How to polyphasic Sleep
"A totally perspective-changing experience that taught me not all time is equal."
How I did it:
I tried the Uberman (20 minute naps 6x per day) but found it was too inflexible with my job requirements and got in the way of my social life. So I switched to the Everyman-3 (20 minute naps 3x per day and a single core 3-hour sleep per day) to profound success.
I prepped myself for starting by reading up on the subject, telling everyone I was going to do it, scouting at nap places at my workplace and discussing a workable compromise with my superiors, and adding regular 20 minutes nap to my life before I went all out. Then my body was used to the idea of the short rest instead of just associating lying down with full on sleep. I also started practicing getting up as soon as my alarm went off before I started the routine.
Then I just committed to 10 days of being very inflexible with the schedule. I took my naps on the dot, I set seven very loud alarms to wake me from my core sleep, and made sure I had a reason to get up on time every one of those 10 days. I had a huge to-do list to attempt. Because I had told everyone I was doing it, people were constantly asking me how it was going, so I knew I had to do it, and give it my all. If I overslept or missed a nap, I got back to the schedule as quick as I could. It paid off, and I love it!
Lessons & tips: 1. Your motivation has to be more compelling than just "more time" because something so vauge pales in the face of sleep deprivation. Mine was "to live each moment more consciously."
2. Be extra vigilant your first two weeks. Be uncompromising and you'll adjust more easily.
3. If you're tired, don't make your naps longer. Instead add extra ones. Sleeping more than 20 minutes actually throws you off and makes you more tired.
4. The naps don't have to be exact or equally spread, move them to aid low energy points in your day and to follow your personal body rhythms. I'm more active at night, so the last nap before my core sleep at 3am is a whole 7 hours prior.
5. Make a very very long to-do list. Try to do your routines slowly, like taking as long as possible to clean or cook. This is a great time to start that new workout routine or tackle that cluttered closet.
6. Don't break from your monophasic routine just to polyphasic sleep. Putting your life on hold is a bad idea because you'll need the distractions to keep you getting up, so make sure your hardest adjustment day, day 3, doesn't fall on a weekend, when you'll be tempted to oversleep.
7. Stay away from TV, movies, computers, reading, and caffeine for your first 3 days.
8. Your body will release a sleep-inducing potion regularly even after you've adjusted. Don't schedule a nap when this happens.
9. If you are nodding off in class or in your chair, stand up or take a walk. It's virtually impossible to sleep standing up or while you're physically active.
Resources: great tips for the Uberman attemptor
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