Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ Paraliminals, Paraliminal Resets, Paraliminal Walkabouts, Natural Brilliance, Sonic Access Polyphasic Sleep

I agree Bucky and Da Vince were true geniuses. When I was in high school (a loooooong time ago) we once built a small Bucky's dome outside our school as an info booth on open house. Bucky was a completely self-made man. And selfless too. Very admirable indeed.

thanks. I keep returning to the same perennial frustration--I need more time in my day!

It's interesting that you lost your ability to focus after 5 days of sleep deprivation.

sorry, I meant that I adjusted after 5 days, then the power kicked in. I lost my focus somewhere around two weeks.

I've been trying to find out more about this uberman's sleep schedule.

I just came back from the library, doing a bit of research. Here's some clarifications:

1. I checked Bucky's system, which called for 6hr intervals--more convenient and I'm sure you can adapt to it, but I don't see that it's based on anything physiological.)

2. We have a 4hr ultradian rhythm in addition to our 24-hour cycle.

3. At 4AM, all people feel their deepest dip in energy and have most propensity for sleep, regardless of sleep debt or sleep times.

Thus, I surmise that 4-hour cycles, beginning at 4AM would be the ideal intervals. So, 4AM, 8AM, Noon, 4PM, 8PM, Midnight.

4. Leonardo slept for 15 minutes at each interval. Bucky slept for 30. 10 minutes is the *absolute minimum* time required for a nap to benefit you. NASA says that 24 minutes is the optimal nap time. Claudio Stampi did a few studies with the 4hr intervals. He tried 15 and 30 min (1.5 hrs sleep vs 3 hrs sleep) and determined that both worked and both are viable. However, he ran the 15 min study for 19 days and the 30 minute study for 49 days. So... combining this with common sense, I'm inclined to say that a nap in the 25 minute range is probably ideal, but variable to person to person.

5. Over time, the time in which it takes you to fall asleep decreases dramatically.

6. Thomas Jefferson actually took a one-day break from this system every few weeks. Claudio Stampi likewise had one of his subjects take a day as ad lib--if he felt tired, he slept. The day after, he was back on the regimen. This seems quite prudent and we would be wise to incorporate it when we feel that we need it.

7. When you finally do get recovery sleep, it usually lasts for a mere 10 hours (!!) And is composed entirely of NREM-IV and REM. Worthy of note is that REM is of four times the concentration, where NREM is only twice.

8. Polyphasic sleep is the preferred method of sleep for most animals. The natural inclination of humans is one long sleep period, with one afternoon nap. However, it is likely that we maintain the programming to engage in polyphasic sleep from our evolutionary past when life was more dangerous and to adapt to severe times of stress and immanent crises.

9. It takes 3 to 9 days to adjust, average being 7 days.

10. In order to fascilitate rhythmic adjustment, Stampi first abstained from shortening the naps. The first round of naps were 80 minutes. The second round was decreased, same with third and fourth and fifth, until after five days, he was down to either 15 or 30 minutes per nap. --makes good sense.

11. Before shortening the naps, however, he first waited two or three days until the subject acclimated to the proper times. Expample: The first day, the subject slept 6 hours, then had one 80 minute nap. Second day, he slept 4 hours and had three 80 minute naps. Third day, it was all 80 minute naps. THEN he began to shorten the times. (my day and time estimates in point 10 and 11 are not exact, but the concept is there.)

12. I read in one place that this can be done up to a year--a vauge statement. Several people have done this for six months without the slightest problem. At this point, I think six months should be absolute max. Though, I wonder if you intersperse "ad lib" rest days once every few weeks, if you can go much longer...

13. Projects, projects, projects!!! You simply must fill your time in constructive, active, complex endeavor. (My first sleep experiment ever, three years ago, saw me resorting to obsessive computer gaming!!) While this would never happen now with my current mindset, the point should be made--have lots of important stuff to do.

All in all, I did not detect any hint of health detriment from Stampi's research. Still and all, we have only legends and testimonals from people who have done this for longer than 49 days. Whereas Stampi was monitoring and citing the physiological and intellectual functioning of people 49 days and under.

... well, that's about it.

Let me know if anyone is game for giving this a go--let's break some ground!

With your post, you have incited in me the need to know more on this polyphasic sleep cycle!!! I Should NOT have read your post, I have plenty of things to do as it is!!!

Personally, I've been curious about sleep reduction and lucid dreaming for many years now. I'd like to know your opinion as to the validity of modifying the sleep cycles so as to accomodate a standard 9:00 to 5:00 schedule. Maybe spreading sleep cycles with a longer time period, late night and early morning hours and 1/2 time periods at mid-day and afternoon. See the following:
10:30pm - 12:30pm
4:30am - 5:30am
11:45am - 12:15pm
5:30pm - 6:00pm
After the sleep cycle, include the 10 minute Supercharger paraliminal during the first 7 to 9 days so as to not feel the "hit" so hard.
Maybe, starting out with a total of 5 hours of sleep during a 24 hr period for 7 to 9 days, and bringing it down to 4 hours for the same span of time, then SHORTENING the period I indicate above even further to supply a total of 3 HOURS of sleep per 24 hour period! This is so that you can last longer on this sleep cycle before taking a "break" from it.
I will definitely try Polyphasic Sleep, however, I can't afford the mental "down" time. But I just don't want to wait until my vacation time to try it out. If it doesn't work, well, I'll try some other cycle.
This is why I thought of the cycles above.

Thanks for any and all opinions.

"Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes." - Oscar Wilde

I said this SAME thing to the person who pointed the method out to me! Essentially: "how could you tell me something like this!" heh.

I'd like to know your opinion as to the validity of modifying the sleep cycles so as to accomodate a standard 9:00 to 5:00 schedule.

Is it possible for you to take a 30 minute nap at work and stay 30 minutes longer? I didn't read the other chapters on "quasi-polyphasic" sleep, which is what that would be. So I'm not quite sure, but my intuition is that you'd be able to adjust to about any schedule as long as you stuck to it 110%. But I recommend the book, Why We Nap for any and all answers to this topic. The best and most reliable (perhaps the only) book on polyphasic sleep.

After the sleep cycle, include the 10 minute Supercharger paraliminal during the first 7 to 9 days so as to not feel the "hit" so hard.

What the book, Why We Nap, suggests to ease the transition is to start with larger blocks of nap time. Then, slowly whittle them away to the desired number of minutes over the course of 5 to 7 days.

Maybe ...

Keep in mind that the reason why this works so well is because the distance between naps is so short and aligned on our 4 hr ultradian rhythm. If you prolong the time you are awake to 6 or 8 hours ... you will find yourself struggling without taking a 'hit of REM'.

I will definitely try Polyphasic Sleep, however, I can't afford the mental "down" time.

consider that you can shorten it to 15 minutes instead of 30. Would your telecom work permit a daily scheduled 15 minute nap break?

good luck!

We will see how IRRITABLE I can get during my sleep adjustments!!

Because, I can imagine it will take a lot of struggle to get into this kind of rhythm.

What about REM when you relax into a low freq.? (like I mentioned above). Will it go into conflict with your dayly rhythm of only sleeping every four hour, 15-20 minutes each time? (because many meditating stuff lasts 20 minutes a session, and often you can also fall asleep there!). Or do you have to quit this stuff, when the rhythm is stabil? Hope not .

Another idea that might be useful in this context is Win Wenger's 'gravity pose' pre-sleep meditation tactic.

I've added an excerpt from his _Beyond_OK_ (highly recommended book splicing ImageStreaming and energy skills) describing just that.

In my experiences using this system, around 10-12 minutes meditating just before sleep chops a good chunk off the time I need - I just wake up an hour or three earlier than usual. Make sure you actually get out of bed then when you try it

I've yet to try it myself with a polyphasic sleep system and it looks promising.

--Michael

PS: Here's the drill.

--------------------------------

Sleep-Need Saver:

An interesting new application of the "gravity position." To meditate
with whatever process for 10-15 minutes, in the "gravity position," just
before going to bed--and then going straight to bed to sleep--appears to
satisfy 2-4 hours of sleep-need each evening that this is done. The
effect appears most pronounced when accompanied by noise-removal
breathing.

The Gravity Position:

Lie flat on the floor, no pillow, hands and arms loosely by your sides.
Comfortably support your feet and lower legs on the seat of a chair,
supported as far up as the backs of the knees.

---------------------

Sleep-Need Saver:

An interesting new application of the "gravity position." To meditate
with whatever process for 10-15 minutes, in the "gravity position," just
before going to bed--and then going straight to bed to sleep--appears to
satisfy 2-4 hours of sleep-need each evening that this is done. The
effect appears most pronounced when accompanied by noise-removal
breathing.

The hypothesis is that the first few hours of sleep are heavily invested
in re-aligning the circulatory system after the day's upright
verticality--and by satisfying that need for circulatory readjustment
and doing so rapidly, meditating in the gravity position satisfies a
large portion of sleep need.

The above hypothesis cannot, however, be the full explanation since the
effect disappears if one does not go to bed immediately afterward. Also,
little if any of the effect appears if the meditation is done without
the "gravity position" or vice-versa.

This phenomena, first observed in June, 1978, is one of many questions
raised during Psychegenic investigations which are much in need of
further research.

The Gravity Position:

Lie flat on the floor, no pillow, hands and arms loosely by your sides.
Comfortably support your feet and lower legs on the seat of a chair,
supported as far up as the backs of the knees.

This gravity-aided brain-circulation-enhancing position we prefer to the
Yoga headstand, not only because it is so much easier to perform, but
because it lets old blood out of the brain while encouraging more new
blood in.

(This gravity-aided position has also become a favorite _general_
meditating position of a fair number of some practitioners of
Psychegenics since its development late in 1975, because it feels so
very refreshing.)

Other Advantages of the Gravity Position:

Although the Savassana Yoga position is supposed to be the ideal
position from standpoint of encouraging best and freest flow of
circulation of blood and energy, this gravity position, like the
Savassana except for the feet-and-legs up, appears to be fully as free.

The gravity position is much easier upon pelvic and lower-back
structures than are either the seated or the flat-on-floor version of
Savassana--excepting pregnant women, kidney disease, and some few
specific forms of back disorder.

Whenever need be, the gravity position can be sustained comfortably for
far longer than any othere meditative position except possibly the full
lotus (and does not present the difficulty which most people experience
in attempting the lotus). Whereas some do experience loss of circulation
in feet or legs while in lotus, this does not occur with the gravity
position.

On really deep problem-solving probes, for example, occasional
Psychegenicists have gone as long as three hours in the gravity
position, without any discomfort.

Sure. Sleep researchers use two standard measurements. The first is the Stanford Sleepiness Scale. You can find it here:
http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/sss.html

The second is a method of charting your waking times so you can quickly compare how you are doing through different days.
http://www.supermemo.com/articles/sleep.htm
has a chart if you scroll down under "Free Running Sleep". ... "eh"--too complex. The book referenced above contains the proper charting method. I'll try to describe:

Vertical axis is "Day #", Horizontal axis is "Midnight to Midnight" marked hour by hour. And all you do is simply pencil in what hours you sleep. So, if you're sleeping in 5 segments, that's 5 dark pencil marks of the appropriate length. And then the next day, you pencil bars underneath the previous day.

This way, you can really get a feel for your progress; you can see the new sleep pattern forming before your eyes! Plus, you can easily compare to other charts from other studies or tries as this is a standardized system.

...and of course subjective journals are always good.

Win Wenger's 'gravity pose' pre-sleep meditation tactic.

I tend to think the position has less to do with gravity than the fact you are spending some time in theta meditation. Any meditation time is a "sleep-need saver". Note that on a polyphasic schedule, you will find yourself quite ready to hit the sack when your time rolls around. Also consider that a 15 minute meditation prior to sleeping multiplied by 6 is another 90 minutes gone.

Sleep Long and Prosper!!

Hope I didn't embarass you any further Boylan, by including your name in my last rant!

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991928

Is it possible also to use paraliminal tapes, meditating, binaural beats low freq., when trying get this kind of life to work?

On my first day, I am still using paraliminal tapes like the dream play before sleep cycle at 11:00pm. Also, during the day cycles, I may "sleep" 15-20 minutes, then put on my headphones and put on 10 minute Supercharger. This is only the second day which I HAVE NOT listened to these tapes and it seems that my dreams didn't seem that vivid and right now I feel more groggy, I assume because I went without the use of the 10 minute Supercharger. But like I said, this is only from 1 day to the next I probably am beginning to suffer from lack of NREM and REM sleep. Currently I feel like a 4(on the Stanford Sleep Scale that Brian649 posted) which means "Foggy, losing interest in remaining awake, slowed down". With my 'extra' time I have lined up to use the Natural Brilliance course which I purchased last week and went through it once. I want to go through it again. So I think the paraliminals should not be a problem with this schedule.
Meditation, yes, well, I still meditate, however, today it seems more like an internal argument between my brain that wants to sleep and my mind!!!
Binaural beets? Never tried them. Neither have I tried binaural beats. Wouldn't be able to comment further, for I am an ignorance on this matter.

Brian649,
I've read the page that you linked on your post (http://www.supermemo.com/articles/sleep.htm)
and it fascinating reading. One thing I gleened from it, which I wanted to apply in modifying my quasi-polyphasic sleep cycle, is this:
"To get high quality night sleep that maximizes your learning effects your sleep onset should meet these two criteria:
strong homeostatic sleepiness: this usually means going to sleep not earlier than 15-19 hours after awakening from the previous night sleep
ascending circadian sleepiness: this means going to sleep at a time of day when you usually experience a rapid increase in drowsiness. Not earlier and not later! Knowing the timing of your circadian rhythm is critical for good night sleep (see below for more hints)
Additionally, you should be aware that using the circadian component will only work when all its physiological subcomponents run in synch (as it is the case in free running sleep). People with irregular sleep hours and highly stressful lives may simply be unable to locate the point of ascending sleepiness as this point may not exist!"

I basically need to find my own cycle between the push and pull of these 2 criterias as well as other physical needs(for example: you gotta eat healthier!!! You gotta exercise!!!). This is so that I can find a rythm that will work for me. Actually "listening"(acutely observing) this rythm that will satify my sleep needs. Not trying to impose this rythm according to my work cycle. It'll take time and detailed charting, I think. I will push on!!!

Can't... go on...
You go on without me...
I can't hold on much longer....

ZZZZZZZZZZZ

;p

Note: As I keep active my degree of sleepiness goes up and down. I need to line up many, many things to keep me occupied!

I have noticed over the course of these days that I am more easily able to just lie down and 'put myself to sleep'. I can actually sleep after I'd say about 2 to 4 minutes and I'll wake up before the alarm, within my 30 minutes cycle. (I have a Compaq iPaq which I have setup with my sleep cycle schedule with an alarm at the end of the cycle)
I thought this would be more difficult to adjust to, but I can now 'fall asleep' when I need.

I have also notice that I am getting much more done! I go through study material easily, read books, and read up on technical notes and updates. Now, I'm just about up to date on the tech updates. Using this with the PRS is GREEEAAT!!
I have not felt 'that' bad during these few days. Some grogginess and sometimes not fully alert, but for the most part, you can get used to the cycle and I am sure you will eventually not have it impact on your mental alertness or attitude.

Eventually, I will see if I can incorporate the 'true' polyphasic sleep cycle that is explained on Brian649s' post.

Hi META,
I tried the 'gravity position' you mentioned a few times, although shortening the time I'm in the position so that I can still have about 20 minutes sleep.
I didn't notice a difference.

Maybe I'm immune to gravity?

I will continue to incorporate these new sleep cycles. Any comments or suggestions would be read with interest.

Scroll down to Time Out

-sidis

I checked out the website and there was an interesting sidenote. Although he says it's important to convert to a more nutritious diet (I agree) he says that one drawback was food cravings, particularly grape juice which is a simple carbohydrate with a high glycemic index and high sugar content.

What's interesting about this is that it is indicative of an increase in cortisol. High levels of cortisol generate carbohydrate cravings such as mentioned above. Cortisol is responsible for the body entering into a catabolic, muscle-wasting state.

Most of our testosterone production and growth hormone production is generated during sleep. One of growth hormone's responsibilities is retaining and building muscle. When the body produces testosterone, the cortisol levels are diminished. Testosterone is produced by LH the leutenizing hormone. Since LH is produced when we sleep, when we don't sleep enough, LH levels decrease, and testosterone levels are subsequently lower. With t-levels dropping off, and cortisol levels increasing, the body goes into a catabolic state and begins to use muscle for energy. Do you really want to decrease testosterone and growth hormone levels? (I admit that I saw somewhere that getting into a theta state can help with GH levels)

I'm not sure to what degree the levels of REM sleep derived from polyphasic sleep affects T-levels, cortisol, and growth hormone. All the bodybuilding gurus (and this is now high-tech stuff) say that if you're trying to build muscle, you need rest. I realize that most people considering this aren't into bodybuilding, but bodybuilder or not the body produces the same hormones during sleep, and cortisol is the enemy of muscle tissue. Consider too that every pound of muscle burns 50 calories a day for you. Lose 5 lbs of muscle and you will need to reduce caloric intake by 250 calories/day if you don't want to see an increase in your waistline.

One suggestion to help reduce cortisol levels is to make sure to get enough protein (1-1/2 grams per pound of lean body weight) , try to stay away from high glycemic foods, (the zone diet may be the ticket here as it keeps insulin levels stable) make sure to get plenty of vitamin C (1000 mg/day) and possibly supplement between meals with a good glutamine supplement so the body doesn't catabolize itself to get needed glutamine. Note however that by ensuring enough protein, you likely will not need glutamine supplementation.

Now, I am so happy to have entered this forum. Please could someone explain how to geht in Theta sleep..... by using mind machines???.....how long does it take to learn going into Theta???
I would be very glad if someone could give me some answers.
Hope you all had a nice day. NOw it is past midnight in Europe but I think you have 6 more hours :-))

Greetings from Germany,

sakara

Alex

I will explore that webside. I think I will try a mind machine. Meditation is also fine, I meditate regularly, but I can´t get into Theta.
Have a nice day!
Sakara

Then I had holydays. I didnt use Bwgen at all. Now iam in Swizzerland (on exchange year), I had some spare time to read this forum, Saw some of Brians posts. And it started again:
first
With some paraliminals i discovered once that you can in a deep state take over the control of what u want to do, Brian once wrote smth like this "how powerfull image streaming would be in delta state" and he was right, first image streem is not a problem or difficultie of any kind in delta state, u just have it, second the images are just so vivid and bizzare wow really impressive! i strongly recommend to try... second:
ive made myself a cd with 9 mp3 paraliminals and what is pretty clear for me now, but wasnt some time ago if u listen to a paraliminal and at the end take control of it not leaving the state with the countdown just not hearing Pauls words and then start to hear next para. u will get a really deep state of mind. It is really powerfull, then i put ?togheter? down part of deep relaxion, down part of MemorySC. and middle of personal genious (few times) +midd of MSC +my own words recorded to two channells (in cool edit with brain wave synchronizer funktion -4hz and pink noise at 25% of volume )I made it for a Mathematiks test, my words were all about my subcousc. mind creating a BIG BIG BIG link with my cousc. and flooding ideas of how to do an exercise over this link. Ive heard it the mp3 before going on the test and i didnt spent a single second thinking about how to do this ? I just had the ideas in my Head.
after all 2 hours later I wasnt able to say what questions i had on the test (7 exercises.. )
Well i get 5 (1-6 grades 6 highest) beacuse of some mistakes, but all Ideas were good, most of the time it was writing error. Wich I think are happening because of focusing problems -->delta meditation instead of sleep
I used my home made paraliminal with changed rate to 1,5 hz. I was sleeping 3 hours from 22 to 1 and then i used paraliminal one hour before going to school
2 weeks long then (no problems with health) i changed my sleeping cycle back to normal because i was feeling a bit "slower" at sports and since i was training for local bike DS champs. I turned well normal again

If u live long let say on Delta The coolest thing is to go outside ! I will be able to notice so so so many things u didnt, the world will be like a new one, i will not do
unusefull thinking at all just enjoying the natur and things around you )) i LOve it...

Try using Brian new posted method u will love it, he wrote about projects, well I wasnt heaving any for some time and i used the Nap sleep cycle just so at night walking around in the city heaving fun breathing fresh air ) and i alsaw talked a lot with my colleague. It is fun I will soon start over a new 2 hour sleep cycle )
And ive got a question ..
Using paraliminals we can influence our brain to work in some way, would it be possible to use a some kind of advanced paraliminal to make the brain make more neuronal connections, or maybe growing the number of synapses to the maximum a Neuron can handle (i think it is 6 or 7 but iam not sure) it will be a way to hmm change hardware of your brain in software way ---> meaning OVerclocing ) °° It is able to influence the body functions so why not in a such direct way ?

Ok sorry for a Long post and thx for your feedback if I ll get any,
feel free to mail me about ur ideas ! it will be fun discuss with you
and one more thing
maybe we could make a live discussion over inet, using IRC or some sort of CHAT it wiil be fun !!
And hey Learning Strategies could put a chat on their site so we can share our knowlage and thinking more dynamicly --> well how was it called ? socratic method ?

LoGiTeCh

Also, i used the idea of having a 4.5 hour sleep during the night, and 3 x 30 minute naps during the day, this gives me 6 hours of sleep a day, and eventually, I'll give my self 4 x 30 minute naps, and only 2.5 hours of core sleep, and so on...

Another neat strategy like this one, is one my dad used. He arranges his days into 28 hour days. Sleep for 8 hours, and stay awake for 20 hours, it was a neat idea, but I'm liking this other one alot better.

[This message has been edited by Cheevz (edited October 27, 2002).]

Probing the links posted earlier, it seems not many people have long lasting success. One blog I came across ( http://polyphasic.blogspot.com/ ) was the only one who has been able to maintain it to date.

Has anyone had success with replacing the naps with a session of Deep Relaxation paraliminal, binaural beats, or even both?

Hopefully, I'll try it soon, but I've got a dentist appointment tomorrow, so maybe I'd better hold off. Don't want to fall asleep while getting a filling.

I've been lurking for awhile now and stumbled into this topic. Coincidentally, it's one I have recently begun to wonder about and seek more information on. I'd also be curious to know of any changes people have made, their comments and observations.

I've ordered the book "Why We Nap" by Claudio Stampi and am looking forward to reading it. I am thinking that I will implement some variation of this for myself.

Jacqueline

At first I was taking the bulk 5-6 hour sleep and 2 naps and it was working out great for me. The usual affects: increased creativity and energy. Until trying the polyphasic sleep schedule, it had been some time since I've felt fuly rested after sleeping. I always had black bags under my eyes - no matter if I got 9 hours, 12 hours, or any amount of sleep. Then after 4 to 6 days of taking just two 20 minute naps and reducing my bulk sleep time from 8-9 hours to 5-6, the bags almost entirely disappeared.

The problem started when I got a bad cold. I couldn't continue the sleep schedule without getting a longer bulk sleep time. I tried three and four 20 minute naps with the 5-6 hour bulk sleep, but to no avail. So I took a couple days in a row of 8-9 bulk hour sleep on top of two 20 minute naps. That worked. I had to do that every 3 to 4 days while this really bad cold lasted two weeks.

I'm sure the sleep schedule had nothing to do with my difficulty of getting over the cold as many other people in my office had the cold and had a problem getting over it.

The problem with getting my sleep down again is forcing myself to get up after 5-6 hours. If I don't make sure to get up and get the muscles awake then I will go back to sleep and mess up my schedule.

I plan on reducing my bulk sleep to 1.5 to 2.5 at the most and taking three or four 20 minute naps at unevenly spaced out nap times (i.e. 7a.m., 10a.m., 2p.m., around 9p.m., and bulk sleep around 1a.m.). You have to make a conscious willed choice to get up. I had three alarms going at one time but sometimes wouldn't get up for 5 minutes after they started going off (particularly after my 5-6 bulk sleep time). That is, if I got up at all. When I made a conscious choice to get up 90% of the time I did get up.

Until I got sick my schedule was great and I was going to reduce my bulk sleep time. To address why it seems nobody has been successful on this board may be because of the times we allow ourselves to fail and hit the snooze or sleep right threw the alarm.

I'm sorry if this long post is a bit lengthy for some, but I just didn't want to see everybody get discouraged on the polyphasic sleep schedule because of a personal failure with it or others failures with it (like how I failed). Hey, I'm sure it wasn't even easy for all the great men in the past to stick to the schedule. I'm sure they were busy or occasionally weak willed and failed the schedule every once in a while. How much you want to bet they pushed themselves to stick to the schedule though.

[This message has been edited by jackassking (edited April 11, 2003).]

I used to drink 32 ounces of orange juice throughout the day. I took a thermos to work. I also brought 24 ounces of hot soup in another thermos. I would sleep 8-9 hours more or less each night. The office was very large and open with good ventilation. When I recently got a bad cold while doing the polyphasic sleep cycle, I wasn’t drinking 32 ounces of OJ each day. I wasn’t eating 24 ounces of hot soup. I was, as I still am, in a much smaller and far poorer ventilated office. My body was also accustomed to a bulk sleep schedule at the time. It makes sense that I got the cold and had a hard time getting rid of it.

Before that second cold started I had gotten back to getting huge amounts of vitamin C and eating 24 ounces of hot soup. So I was already taking better dietary care of myself. Like I said earlier, I then took two extra naps that day. At that juncture, my body had grown accustomed to napping a bit more than bulk sleeping in order to replenish energy. The next morning, any trace of the cold was gone. I didn’t even have a sore throat the next morning. So if you’re feeling sick or worried about others getting you sick, and you can’t avoid those people, then sleep that way you currently are used to and eat more and you might be able to avoid the sickness.

As a side note to anybody that may be interested in my polyphasic sleep progress:

Just a week after my last post, I’ve noticed it much easier to fall a sleep for each nap. My body, instead of my alarms, wakes me up now after only 3-4 hours of sleep at night. I admit that I made the mistake once of going back to sleep when my clock read 4 a.m. instead of 5 a.m. and pretty much just wasted away an hour. If you’re thinking of doing this polyphasic sleep schedule or are having difficulty adjusting at first, you probably don’t have to worry. Just as some people on this site posted before, it takes a short while to get used to it. That short period was a little bit longer for me, but still pretty short overall. A month of adjustment, instead of 3-9 days, is still pretty good. As far as the problem of napping at extremely inconvenient times, you probably could just take a bulk sleep once a week. This way your body doesn’t become totally adverse to bulk sleep (i.e. in case you need to do that occasionally). Twice I slept 6-7 hours at night and still found that I had to nap at least once in the middle of the day. This method gives you a lot more flexibility if you have an occasional hectic lifestyle. A nap a day and 6-7 hours of bulk sleep once or twice a month I wouldn’t think would be a problem for most people.

Anyway, I'm keeping a journal of my progress (is that the right word?) Here starting towards the bottom of the page. I'll start adding local time stamps to all my posts so it's more clear exactly what time things are happening to me.

The only side effect (besides the "i haven't slept since yesterday" feeling) is the sore throat, good to see that's a common one. Of course, having pulled a couple of all-nighters in the past, I sorta knew it'd be coming.

In any event, I'll be back tomorrow to update things here, and anyone interested in talking to me about anything is welcome to, my AIM is WhiteKnight40k, and I'm always signed on unless my computer crashes. If I'm away, just leave a msg indicating you want to talk about sleep cycles, and I'll try to get back to you.

[This message has been edited by An0therN00b (edited February 19, 2003).]

I graduated, my friend. ;-)

Well from what I've read on other sites, like on http://polyphasic.blogspot.com/. and my own experiences, ith 4-5 hours of core sleep you want to nap 2-3 times a day from 15-30 minutes long. I'm going to try to stick to 1.5 hour of core sleep with 3 naps or 3 hours of core sleep with 2 naps. I figure that if people normally sleep 7 to 9 hours or core sleep with no naps, and your sleep cycles range from 1 hour & 15 minutes to 1 hour & 45 minutes long, then just use simple math. Figure 6 naps = 8 hours of core sleep. That would make each nap representative of 1 hour & 20 minutes or core sleep. You can always time the length of your sleep cycle by taking a nap in the middle of the day and timing it. Many people will get up in the middle of the day after just one sleep cycle in order for their body temperature to adjust back to normal 1. This is of course, if they weren’t exhausted from sleep deprivation. Just time yourself. A good way to make sure you fall asleep within a few minutes of when you start counting is to do something that doesn’t produce much physical or mental stimulation. One example would be watching a Dateline special on the sport of Curling. If you were already feeling tired before sitting down to watch people sweep an ice floor then you should be able to fall asleep within 10 minutes. Subtract 6 minutes2 from the time when you get up. Repeat this 3 more times and average the 4 total sleep cycles out3.

Say your sleep cycle averages 1 hour and 20 minute long. For each nap you can subtract 1 hour & 20 minutes from 8 hours (i.e. if is your normal bulk/core sleep schedule). So if you take 4 hours of core sleep then you should nap 3 times (i.e. 3 times 1.333 = 4 hours; 4 hours + 4 hours = 8 hours). Add naps appropriately on increased or reduced core sleep.

I’ve assumed the above. It makes sense logically from what I’ve read on other sites and from what I’ve done.

Footnotes
1Many land animals have their body temperature increase during the early afternoon do to afternoon meals expending a lot of energy to digest but more routinely because of a drop off of atmospheric heat. Digesting food increases your body temperature because your metabolism speeds up. Afterward your body temperature drops back to normal. When the heat of the afternoon starts to wane then your body temperature drops back to normal. The dropping of your body temperature in a short amount of time causes you to feel tired. This is similar to the hyperthermia of extremely cold atmospheres, but of course on a smaller, non-harmful scale. After about 1.5 hour your body temperature is back to normal. This afternoon body temperature increase and then decrease is in your DNA. If you are in an air conditioned office you will still experience this effect. An constant excessive stimulation mentally or physically could keep this effect from occurring.

2Figure it takes a person 2 minutes at the least to fall asleep. So if you fall asleep within 2-10 minutes then the average is 6 minutes.

3Technically you should do this a total of at least 25 times over 4 months. However, 4 times when you aren’t sick and sleeping a normal 7-9 hour core sleep schedule is okay for non-lab statistics.

Thanks

Sorry to dig up an anciant topic but thought you might like some more info.

Shoot, the list is endless. Off the top of my head.....

Exercise
make love
learn a new language
play more with my son
develop new business ideas
finally do the photoreading course I've had sitting on the shelf for years

I’d love to be able to adopt this sleep system. Just not sure how viable it is if my family and clients aren’t on it. Would free up net time but would require nap time during hours I need to be available for clients. Gotta ponder this....