Tl;dr: Polyphasic has many pros, but our extended hiking/camping trip was only made possible by switching to monophasic until our "return to civilization." and doing so, did not have any adverse side affects!
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Like any good hiking/camping trip, it all actually began days before we left the house, this time though, the weekend that we would normally pack prior to a week-long trip was compromised due to several social events and Mensa activities/duties, but that's where my polyphasic sleep schedule came to the rescue.
All packed into the last few days before we left, we had scheduled a mini D&D campaign for two players, games night on the other side of the island on Friday, a movie night at our place with 13 RSVPs on Saturday, then the grocery shopping and cleaning required before and after each event, plus packing all before an early flight on Sunday.
Waking up after the events were over and several hours before the early flight enabled us to easily finish our final errands in preparation for the trip. However, napping on the narrow, cliff side trails or in the mosquito infested jungles was out of the question. Also, our uncharged phone batteries were too important to waste on alarm clocks, so I decided to skip napping altogether and temporarily return to a monophasic schedule for awhile.
Here's how the trip went in regards to my sleep schedule (highlighted in maroon):
Saturday - 12:00am: Do silent chores like Mensa planning on the computer, etc, and begin gathering all the camping supplies, clothes, and non-perishable food into one area with the backpacks/luggage. I realized that the movie night would interrupt my normal 8:30pm bedtime, but that's okay because polyphasic is more flexible than I you would believe, so I adjust my nap times by 30 mins each.
Saturday - 4:00am: Nap (20 mins)
Saturday - 4:20am: Do more silent chores including answering emails, etc. Begin cleaning the house for the movie night in the evening, and ensure that we have all the ingredients required for making homemade salsa and pizzas.
Saturday - 8:00am: Nap (20 mins)
Saturday - 8:20am: Continue cleaning, prepare breakfast, start laundry, begin packing the camping gear into the packs, ensure that the technology is working for the movie, go to the grocery store to get the missing ingredients
Saturday - 1:30pm: Nap (20 mins)
Saturday - 1:50pm: Eat lunch, make the salsa, prepare the pizza ingredients, finish cleaning, rearrange the furniture, make the pizzas...
Saturday - 5:00pm: Movie night! Then clean up, take out trash, do dishes, etc.
Saturday - 10:00pm: Core Sleep (3.5 hrs)
Sunday - 1:30am: Finish packing clothes, food, and luggage. Drop off the animals with their care-takers.
Sunday - 5:00am: Nap (20 mins)
Sunday - 5:20am: Seal up the house. Leave for the airport
Sunday - 8:40am: Nap (20 mins) My last polyphasic nap for awhile, Kirsten posted a pic of me snoozing at the airport
Sunday - 9:00am: Travel by plane and car to the trail head.
Sunday - 11:30am: Begin 4 day hike. Napping on the narrow, cliff side trails or in the mosquito infested jungles was out of the question. Also, our phones batteries were too important to waste on alarm clocks, so I forgo napping altogether
Sunday - 3:45pm: Arrive at 6 mile campsite, set up camp, forage fruit and replenish water with boiled spring water, eat supper
Sunday - 8:30pm: Monophasic sleep (12 hours, wow!) Polyphasic already had my body attuned to responding to early evening sleep pressure, so given the chance, I was out like a light!
Monday - 8:30am: Stretch, breakfast, explore/adventure, pack up
Monday - 11:30am: Continue hiking
Monday - 4:30pm: Arrive at 11.5 mile campsite, set up camp, forage fire wood, bathe in the twin waterfalls, cook dinner, eat it on the beach while watching the sunset :), meet other hikers
Monday - 10:30pm: Monophasic sleep (9 hours)
Tuesday - 7:30am: Clean up camp, begin return hike, skip 6 mile camp grounds
Tuesday - 6:45pm: Arrive at the 2 mile beach, set up tent in the dark, rinse off in the river, eat
Tuesday - 9:30pm: Monophasic sleep (9 hours)
Wednesday - 6:30am: Clean up camp, explore area, finish hike
Wednesday - 12:00pm: Nap on the beach (20 mins)
Wednesday - 12:20pm: lunch, swim, carpool to Anini campgrounds
Wednesday - 8:30pm: core sleep (3.5 hours)
Thursday - 12:00am: wake up, stretch, snack. Off the trail, I would be able to safely take naps, however our phones/alarms are not yet charged, so I decided to stick to a monophasic-esque schedule, even though my body was trying to wake me up at regular intervals
Thursday - 12:40am: Extended nap (1 hr)
Thursday - 1:40am: wake up
Thursday - 2:00am: extended nap (3.5 hours)
Thursday - 5:30am: public transportation, grocery shopping
Thursday - 12:00pm: Nap (20 mins)
Thursday - 12:20pm: lunch, rent car, return to campsite
Thursday - 8:30pm: Core sleep (3.5hours)
Friday - 12:00am: wake up, stretch, snack
Friday - 12:40am: Extended nap (1 hr)
Friday - 1:40am: wake up
Friday - 2:00am: Extended nap (3.5 hours)
Friday - 5:30am: catch up with facebook, email, coordinate dinner plans and testing venues, check into hotel
Friday - 1:00pm: Nap (20 mins)
Friday - 1:20pm: unpack, relax, swim, eat, visit with friends
Friday - 7:00pm: Meet local Mensans for dinner
Friday - 9:30pm: Core sleep (3.5 hours)
Friday - 1:00am: wake... etc.
Friday - 3:30am: Nap (20 mins) With a set schedule and reliable alarms, I have finally returned to my polyphasic schedule from here out.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Day 14 - Pre Core
In bed by: 9:00pm
I'm a little late for core sleep tonight after the Mensa folding party and dropping off a friend's car. I began to feel the effects of napping on the bus (I suspect I didn't fall asleep quick enough, therefore the alarm woke me up too early or during REM).
I have been reflecting on these last few weeks and have some interesting (I think) observations and additinoal lessons-learned that I'll share tomorrow... after I go get some good core.
Day 14 - Naps 1, 2, & 3
Nap 1 - Alarm: 3:50am
Ah... nothing beats a perfect nap. I'm not sure exactly what that bump-without-noise is at 3:42am, but I don't think it affected my nap at all.
Nap 2 - Alarm: 7:20am
Another perfect nap! What away to end this 2-week adaptation period!
Nap 3 - Alarm: 12:50pm
After having lunch with my brother, then dropping seeing him off back to the mainland at the airport, I needed to take a bus over to a car shop to pick up a repaired car for a friend that had just deployed. Luckily it was a 45 min bus ride that should have started at 12:15pm, however buses are always late.
I was in a comfortable window seat by 12:25, when I realized that if I could quickly fall asleep on that nearly-no-seat-left bus ride from the airport, that I wouldn't even have to change the alarm for Nap 3 and would still wake up within 10 minutes of my ETA.
So I did and it was brilliant. The graph is all over the place with movement and sound (as expected), but as that became the "norm" my body/mind found peace and I merrily drifted off into a comfortable dream about the new Elon Musk idea, the Hyperloop.
I was a bit stiff after waking, but I totally avoided all symptoms of sleep loss until about 8:00 when I began to feel the slight pressure behind my eyes again.
Day 14 - Post Core
Alarm: 12:00am
Geez, what a bumpy night. At least I don't feel completely horrible; just a little dizziness and eye pressure. I hope that I don't develop further sleep dep. symptoms through out today because of this interrupted core.
For the last week or so, laying down for sleep has meant slipping almost immediately into a dream with some degree of lucidity. Lucid dreams aren't by themselves unusual for me, however when I was a mono-phasic sleeper, they usually occurred in (or I only remembered) the last dream cycle.
I think that it is likely that I am so quick to wake up after early REM cycles during core sleep because, while I'm used to lucid dreams only being in the last REM cycles, I'm now experiencing them in the first REM cycles, therefore subconsciously I think that I must be close to missing my alarm and thus wake up once I drop back up to light sleep.
This effect, I imagine, is probably intensified by my recent adaption to nap sleeping; as I am waking after falling up into light sleep after but a single REM cycle characterized by a lucid dream experience. But why I am actually turning off the SleepBot when I do wake up early? I think that is because my phone's clock is set to 24hr display and in that foggy state, I'm not being quick enough to realize that 2200 isn't 2400.
8:30pm - 9:57pm
9:57pm - 10:06pm
10:06pm - 12:00am
Day 13 - Pre Core
In bed at 8:20pm:
An afternoon filled with web development, concluded with a quick 1.5mi run/jog by the marsh, then another episode of Battlestar Galactica (Yay Adm. Cain is gone! (I hate horrible bosses)) over lime BBQ'd chicken, steamed sweet potatoes, and Arnold Palmers.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Day 13 - Post Nap 3
Alarm: 12: 50pm
Perfect Nap! I must be getting the hang of it (and getting lucky with the daytime noise levels). I feel great, have no symptoms, am very refreshed and am still getting lots of meaningful work done for the edX.org class that I'm currently involved in, SaaS 2 (Software as a Service/Engineering Long Lasting Software).
There have been ups and downs, but since nothing too crazy has happened during my adaptation period, I have decided to stop blogging on a per nap basis beginning with Day 15. I do plan to continue regularly tracking myself via the survey, however I haven't yet decided at what frequency I will continue this blog.
Day 13 - Post Nap 2
Alarm: 7:20am
Woot! Perfect nap!It took a tiny bit longer for me to fall asleep than usual, as expected, but using proactive sleeping techniques like:
- regulated my breathing,
- ensuring that the room was dark,
- being completely still
- in a comfortable sleep position, and
- letting my mind wander about,
Strange occurrence though, for the first time, I woke up with our new puppy curled up in our bed for the first time. She was curled up between my knees as I slept half on my stomach, half on my side with my arms crossed under my face.
She must have been a little ninja in getting up on our captain's style bed, because she can't even see on top of the mattress standing on her hind legs and yet she didn't trigger the SleepBot sensors.
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