Minimizing sleep

[toasterwater]

I regard sleep as a waste of time. I hate sleeping, especially if i sleep excessive amounts. For instance, today i woke up at 730, which was fine- i went to sleep around midnight the night before, so i was happy with 7.5 hours of sleep. However, I became tired as the day progressed (probably due to the sedentary nature of reading and conducting business online), and around 1pm i laid down on my bed and fell asleep. I slept for about 3.5 hours. This is 3.5 hours of potentially productive time that i cannot get back. The plans that i had for the day arent completely lost, but nontheless, this was a complete waste of time. I have undergone several lifestyle changes lately to try to minimize my sleeping habits. I became a vegetarian about 6 weeks ago with the hopes that it would increase my energy levels throughout the day and prevent those most despised "afternoon naps". Along with this I changed my sleeping schedule. I now wake up at 4am every weekday (work doesnt start until 5:45am or 7am) and i tend to go to sleep between 9pm and 11pm following the when-im-tired rule. I cannot follow this schedule on the weekends, however. I have to be awake between 11:30pm and midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. Because of this I have chosen to adapt my weekend schedule to go to sleep after midnight, and wake up around 730am. I currently excersize 3 times a week.
It seems that with a healthy, vegetarian diet; a refined sleep schedule; and a decent physical exercise regimen, i should be able to snub this little sleeping problem. Unfortunately, i still find myself becoming fatigued during sedentary activities (reading, online activities, etc.) and every once in a while I lose the battle and take a nap.
I am willing to try any reasonable suggestion if it leads to the correction of this problem. Sleep is the enemy- today i lost a battle, but the war is far from over...

[andrew]

As much as I feel as if sleep is a wasit of time that you can be doing more productive things, I love it. Sleeping I find wonderful and if you wake me up, watch out. But still, I hate when I sleep like 11 hours because I stayed up so late. I agree totaly.

But sleep is very important, and your body needs it. I would recommend getting the most out of your sleeps. I posted a thread about pzizz, software that helps you nap and sleep. Try it out, maybe it can make your sleeps more productive, requiring you to sleep less. Napping for 20 minutes is really great too. Also maybe invest in a better bed. This is something I need to do myself, one of those sweedish foam with magnets and stuff. I figure you spend 1/3 of your day sleeping, might as well do it right.

-andrew

[Matt]

Next time you feel tired in the middle of the day, set an alarm to wake you up in 15-20 minutes after you lie down. Short naps will make you feel more alert and refreshed. Longer naps (for me) don't seem to work as well and if they aren't timed right I will actually feel lethargic afterwards.

Another approach would be to vary your schedule so you aren't sedentary for long periods of time. Get some quick chores done, catch up on some phone calls, talk to your significant other, go for a walk, etc.

[micth]

try bi-phasic sleep schedule
a popular one i found was sleeping 4.5 hours in the night, then 1.5 hours in the afternoon. apparently this is good because it fits in with your 90 minute 'caridian cylce' (sp?) or whatever it's called, which makes you wake up feeling more refreshed. Personally i haven't tried it, but give it a go.. i mean, what's the worst that can happen? It would probably fit in with your schedule well, as you'd be able to go to sleep at midnight and get up at 4.30am

Also, I was thinking of becoming vegetarian aswell, one of the reasons being that apparently you need less sleep. There's alot of stuff flying round, some saying vegetarians have low energy levels, some saying the need less sleep, etc. Has anyone actually felt any effects such as they after they became a vegetarian?

[kljsadfhklj]

Originally Posted by micth

Has anyone actually felt any effects such as they after they became a vegetarian?

Nothing big, except that I don't feel sleepy after eating a lot anymore.

[Henry]

Originally Posted by kljsadfhklj

Nothing big, except that I don't feel sleepy after eating a lot anymore.

From what I understand, the "food coma" effect happens when there's a spike in your insulin response (because of too much simple carbohydrates). The blood sugar levels go way up, then come crashing down.

Did you cut out a lot of simple carbs?

[Gautam]

Originally Posted by micth

try bi-phasic sleep schedule
a popular one i found was sleeping 4.5 hours in the night, then 1.5 hours in the afternoon. apparently this is good because it fits in with your 90 minute 'caridian cylce' (sp?) or whatever it's called, which makes you wake up feeling more refreshed. Personally i haven't tried it, but give it a go.. i mean, what's the worst that can happen? It would probably fit in with your schedule well, as you'd be able to go to sleep at midnight and get up at 4.30am

Also, I was thinking of becoming vegetarian aswell, one of the reasons being that apparently you need less sleep. There's alot of stuff flying round, some saying vegetarians have low energy levels, some saying the need less sleep, etc. Has anyone actually felt any effects such as they after they became a vegetarian?

I did experience a LOT of changes after I've turned to a Dietary Vegan. Some of them are:
-Increased Alertness
-Declination of fatigue
-increased immunity to common cold/ headaches etc.
-loss of fat (without much change in weight)
and finally a overall calm mind and less of agression.

I've turned non-lacto, non-ovo vegetarian over 6 months ago and by far this is the best decision of my life!

[Saidin]

This bipahsic sleep probably needs some getting used to. However, what I'd like to know is whether you can easily switch between 'normal' sleep (I normally sleep 6.5 hours at the moment, but I can't read a book in the evening without falling asleep), and biphasic sleep.

My daily schedule allows me to take a nap after work (around 18:30 to 20:00), and then sleep from midnight until 4:30. However, sometimes I will have a meeting, party or whatever after work. So it would be convenient to mix the biphasic sleep with 'normal' sleep. Does anybody have experience with or knowledge about this?

[nikewong]

i love dreaming, dreams just give me lots of ideas

[thef0x]

Originally Posted by nikewong

i love dreaming, dreams just give me lots of ideas

Haha, right on.

To address the sleeping and eating thing, I noticed I fall asleep much quicker when I quit caffeine and when I'm not digesting huge pieces of dead animals in my stomach. I try to eat only complex carbs which provide a ton of energy for me throughout the day. Quiting meat helps for the 2 hours after you eat a meal, where upon I now have the most energy instead of having the least. Quit the dairy also.

I do love a good 20 minute power nap. Seriously I highly recommend it.

I also listen to NLP tapes when falling asleep as the relaxation techniques always loosen me up.

[Guinevere]

I second Matt's suggestion of setting an alarm clock for 20 min.
When I feel an afternoon need to rest I either lie on the floor with my feet up visualizing a nice, natural place like a beach, or I listen to an hypnosis CD or something to make that time more productive.

I've also read a 10 minute brisk walk can make us feel more alert, but I can't say I tried that option.

[elimisteve]

I sleep 6.5 hours per night regularly and I really, really like it. As long as I'm motivated (I work on something I REALLY enjoy working on every night and morning) and have specific goals for the next day (which I write on a Post-It note the night before), it's not at all a problem. I also find that the later I stay up, the longer my brain has to recover for. In other words, go to sleep early (before 11pm, 11:30 max) and you may find that you function perfectly well on less sleep.

By the way, I've tried the Uberman/polyphasic sleep schedule, and while it was really, really interesting (I had lucid dreams for the first time), I found it to be too unstable. It's probably worth trying one summer if you're really curious, but it's probably unhealthy for your brain if you're too young (under 18 especially).

[toasterwater]

I find it interesting that so many of you seem to be advocates of the 20 minute nap thing. I have always heard that because you dont reach your REM sleep until after (what like 90 minutes?) it is almost pointless to take a short nap. However, after hearing all of you promoting it, i will have to try it... i will have to use extreme caution though, because i can be a very, VERY deep sleeper, and in my field of work, that can equal disaster. Ill just have to try it with really loud alarms.