is that Melatonin needs total darkness.
Melatonin is a youthening hormone ( "the hormone of darkness" ), that plays great role in anticancer prevention as well as stress and immunity.
If your melatonin goes down ( most of us after 30 y old are starting being depleted and it's good to supplement ), than your seratonin ( stress hormone ) goes up.
And we don't want that to happen!

Melatonin is also related to dreaming and study shows that it increases REM sleep time.

Most of the people talk about sleep ( how long, when ).
Not many of us have noticed that healthy dreaming might be as important as the above one.
And I believe that dreams after working 20, 30 hours on a row differ on various levels from the dreams that happen between, let's say 11 pm and 7 am every night.

Although, the topic is very interested!

[jwojdylo]

Working in retail at a 24 hour store has killed my sleeping habits. Working 1st shift, 2nd shift and the graveyard all in the same week is not healthy for anyone. I have gotten by for a year, but I cannot do it much longer and I have asked to be transferred. I am a man who needs at least 8 hours of sleep a night too!

[Cessin]

I have very heavy draperies. No light.

Ya know, I would, if I had a choice, sleep straight through. Eight hours.
But for a long time now my sleep is so mixed up. I've tried to adjust to a regular sleeping schedule, but it evades me.

I agree about the meatonin and seratonin.

[Cessin]

Originally Posted by jwojdylo

Working in retail at a 24 hour store has killed my sleeping habits. Working 1st shift, 2nd shift and the graveyard all in the same week is not healthy for anyone. I have gotten by for a year, but I cannot do it much longer and I have asked to be transferred. I am a man who needs at least 8 hours of sleep a night too!

A lot of cops go through the same problem you have.
I guess some people can do it, some can't.
Hope you get the transfer. Good luck.