Day 7
Blake
So we're a week into this thing, and I'm trying to figure out how I feel about it. Honestly it oscillates. Some moments I think it's a great idea and wonder why I haven't always been doing this. Other times I wonder why I'm doing it at all. This usually happens late at night when I'm the only one awake, but I'm too tired to read.
Part of it may be that I still need to give it some more time. It has gotten easier overall, but I was hoping we would really have the hang of it by this point. When I was talking to Caitlin about it last night, she mentioned that it felt like it was going in waves. The good moments are good, the bad moments are getting less bad, but it's still a roller coaster. I couldn't have said it better myself, so I just stole it from her instead.
As far as progress goes, I was able to watch a movie last night without falling asleep. So far I've been able to do that during the day, but not after dark. Movies are the single most effective way to get me to pass out completely. The fact that this was even possible is a good thing.
The problem is, since I'm still not capable of reading at night, and I'm not allowed to make too much noise, I'm having trouble finding a good reason to be awake. This is the hardest thing I'm fighting right now. I really feel like I could push through better if I had motivation. And whenever I find it, I perk right up and get a lot done.
I will say this, it's doing wonders for the cleanliness of my house. I've discovered that chores give me a sense of purpose and keep me awake. I really don't mind doing them as much at night since I don't feel like it's cutting in to time where I could be doing other things. While this is awesome, I'd like to find something more compelling than a civilized looking abode.
I'm still falling asleep very quickly and slipping immediately into REM. This is pretty cool, and I contribute most of my increased nighttime awakeness to that. Hopefully I can get all caught up soon and start feeling awesome. I'm going to try to keep pushing through. I want to make it to at least two weeks. I feel like at that point I can really judge how effective the experiment was. After that, I can decide if it's worth carrying over into my everyday life.
Caitlin
I don't really know where I stand on this experiment right now. I enjoy being polyphasic, but sometimes I just want to go to sleep. I'm not sleepy, I just simply want to go to sleep. I wasn't really expecting this kind of obstacle.
Today was a pretty meh day. Maybe because I did a lot of things wrong that probably hurt my side of the experiment.
Early morning was more unproductive than Blake and I had hoped. We met to do some work on another project, and nothing really got done; we were both kind of mentally tired. I got home around 4am-ish and bed looked pretty alluring. Again, not because I was sleepy, I just wanted to be in bed. So I decided (against my better judgement) to start my nap early. Of course, I ended up sleeping through my alarm, and didn't wake up for a few more hours.
This started to really discourage me. This desire for sleep without being sleepy. I can't figure out why exactly there's the desire. Maybe it's Scout is asleep during some of my awake time, and I'm so used to being there with her. Maybe I just need to make a mental adjustment. Maybe it's from the general lack of sleep over the past week. Maybe it's my body telling me this isn't working out. Who knows. For the rest of the morning, I felt pretty undecisive on this experiment.
The whole office decided to go to lunch around 11:15. If I went, there was a chance I wouldn't make it back on time. I decided to ignore the fact that I prefer to eat after I wake up, and went to lunch with them. We made it back around 12:30 (we like to goof off), and I wasn't very sleepy. Maybe it was because I got extra sleep in the morning. Maybe it was because I waited too long. By 2, my productivity started to decrease and I started to get sleepy. It was too late to take a nap on the office couch by this time, though, as we had clients coming in for the rest of the day.
So I toughed it out, went home, and took my 6pm nap as scheduled. I woke up with a headache, which I assume was from skipping my noon nap. Then, I was pretty convinced I was done with this.
It's 11pm now. My headache is gone. I actually look forward to the extra time tonight that I would get if I continued; although, I could also look forward to a full night of sleep.
I do know that I can't keep being wishy washy on whether I want to continue on. I really need to be on a strict schedule if I want to continue and want to fully adapt. Looks like I will rely on how I feel after my midnight nap coming up.
But I can't shut it off and just blindly follow plans. I'm too analytical for that. The "why?" is an intrinsic element of my motivation system.
Maybe I need to learn to be motivated by other forces? I guess that's why people turn things into games. Because it gives them a motivating force outside of just *knowing there's a good reason to be doing what you're doing*.
Difficult.
http://www.diva-girl-parties-and-stuff.com/scavenger-hunts.html
(and ignore the diva girl part)
I've seen polyphasic guides that told me that if I miss a nap I should ignore it and take my next nap on schedule. I never tried that. I nap every 3-4 hours depending on how tired I am. If I miss a nap, I take it as soon as I can.
The problem with an adjustable schedule is remembering when the last nap was. I made a weekly-planner with a 24-hour schedule, and note my naps on it.
http://www.filefactory.com/file/b0fae15/n/24hour_schedule.pdf
(print it double sided, the blank space after Sunday is for notes on what to do this week)
Hope this helps, ymmv
Allison - It would be my most favorite thing in the world if I could get to the point where I was doing just that. Unfortunately my inability to stay awake while reading is hampering that for now. Soon, hopefully.
Roommate - Scavenger hunts! That's awesome. Kite flying was also recommended. I need to do both of those.
Logan - Thanks for the pdf! I'm glad you were able to read eventually. That's a huge goal for me. Hopefully I can make it soon.
Blake's Dad