Polyphasic Sleep Schedule - Day 5

Day 5:

This morning staying awake before my core sleep was difficult. An inexplicable wave of tiredness washed over me, which is weird considering how alert I'd been previously feeling during the day. I couldn't focus on anything. It was even so bad that I started having auditory hallucinations, and to top that I was so out of it that I started trying to interact with the voices. I managed to fight it off though. Definitely one of the weirder experiences in my life.

I slept from 3:30am to 8:00am like always. For some reason though, despite how tired I was, I couldn't fall asleep for ages, so when I woke up I have the suspicion that it was middle cycle, stage 3 sleep. I basically felt like hell and almost considered giving up the experiment. I discarded the idea though soon as it formed. I won't give up so easy.

The classic post core sleep drunken feeling that I've gotten so used to lasted for about four hours today. My body stopped aching from lack of sleep a few days ago, leading me to believe that my body itself is for the most part adjusted. I just have difficulty figuring out why it seems such a challenge to move during the inebriated like state after my core sleep.

Today I felt quite sleepy. I found my eyes closing in on themselves accidentally. It wasn't the type of tiredness that hurts like it does during a zombified state, it was easy enough to stay awake. One strange thing though is that despite the sleepiness, I still retained that general feeling of wellbeing. It's a very euphoric type feeling.

Apparently sleeping more frequently yet for lesser hours throughout the day increases levels of dopamine, which is basically like the body's own version of natural cocaine and is responsible for the emotional wellbeing of a person. I've always had low dopamine levels, so the feeling of being genuinely happy and elevated is new to me. Polyphasic sleeping is currently being studied as a form of effective cure for depression. I can personally attest that it works. Oddly.

My first nap of the day was at 2:40pm. I fell unconscious for a few seconds at the most, my high level of anxiety levels due to the idea of being woken certainly didn't help. It was disappointing to say the least seeing how sleepy I'd been feeling all day, and the lack of sleep certainly didn't help raise my energy levels.

My second nap was taken just recently at 10:10pm. I was super tired by this time and was starting to worry how I would make it through till the morning. Turns out I didn't need to worry though because one minute I was thinking about the plot line to Heroes, listening to my iso-chronic tones, and the next thing I know I'm being disturbed by my alarm clock wondering when on earth the music stopped playing, and why I didn't hear it stop playing. (The music track usually finishes about a minute before my alarm is set to go off.)

I fell asleep properly for the first time during a nap! I think I must've dozed off after about fifteen minutes, meaning I reckon I got about five minutes sleep. I know really it's not that much but I feel so incredibly better now. More alert and awake than I've felt all day. Personally those five minutes or however long felt like a miracle. If I hadn't've had my alarm on I'm pretty sure I would've fallen into deep sleep and would've failed to wake up till at least seven in the morning.

I'm still suffering from eye strain from time to time as well. It's not pronounced like it was on the second day though. Also, the dark circles under my eyes are still prominent and I've had to switch to a thicker concealer. Otherwise, not much has changed.

Overall, I feel ten times better on this polyphasic sleeping schedule.

Tomorrow's saturday and I'm begging for a sleep in, saturday usually being the only day of the week I can sleep in till at least 10:00am without being disturbed. My mum won't wake me up at 8:00am this time so I've set my alarm, unfortunately. Apparently occasional sleep ins are acceptable once I'm fully adjusted, but for now I'm gonna avoid them like the plague to prevent myself from messing up the integration of my new circadian cycle. Unfortunately.

I always have been a light sleeper, but extreme sleep deprivation can override even the sound of morning alarms set to maximum volume. Let's hope not.

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Polyphasic Sleep Schedule - Day 4

Day 4:

Today was a good day. This morning before my core sleep I had almost no trouble in staying awake. I wrote quite a productive amount of fan fiction, caught up watching some Heroes, and then did some more research. I feel like I'm adjusting to this new schedule really quick. I'm really beginning to appreciate the extra hours seeing as I'm not feeling too zombified to do anything during those hours anymore.

I went to sleep at 3:30am and woke up accidentally three hours later exactly, feeling like I'd slept a full night. I almost decided to wake up there and then, but then figured it was probably best to stick to the schedule as much as possible, and I fell back to sleep for another hour and a half.

For the first time today I remembered a dream I had during my core sleep. It was something about insects and the end of the world, I think. Also, the time dilation when sleeping is becoming more pronounced. After 4.5 hours of core sleep I felt like I'd slept at least seven hours, not to mention the first three hours before waking felt like five.

I've noticed that the first couple of hours after my core sleep is difficult to wake up from. It basically feels like I've woken up drunk. Very weird indeed. During these first couple of hours I find myself walking into things and stumbling around more often than what should be considered normal. After a tardy shower though that disappears.

My first nap was at 2:30pm like usual. I used the iso-chronic tones to help me drift off to sleep again, and lo and behold results! I drifted in and out of stage 1 sleep until what felt like the penultimate five minutes, and then I had a dream!

I dreamed I was angry with someone and I kicked them, hard. However, the action caused my leg to flinch whilst I was sleeping, thereby waking me. I was probably only dreaming for about half a minute, but a dream is a dream. The flinching should go away once my mind learns to put my body under sleep paralysis more rapidly.

My second nap, which I had at 10:20pm, I didn't manage to dream to, but I was falling in and out of sleep again. I've noticed that with each nap the time I spend falling into sleep increases by a few seconds before suddenly waking again.

I'm still trying to find the optimal time to nap in the evening because unfortunately I have to work around my family. I've noticed that I start to get really grumpy though when I have a nap coming up, it's difficult to wind down with the house so alive.

I haven't really been feeling unusually tired since day 2. I do get light dips of tiredness between certain hours, but that's natural in everyone. Otherwise, it's going good, and I feel great, it's incredible how much more alert I feel in general over the whole day. It's a strange concept because I'm actually sleeping almost half the amount as before.

I can't think of any negative side effects today, bar pre-nap irritability and morning inebriation. I still have awful dark circles under my eyes mind, which is sort of hilarious seeing as I don't feel as tired as I look.

I would say this adjustment phase is like experiencing jetlag, except it feels better. Only day four in and already I feel like it's become habit. I would be devestated to lose the extra hours and general feeling of well-being over the day.

Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.