Starting the Dymaxion Sleep Schedule

I just started the adjustment period for the Dymaxion sleep schedule and I wanted to post this log for anyone who's interested. To start out with, I'm taking a half hour nap every four hours (which is actually closer to Uberman) and I'll continue with that for a week or two before switching to a half hour nap every six hours. This is because I heard that adjusting to Dymaxion right off the bat is harder.

My naps were a bit off Tuesday (yesterday) due to scheduling, but I'll be taking naps at 2:00, 6:00, 10:00, 14:00, 18:00, and 22:00 from now on. I'll continue to update the log as I go. Feel free to post questions/comments. :)

Tuesday 6-2-09
7:45
Woke up from the usual monophasic chunk of sleep (went to sleep last night around 23:30). The bags under my eyes are not too bad right now. Previously I wasn't getting quite enough sleep because of all the things going on (finals, violin concerts, etc), but the past few days I've managed to get an extra hour or two of sleep per day. At the moment I'm actually feeling more awake than I usually do. Maybe from the prospect of taking extra naps today.

8:20-8:50
My first nap! Well, I didn't actually fall asleep... I might have started to in the last five minutes though.

12:50-13:20
About the same as this morning's nap, at least as far as being able to fall asleep. (Took a nap during my lunch break. I won't have work again for a while, but I figured it was fine for today because I have a full night's sleep and I won't start feeling the effects of adjusting until sometime tomorrow.)

17:25-17:55
Napped in the car while my dad was driving. I drifted in and out of sleep...mostly out. I did see some faint but vivid images (if that makes any sense), the way I do sometimes when I'm just starting to fall asleep.

21:35-22:05
Finally managed to fall asleep for real.

Wednesday 6-3-09
2:00-2:30
I fell asleep fairly easily this time. At first, when I woke up, I couldn't believe that I had only slept for half an hour...it felt more like two or three hours. Must be a good sign. If I had any dreams, I don't remember them.

6:00-6:30
Best nap so far; I fell asleep right away. For one thing, it felt weird seeing the sky get lighter when my mind was telling me I had just stayed up a bit late. Then when I woke up, I was instantly convinced that I had overslept, and I was starting to get upset when I realized that my mind was playing tricks on me and it had only been half an hour. I was even more confused than the previous nap :P

10:00-10:30
I started getting really tired about an hour and a half before the 10:00 nap. I closed my eyes and was out like a light, without even thinking about it. Now that I'm awake again, I'm wondering how I can stay awake until 14:00... reading has ceased to be an option, as I knew it would be; it might keep my mind interested, but my eyes won't focus. So far the only thing that seems to keep me awake is to keep moving. I'm going to attempt to clean my room, which needs it anyways. If I get much more tired than this, I might consider adding in the occasional extra nap during the adjustment period. I've read a few people that did that successfully...so long as the naps are limited to about 30 minutes.

(Edited at 12:33): I'm doing better now. I ate lunch around 11:30 and that really helped boost my energy.

14:00-14:30
Still can't remember any dreams, but I did feel more normal after waking up.

16:00-16:30
I decided to go ahead an take an extra nap; it seems to me like adding more naps can only be beneficial. I'm going to make sure that there's a at least two hours between the start of each nap.

18:00-18:30
I've actually been feeling pretty close to normal since my extra nap. For a short time I was worried that I wouldn't be tired enough to fall asleep for the 18:00 nap, but I seem to be getting the hang of it.

22:00-22:30
May have actually had some vague dreams, but it's hard to say. Only slightly tired feeling after waking up, not too bad.

Thursday, 6-4-09
2:00-2:30
Possibly had dreams during this nap. It's really hard to keep my eyes open...I'll add an extra nap at 4:00.

4:00-4:30
I needed this extra nap badly, but I was just as tired when I woke up. After a while, I took a shower, and that helped; my eyes can focus better.

6:00-6:30
Not quite as tired after this nap, but I'm still going to need an extra nap at 8:00. (Also, for some reason my right eye is tired but my left eye isn't?)

8:00-8:30
I can say with certainty now that I've had dreams! At first I thought I couldn't remember anything from the nap, then I realized that a particular recent memory didn't actually happen. It was a very clear and vivid dream which partly consisted of me passing by my friend V. about five times and thinking it was kind of funny (something similar happened in waking life). Maybe not the most interesting dream, but it means I'm on the right track for adjusting :) As far as how I felt after the nap: about the same amount of awake...ness as before the nap. I was getting a little cold earlier, since the heater isn't on at night, so I bundled up in warm clothes (usually I don't get cold easily, but being sick or tired lowers my cold resistance).

10:00-10:30
Back to almost falling asleep if I close my eyes for a split second. Had lunch. Unfortunately I timed it wrong and I'll wind up sleeping right after eating because I'm taking yet another extra nap.

12:00-12:30
Still tired, but getting better at dealing with it by finding things to do which can hold my attention without taking too much concentration. Pacing around the house like a zombie in the hopes that I won't fall asleep while walking can get old quickly.

14:00-14:30
I think I had dreams again, but I forgot them. I finally feel awake enough to not need an extra nap. This time at least. I managed to finish reading a book; my reading ability has been coming and going, depending on how tired I am. Makes me think that things are going to be a lot different once I'm well adjusted: right now my choices of things to do are a lot more limited.

18:00-18:30
Feeling pretty normal. I should be able to make it to the 22:00 nap without any trouble.

Thursday, 6-4-09
22:00-22:30
Didn't fall asleep too well, but surprisingly I wasn't tired after waking up.

Friday, 6-5-09
2:00-2:30
Still clear headed and awake feeling. I spent just about all the time between 2:30 and 6 working on a 3D puzzle.

6:00-6:30
I had a strong urge to go back to sleep, but I mentally battled reasoned it out and made myself get up. Now I feel only slightly less awake than I did after my previous two naps.

10:00-10:30
Starting to get tired again, reading ability fading.

12:00-12:30
Took extra nap, but reading ability is still gone. I played some of my piano compositions for almost an hour to stay awake; it doesn't require my eyes open all the time, but still takes concentration.

14:00-14:30
Reading ability back almost completely. Started in on a new sci-fi book.

18:00-18:30
As awake as the previous cycle. My plan regarding extra naps: I'll only take at most a couple this next 24 hour period, and one the 24 hour period after that. It occurred to me that although they help me stay awake, I'll probably adjust faster without them.

What is the purpose of this schedule, more chances to LD? If I understand correctly, you're going to sleep only 4 hours per day eventually, that sounds dangerous for your health.

Friday, 6-5-09 (continued)
10:00-10:30
Still at about the same level of awakeness (I know it's not a word) as the last two cycles.

Saturday, 6-6-09
2:00-2:30
Feeling great! I finished the 3D puzzle (it's missing three pieces, actually) and read for a bit (reading ability is still "normal"). I'm starting to really love this time period.

6:00...
I'm really not happy to report this...I overslept. A lot. As far as I can tell, I either slept through my alarm or forgot to press the button on my watch to start the countdown timer. When I woke up, I turned over and saw the clock reading 11:04 :eek: I'm worried that oversleeping like that might confuse my body (which was starting to adjust) into thinking that it doesn't need to go directly into REM every nap...That could make the adjustment period take longer, which I don't want to happen.

I have three options that I can think of:
1)I could sleep for a long time, catch up on regular monophasic sleep, then start again from scratch. Unfortunately I can't do that because I don't have time to start from scratch. At least, not enough for me to be comfortable trying.
2)I could give up and try again in the 18 days between the end of summer classes and the beginning of the fall semester.
3)I could try to continue with my naps as if it didn't happen.

After a lot of thought, I'm going for the third option. I looked at examples of other people who've overslept for a long time and a lot of them were successful if they were really consistent with their naps after that. They did say that when they overslept they tended to be really tired and groggy for the next couple of naps. I lucked out on that point; I seem to have the same amount of energy as my previous naps. From what I can gather, oversleeping once doesn't necessarily mean that all the naps before it were for nothing...even so, I'm going to watch myself even more closely. If I oversleep again like that, or if I feel more tired than what I've already experienced (that is to say more sleep deprived), I may have to stop and try again after summer classes.


14:00-14:30
Still plenty of energy. My new rule: the instant the alarm goes off I'm going to get on my feet ASAP. No matter how tired I feel at first. Getting up and moving around always helps to wake up.

18:00-18:30
Barely fell asleep this time. Maybe after the next nap I'll get back into the swing of things.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Arutad

What is the purpose of this schedule, more chances to LD? If I understand correctly, you're going to sleep only 4 hours per day eventually, that sounds dangerous for your health.

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Thanks for posting :) Unfortunately I have a tendency to give long answers to simple questions. Here it goes anyways.

It'll be two hours a day, actually, if you add up the naps for a 24 hour period. With monophasic sleep (one chunk of sleep every 24 hours), how awake you are during the day depends mostly on the quantity of sleep you get each night plus maybe where you are in the sleep cycle when you wake up.

For sleep schedules like Uberman and Dymaxion: The adjustment period is really hard because for each nap, the body starts going through the other phases of sleep but never gets to REM because the naps aren't long enough for that. Eventually, the body adapts and starts skipping the other phases of sleep and going into REM right away. So basically, once adjusted, the body gets a chunk of REM, goes for several hours, gets another chunk of REM, etc. Whereas with monophasic sleep, it goes through more phases of sleep before getting to REM, then repeats the pattern until you wake up.

Most people that have successfully adjusted to polyphasic sleep (more than one chunk of sleep in 24 hours) say they actually have more energy than before. It makes sense if you think about it. I sometimes think of sleep as a leaky battery; you can't sleep for two or three days straight and then expect to stay awake all that much longer than usual. So going the other way, getting sleep more frequently, is more efficient. Not only are you getting a concentration of REM without the other phases of sleep, but you're also spending less time awake before you "recharge".

As far as health concerns go: The adjustment period is definitely an issue. It's essentially sleep deprivation until the body adapts. That's why it's good to get through the adjustment period as quickly as possible. Some people who try adjusting will continuously miss naps or oversleep but they keep going. They often wind up not adapting, staying in sleep deprivation for a long time, and eventually giving up. (That's why I'm paying close attention to my recent oversleeping incident.)

Once the adaption period is over, however, it's a whole new ballgame. There isn't much known about the long term effects of polyphasic sleep vs. monophasic. Only a few people attempt (or even know about) sleep schedules like Uberman and Dymaxion, and even fewer get through the adjustment period. I've seen a few examples of people who have been succesfully adjusted for several months or even a couple years, and they tend to end up stopping because of scheduling issues, not observable health issues. If there are long term health effects, it's hard to know because there isn't much scientific research that's been done on the subject.

My reasons for attempting Dymaxion:
-It's strange, it's different, it's interesting and I'm curious. As I mentioned, not much official research has been done and I'd love to get some firsthand experience and contribute to people's knowledge about the topic.
-22 hours of waking time and more energy. How's that for a good deal? I can get a bit more work done than usual and also have more free time.
-Yes, it increases the chance of lucid dreams because you're going directly into REM sleep which is when dreaming happens. Plus with monophasic, only the dreams from the last REM cycle gets remembered (unless you wake up between each cycle).

Saturday, 6-6-09 (cont.)
22:00-22:30
Didn't get to sleep right away, again. I'm probably going to be seeing the effects of the oversleeping incident soon. First I'll be too awake to fall asleep, later I'll be too tired to stay awake (easily).

Sunday, 6-7-09
2:00-2:30
Still having difficulty getting to sleep.

6:00-6:30
Slept without much trouble this time. Really tired though. It's not so much that I can't keep my eyes open, just that I can't seem to open them in the first place. May or may not have had dreams, can't recall.

8:00-8:30
Decided I really needed an extra nap, which was fine since I haven't had one for a while now. Woke in about the same condition as I fell asleep. I was playing piano to stay awake when I remembered that I'd had a dream during the 8:00 nap!

10:00-10:30
The good news is, I had another dream! Several fragments, actually. I could remember right when I woke up. The other good news is that I'm almost back to the level of awakeness that I was at before the oversleeping incident. I guess REM vs non-REM really does make a big difference.

14:00-14:30
At first it was hard to wake up after this nap, but I managed. Since about half an hour after waking up, I've felt as awake as any average monophasic day when I got enough sleep... actually getting enough sleep wasn't the average. On monophasic, if I get less than 10 hours of sleep I'll feel at least slightly tired continuously. I'm looking forward to seeing what Dymaxion is like after the difficult first few weeks.

17:45-18:15
Took the nap 15 minutes earlier so my mom and I could go swimming (didn't feel like sleeping in the car and had to leave because the pool closes earlier on the weekends). Most awake I've been since starting the adjustment to polyphasic.

22:00-22:30
Almost awake as last cycle. Didn't have trouble waking up, for once.

Monday, 6-8-09
2:00-2:30
Slightly tired at times, but still able to read and keep my eyes open. Did a lot of drawing (started drawing a picture from a scene in one of my dreams).

6:00-6:30
One of those naps that feels like they're several hours long when they're not. I don't think I can keep myself awake until 10:00, even with all the tricks I've used...so an extra nap at 8:00 sounds good. It'll be at the same time as yesterday, maybe that's a good sign. Before, my energy level throughout the day was mostly unpredictable.

8:00-8:30
Definitely had dreams (remembered them when I first woke up, but they're gone now). I'm at about the same energy level as before the nap. Looking back, it's the same for almost every other extra nap I've taken: the energy level is the same as before the extra, but I might feel more awake after the next normal nap.

10:00-10:30
Feeling mostly normal after I had something to eat.

14:00-14:30
Feeling awake :) I hope my luck holds and I start getting REM even more often.

18:20-18:50
Got distracted and wound up taking my nap a bit later than I planned :oops: First time that's happened. I guess it's good though that I was awake enough that I wasn't waiting impatiently for the next nap time, for once.

22:00-22:30
Seemed like I only went into a light sleep, this time. At least for the most part. It still felt restful though, and I still have plenty of energy.

This sounds kind of cool actually. With my busy schedule, I wouldn't be able to pull this off, but I'm very interested to see the results of this, and how it effects your lucid dreaming. Keep on posting! :D

Tricks which have helped so far. (A lot of it's already scattered throughout my log, but I wanted to summarize it all in one place.)

Countdown timer on my watch: I have a countdown timer set to 30 minutes. Very useful. I got used to waking up to my watch's alarm a week or two before starting polyphasic.

Extra naps: Limited to 30 minutes and used only when necessary. Necessary meaning I could potentially fall asleep without meaning to if I tried to stay awake until the next scheduled nap, risking the whole endeavor. I try not to take too many extra naps anymore because their effects ripple through several cycles (I'll get more energy from an extra nap later on, then have trouble falling asleep for a nap or three, then get really tired and feel like I need another extra nap...)

Eating food: Provides another source of energy. I like to eat a small meal just after waking up (to avoid having to digest during a nap). Usually during the middle of the night, I'll just have some fruit and yogurt, then the usual meals during the day. Maybe it's just my imagination, but I seem to be craving healthier foods more often...

Drinking lots of water: Not sure exactly how it might help with polyphasic in particular, but it's just a good idea in general. I figure the whole “8 glasses of water a day” is a lot easier to remember when the day is divided into six equal parts; at least one glass of water every cycle and I'm almost there!

Standing/walking/moving around: When I'm in one of those states where I'm literally starting to nod off every five seconds, sitting still just isn't an option. Sometimes I'll feel a bit wobbly or zombie-like when I stand up, but if I do something like straighten up my room, it keeps my mind occupied. Unlike wandering around aimlessly.

Taking a shower: If my eyes are blurry or if I just can't keep them open (or get them open at all), I'll take a warm shower. It lets me close my eyes and relax, but since I'm standing up or focusing on washing my hair, I don't have to worry about the usual risk of falling asleep if I close my eyes. (Note: I suppose if I was even more desperate to stay awake, I could take an ice cold shower :P )

Playing an instrument: I sometimes play pieces I have memorized so that I don't have to try to read music with blurry vision, but I pick pieces that are somewhat more challenging and not particularly slow (best not to go for the lullabies).

Reading: I love reading. If my vision is clear enough, I can easily pass hours at a time with a good book.

Picture books: I don't mean kid's pictures books necessarily, just a book where pictures are the main focus. For example, someone recently gave me a book on clouds (literally half the pictures I take are of clouds, that gave them a clue). There are written explanations about the types of clouds, how they form, etc., but the photographs take up the majority of the page. The advantage of this is that I can look at pictures even when I'm too blurry-eyed to do any actual reading.

Keeping warm: Fuzzy socks and pajamas, a sweater, blankets, whatever it takes to stay warm. I wind up getting cold easier due to being tired. Plus the fact that the heater isn't on during the night could be part of the reason.

Getting outside: Walking in the park, going swimming with my mom, meeting a friend for lunch...these types of things are good for when I'm not quite so tired that I'm going to, say, fall asleep with my face in the food.

Tuesday, 6-9-09
2:00-2:30
Shouldn't be too hard to stay awake. It's a little hard to read small print, but I've been reading the "DCs say the darndest things" thread with the browser view zoomed in two or three times :roll:

6:00-6:30
Definitely had dreams. Also, I'm at a good energy level.

10:00-10:30
More dreams! But I wasn't quite so awake for the first two and half hours...

13:40-14:10
Took a slightly earlier nap for scheduling (next nap needs to end just before 18:00).

17:25-17:55
Slept in the car. Didn't fall asleep completely, but did better than I did the other two times I tried.

22:00-22:30
Slept well. I just realized, I haven't had to take an extra nap all day today :)


Wednesday, 6-10-09
2:00-2:30
Had dreams. I'm mostly awake now.

6:00-7:30
Overslept again :( I vaguely remember waking up at 6:30 as I was supposed to, but after that my mind's completely blank. Then when I looked at the clock again it was 7:30. *sigh* :bang: Oh well, at least it wasn't as bad as last time (and I had dreams, which is good)...I'm still going to continue, because I've been adjusting so much better lately. In fact, both times I overslept were when I had plenty of energy whilst awake...maybe I just need to train my brain better. Sometimes when I wake up, the sound of my watch confuses me and I start fumbling around for a snooze button. I'm going to start setting a back up alarm, at least until I have better "waking up" habits.

10:00-10:30
Kind of drowsy until around 12:30. I probably had dreams during the nap, but I can't remember for sure.

Wednesday, 6-10-09 (cont.)
14:00-14:30
Slept pretty well. Not drowsy anymore.

18:00-18:30
Didn't fall asleep right away (can't remember dreams this time).

Wednesday (cont.)
22:00-22:30
Almost as awake as the last cycle.

Thursday 6-11-09
2:00-2:30
Fell asleep quickly and I have plenty of energy now. Probably going to do a bunch of reading and writing until 6.

6:00-6:30
A lot of difficulty staying awake for most of this cycle. Kept spacing out, but I don't think I actually fell asleep.

10:00-10:30
Still spacey, but did quite a bit of reading before deciding I had to move around to avoid drifting off. (By the way, this "spacey" feeling is different from the times I was really tired. It's more like I just might fall asleep if I don't pay attention, but there's no strong message getting sent to my brain saying "SLEEP NOW!")

14:00-14:30
Took a nap in the car. It's still harder to fall asleep in the car than at home, but I think I could get used to it eventually.

18:00-18:30
Finally, something I would call a perfect nap. Fell asleep easily, didn't have a hard time waking up, and a sufficient amount of energy. In fact, to have this much energy when I was monophasic, I would usually have had to get about 10 hours of sleep each night...yeah right.

22:00-22:30
Took a while to fall asleep, but I think I started to have dreams towards the end.

Now for the interesting part: shifting to a true Dymaxion sleep schedule with a nap every six hours (instead of four). I have all the nap times figured out so that I can gradually make the change (several nap times every 4 & 1/2 hours, every 5 hours, every 5 1/2 hours, then finally every 6). My first day of real Dymaxion will be Monday :)

I have a theory about why, with my current schedule, I alternate between going for several cycles having plenty of energy, then several cycles being tired. Basically, I've been taking half hour naps every 4 hours, which is really close to Uberman, except that Uberman is actually designed for 20 minute naps. Often, people who start out adjusting to Uberman with half hour naps later say that they don't need more than the 20 minutes. So maybe I'm getting the first 20 minutes, which I really do need to stay awake for three and a half hours, plus an extra 10 minutes. I have excess energy, and by the time the next nap comes around, I don't fall asleep very easily. This repeats for a while until the not falling asleep catches up with me and I start to get tired. Then I'm tired for a while until I'm able to fall asleep again and later go back to having energy...and so on. (The extra naps I took at the beginning of the adjustment period caused similar difficulties).

So, hopefully, napping every six hours will actually be easier, because the Dymaxion was designed for half hour naps. Hopefully, my energy level between naps will balance out and I'll be able to fall asleep for each nap consistently.


Friday, 6-12-09
2:30-3:00
Four and a half hours since the start of my last nap, as planned. I fell asleep fairly easily and I'm at a decent energy level now. Next nap will be at 7:00.

(Edited at 5:34): I noticed recently that I'm hyper of all things! I found myself bouncing around the kitchen to get cereal. Now I'm going to go try and spend a bunch of that energy cleaning my room so that I can get to sleep for my next nap :P

7:00-7:30
Was only spacey until I started moving around. My first day back to work, and feeling almost normal (got as much done as I usually can).

11:30-12:00
Took a nap in the car. It wasn't moving this time, so I fell asleep without trouble. For about twenty minutes before the nap, I'd been starting to nod off from staring at the computer screen for too long without blinking. That happens sometimes normally, just later in the day. Anyways, after the nap I felt wide awake and was much speedier completing tasks.

16:00-16:30
Another nap in the car. Even better than the previous one as far as recharging.

20:30-21:00
Apart from the usual temporary drowsiness when waking up, I'm at a good energy level. My reading ability hasn't failed me for quite a while now, and I can now often close my eyes for short periods of time without having to constantly worry about falling asleep when I'm not supposed to.

Saturday, 6-13-09
1:00-1:30
Made it through the four-and-a-half-hours-between-naps phase without any problems...in fact I'm actually feeling better energy-wise than before. Next nap will be at 6:00.

6:00-8:00
Yet another oversleeping mistake. Always seems to happen at 6:00, doesn't it? This time I'm pretty sure I just slept right through my alarm. Two of them, actually. One of which goes off every five minutes. I'm not letting the oversleeping upset me as much as the first two times; for one thing, I'm feeling a lot more secure that I'm getting closer to being fully adjusted. Although at the moment I'm feeling kind of groggy (probably woke up out of one of the other phases of sleep).

Maybe I should try affirmations before taking a nap...something simple like, "I will wake up 30 minutes from now"? Or maybe the oversleeping will stop naturally...Sometimes I'm only slightly tired, and yet I want nothing more than to just curl up on the couch at random and fall asleep for an indefinite period of time. I'm experiencing less and less of that, though, and occasionally I'll get those great naps where I fall asleep right away, have dreams, wake up easily, and have plenty of energy until the next nap.

11:00-11:30
Slept well but still groggy feeling after waking up. Actually tried reading a few times. It worked for a while, but then the book kept falling out of my hand. I think it took half an hour to read and understand a couple pages, lol. After a while, I grudgingly accepted that I needed to get up and do something else. (Yes, I know, I don't like putting books down :roll: )

16:00-16:30
Fell asleep easily and I think I had dreams. I'm almost back to the level of energy I had before the most recent oversleeping incident.

21:00-21:30
Had dreams & fell asleep almost immediately.

Sunday, 6-14-09
2:00-2:30
Slept well but hard to stay awake afterwords. Took a short 15 minute extra nap around 4:00 (I figured keeping it short would help avoid the problem I had before where extra naps would cause unpredictable fluctuations in energy level). I felt good again, after that.

7:30-8:00
One of those times when I'm thinking, "I'm not that tired. I could go for a long time! Hours more awake, no problem. I wonder if I'll even be able to fall asleep this... *head hits pillow* ZZZZZZZZZZZ" :P I was quite confused upon waking to my alarm(s) going off. Didn't get out of bed right away...luckily I didn't fall completely asleep (at least I hope I didn't), but I was really spacey for about half an hour before I snapped out of it and remembered that I needed to get on my feet.

13:00-13:30
Took a nap during a car ride (I'm getting better at that!) Last ten minutes seemed to stretch out quite a bit.

18:30-19:00
Another good nap, and I'm pretty sure I had dreams. It's 23:30 now (next nap in half an hour) and I'm at just the right energy level; I was awake enough to get a lot done during this cycle, but I'll still be able to fall asleep for my next nap.

Monday, 6-15-09
0:00-0:30
Once again confused when waking up. I really need to train myself to jump (or at least stumble) out of bed the instant the first alarm goes off. Instead I keep hearing the back up alarm going off seemingly right after the first one, when in fact I set it for five minutes later... I generally seem to have gone from trying-not-falling-asleep issues to waking up issues :?

5:30-6:00
It felt like a bit of a stretch to make it to this nap, but when I think about it, it wasn't nearly as hard to stay awake this time as it was during the initial adjusting. I fell asleep right away and had dreams. I was rather spacey for the first two or three hours after waking up.

11:30-12:00
Slept in the car (not while it was moving). Once I got comfortable I fell asleep as easily as when I'm sleeping in my bed (for once). Definitely more energy now than before the nap.

17:30-18:00
Managed to wake up without trouble, and I have a good energy level at the moment.

23:30-0:00
Some trouble falling asleep, but did manage to do more than "just rest". No trouble waking up.

Yay, my first official day on the Dymaxion Sleep Schedule! :D

You stopped updating us!
You ok, still alive?
Lol or are you sleeping day in day out?

Hang in there, you got far and on the edge of the worst.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sandstorm140

Lol or are you sleeping day in day out?

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:D

Lol I thought the same...

Sorry about the late update; my dad and I are on a trip visiting relatives (which I was going to mention before I left, but then I overslept :? ). I didn't get around to posting until just now, but I've been keeping a written log so that I don't forget. Yeah, the trip is going to add a bit to the challenge, but I can say this much: I'm doing better now, even with the oversleeping problem, than I did when I was still adjusting to the naps every 4 hours.

Tuesday, 6-16-09
6:00-8:00
A really annoying time to oversleep because I was leaving on a trip today and I wanted to finish packing just a few items...managed to leave on time, but definitely not the most fun way to start the day. :(

12:15-12:45
Had to make this nap late because of the plane ride (slept right after boarding).

18:00-18:30
Less late nap (off by thirty minutes from my regular schedule) but feeling pretty good and I should be back on time the next nap.

23:30-0:00
Slept really well and woke up perfectly. But then...

Wednesday, 6-17-09
0:01-3:07
Unplanned nap! I grabbed a book and leaned back so I could read under the light. I read all of two sentences when the next thing I know I'm waking up at 3:07! I was very confused, to say the least. Then I found the book on the floor behind the sofa. It must have fallen out of my hand as my head hit the pillow. Note to self: wait more than thirty seconds after waking up before picking up a book.

6:00-6:30
At least this nap time went all right for once. Still rather upset that I overslept twice in twenty four hours, though.

10:00-10:15
Added an extra short nap because I'm feeling so groggy from earlier.

11:30-12:00
Back to a good level of energy now. I found out the nap schedule's probably going to be weird today, but I figure it's not too big of a deal because it's already weird due to the oversleeping.

15:00-15:30
Napped on the train. When I change naps around, I make sure I'm squishing them together or adding extra ones rather than trying to stretch them out. I hear that stretching out the time between naps only works if the very next nap is right on time. In other words, no stretching in the same direction several times in a row!

20:15-20:30
Added an extra short nap because it doesn't look like I'll quite get a nap in at 21:00 (again, better to squish than stretch...I think.)

21:50-22:20
Seemed like a good time to have a full nap. Getting closer to the original schedule. Plus the nap got rid of the very beggining of a headache (I've yet to actually get a real headache during the adjustment, which is somewhat surprising since I used to get them often).

My original plan for this experiment was basically to decide whether to continue or not a couple days before classes start (and only stop sooner if my body really needed it). As I mentioned before, I feel like I'm gradually getting more energy, but at the same time I have to pay attention to the oversleeping which hadn't been a problem at first...In any case I think I'll stick to the original plan and make this Saturday the decision day. That'll give me enough time to return to monophasic sleep if I really have to give up *knocks on wood*.

Thursday, 6-18-09
1:45-2:15
Added a full length extra nap between the last one and the next on-schedule one. That way I won't have to stretch them out too much in order to get back on schedule.

5:30-6:00
One of those perfect naps with the added bonus of my first lucid dream since starting polyphasic! (I'll post it at some point in my dream journal).

7:00-8:00
I'm getting worried about the oversleeping issue, but at least this time it was longer between incidents. Maybe if it keeps happening less frequently I'll be alright. This time I waited longer after waking up before reading, but it still put me to sleep. New idea: just don't read. What a concept. Writing seems to engage my brain more, maybe I should stick to that when I can't think of anything else to do.

11:30-12:00
A very refreshing nap; I feel more energized than I have in a while.

17:20-17:50
Took a nap in the car. Didn't get much more than a light sleep. I feel rested at the moment...I'll see how I feel later (maybe add an extra short nap, although I've been trying to avoid doing even that because I'm still not entirely sure about the effects it has on following naps.)

Thursday (cont.)
23:30-0:00
Slept right through people talking without any difficulty. I was confused when waking up, but I managed to stop myself from resetting my alarm for another thirty minutes...made me wonder if I should take an extra nap after all.

Friday, 6-19-09
1:15-1:45
Couldn't wait until the usual halfway point to take an extra nap, but I kept this one short. I had dreams this time, that's for sure. It was hot and stuffy in the room, and that carried over into my dream. When I woke up I was still tired.


Well, after that nap I had to make a hard decision. Whenever I closed my eyes for even just three seconds, I'd hear people I knew saying things to me and giving me moral support or something...I'd see things from a slightly different perspective in the room, too. This would only last for a few seconds until I opened my eyes. Once or twice the sounds/images seemed so real that I was surprised when I opened my eyes and everything was back to normal. It was that feeling of switching between two distinct and equally real realities that I've felt sometimes when I transition between being asleep and awake. Only this time it was within a matter of seconds. It actually took me a while to realize how strange all of this was.

One part of me felt like this was the same as dozing off, the other part of me said that this had never happened before, even towards the beginning of the adjustment period. If it had happened towards the beginning, I would probably have added more extra naps and kept going, but this was two and a half weeks into it. I don't know exactly why I was feeling tired and experiencing this now and not before, but my theory is that each oversleeping incident was destroying what adjustment I'd achieved at the same time as making it nearly impossible for me to judge how well I was doing. Then I finally got a clue.

I debated with myself for a while and decided I should return to monophasic for now and try again later. There were just too many variables stacked against me. I thought I'd feel like I failed, but I don't because I can try again. And even more importantly, I'm leaving information in this log for people (myself included) on what works and what doesn't.

The return to monophasic was incredibly easy. I knew it would be, but it took even less time than I thought. I slept from my decision around 2:30 in the morning until around eight. I got up, had breakfast, then went back to sleep until lunchtime. Other than feeling like the whole day just disappeared, I feel pretty good. (The cynical side of me wonders if maybe I wasn't so sleep deprived after all, but what's done is done.)


Things to do differently:
-Stop if I oversleep more than three times during the adjustment perod (or two times in a row).
-Figure out how to avoid oversleeping in the first place. This part will take a lot more thought and research for me to figure out. I plan on becomeing a total expert on sleep before my next attempt. I've already absorbed a lot of information, and I'm interested enough in the subject to find out more.
-Don't take trips or move the schedule around during the adjustment period. I know I can do it, but I don't want to deal with the stress and uncertainty of not knowing if it will confuse my body even more.
-Keep extra naps short and don't rely on them too much.
-If adjusting to Uberman first, use 20 minute naps, then gradually increase nap time when switching to Dymaxion.
-Reading and other such activities only work when I'm awake enough that I can close my eyes for a minute or two without having to worry about dozing off

One more tip for people attempting polyphasic:
A surprising number of people simply won't be able to grasp the concept of sleeping less and still getting enough energy, let alone getting more energy. If you're anything like me, you'll want to get the support (or at least neutrality) of family members or roomates or anyone you're going to be around constantly during the adjustment period. As for others who might not be willing to listen... just remember you could always wait until after you're completely adjusted to tell them. Trust me, it's a lot less stressful. Personally, during that challenging time period, I want people around me who can understand the pros and cons of polyphasic and who can help me to logically figure out where to draw the line between getting too sleep deprived and getting closer to adjusting.

Some benifits I've experienced (even without ever really adjusting):
-More hours of waking time. It felt like two or three days in one.
-I did have dreams, one of which was lucid.
-Got to be awake during the really cool time period of 2-6 in the morning (nice and quiet around that time, plus I've always been a night owl).
-Going to sleep more often, so it sometimes felt like I was getting more sleep than usual.
-I used to have a lot of neck pain from sleeping on it funny, but with polyphasic I wasn't sleeping on it for long periods of time and it felt a lot better. Plus I could switch which side I was sleeping on each nap, so I wasn't bent in one direction more than another.
-I wound up drinking more water and eating more often (but slightly smaller portions of food) since everything was divided up into six and later four cycles of awake time. Also, for some reason, I had cravings for healthier types of food...or maybe it was more like an adversion to greasy stuff.
-I started out with some interest in watching tv or playing games on the computer, but I seemed to satisfy that "need" pretty quickly and I soon lost interest and wanted to do more creative activities.
-I got to experiment and contribute to a subject which I find very interesting.


Well, that's all I can think of to say at the moment, but I'm sure there's more. I'm sorry I didn't get adjusted this time, but I haven't given up in the long run. If anyone has questions (about any aspect of the attempt or Dymaxion in general), feel free to ask.

Thanks for keeping this log, I've always been interesting in Dymaxion. I've also never heard of anybody successfully adjusting to it :P

What is your reason for doing Dymaxion as opposed to Uberman or Everyman?


I find that the best method for timing naps is noise canceling headphones and an mp3 (I have one if you're interested, 20 minutes of white noise followed by progressively louder sounds to wake you up... usually not needed, I usually wake up easily when the white noise fades out).

If you must use an alarm, put it on the other side of the room so you need to get up to turn it off.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jombo22

Thanks for keeping this log, I've always been interesting in Dymaxion. I've also never heard of anybody successfully adjusting to it :P

What is your reason for doing Dymaxion as opposed to Uberman or Everyman?


I find that the best method for timing naps is noise canceling headphones and an mp3 (I have one if you're interested, 20 minutes of white noise followed by progressively louder sounds to wake you up... usually not needed, I usually wake up easily when the white noise fades out).

If you must use an alarm, put it on the other side of the room so you need to get up to turn it off.

---

Thanks for the tips :) Yeah, people have adjusted to Dymaxion before, just not many.

Initially I wanted to do Uberman, but I couldn't get a schedule that would work with it. Dymaxion seemed like the next best thing, though I'd heard it was harder to adjust to initially. I'm actually considering trying Everyman next time (I need to do more research before deciding for sure). I've read that it takes longer to adjust to than Uberman or Dymaxion, but I'll have 4-5 weeks free to adjust for my next attempt, whereas before I only had 2 and a half weeks (I'm starting again around mid-December, by the way).

Hi, just stumbled upon this thread from Google.

I've just started the everyman schedule, 4.5 hours at night and 2x20 minute naps. A few things I thought I'd mention:

-From what I've read about PPS, 20 minute naps, once adapted to, are as effective, if not more effective than 30 minute naps.
-The body takes around 21 days to adapt to a new habit, whether it be a drug dependence, or sleeping pattern, or whatever.
-A combination of nap scheduling (to get the body used to sleeping at that time) and sleep deprivation enables one to achieve true PPS napping, i.e. don't make up for naps/sleeps where you "didnt fall asleep".

Thanks for the read, 'twas interesting!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dat

Hi, just stumbled upon this thread from Google.

I've just started the everyman schedule, 4.5 hours at night and 2x20 minute naps. A few things I thought I'd mention:

-From what I've read about PPS, 20 minute naps, once adapted to, are as effective, if not more effective than 30 minute naps.
-The body takes around 21 days to adapt to a new habit, whether it be a drug dependence, or sleeping pattern, or whatever.
-A combination of nap scheduling (to get the body used to sleeping at that time) and sleep deprivation enables one to achieve true PPS napping, i.e. don't make up for naps/sleeps where you "didnt fall asleep".

Thanks for the read, 'twas interesting!

---

Hi, thanks for posting!

As I found out, 20 minute naps definitely work better than 30, at least for Uberman. The reason I tried 30 minutes in the first place was because I was starting with closer together naps (every 4 hours) then gradually stretching them out to be a true Dymaxion sleep schedule (every 6 hours) and I thought it would be easier for the body to adjust if I kept the amount of time for each nap consistent.

I think you're right about the scheduling itself being important to get the body adjusted. Probably the biggest mistake I made was all the extra naps I added. The opposite of the carefully avoided mistake of missing naps :P The oversleeping was the other problem...but that's a little harder to figure out. It seems more like an indicator of how well the body is adjusting than something which can be controlled directly. (Although as jombo22 and others have mentioned, there are ways to make it easier to wake up).

Good luck with the Everyman schedule!

Wow you came back. :) I thought you've given up on the whole idea.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Arutad

Wow you came back. :) I thought you've given up on the whole idea.

---

Yeah, the thread came back to life, lol. I definitely haven't given up on the idea of a polyphasic sleep schedule, although like I said, I might do Everyman instead of Dymaxion next time (I'm thinking of a 3 hour core sleep plus three 20 minute naps). My next attempt won't be for another three months, though.

I just started experimenting with polyphasic sleep and I enjoyed reading your posts. I am not sticking so much to strict schedules like Uberman or Dymaxion at this point, just trying to get my body used to shorter core sleep and regular naps.

I have found though that like you I am eating healthier in the short periods (4-6 hours) between naps and also finding it easier to hit my daily water quota. Mentally, I usually feel pretty refreshed after each nap and have no problem staying awake until the next one. I have always had a hard time falling asleep and lately (before I started the napping and shorter core sleep), it has been really bad.

I find that I am falling asleep quicker now, in the naps and core, and that I am getting better at retaining waking consciousness while I transition from being awake to sleeping. Also seeing a lot more hypnagogic imagery (especially during the first part of the naps) and have had really vivid and long dreams during core sleep.

During naps I can always tell when I am about to fall asleep because my inner dialogue is interrupted by "sounds" that aren't really there or dream conversations that seem to be going on just behind the veil of sleep. Or I will think something really weird, illogical and totally unrelated to whatever I had just been thinking about and I know I am in the beginning stages of my sleep.

hey, thanks for all the posts about your progress, they have been very insightful.. i have been trying to find someone who has done this with out fail.. i have heard of people doing it for like 2 years, but with no actual info.. so i decided to go for it myself.. i am on day 4 and have been doing pretty good.. but i keep getting discouraged.. people tell me that its bad for me and i get so tired sometimes that i just want to stop doing it all together.. its hard to stay on it.. right now i am doing a vlog every night at 4:30ish Am.. if you or anyone wants to follow and help support me, i would really appreciate it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfo6GBUQwGs

James

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Javbe

hey, thanks for all the posts about your progress, they have been very insightful.. i have been trying to find someone who has done this with out fail.. i have heard of people doing it for like 2 years, but with no actual info.. so i decided to go for it myself.. i am on day 4 and have been doing pretty good.. but i keep getting discouraged.. people tell me that its bad for me and i get so tired sometimes that i just want to stop doing it all together.. its hard to stay on it.. right now i am doing a vlog every night at 4:30ish Am.. if you or anyone wants to follow and help support me, i would really appreciate it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfo6GBUQwGs

James

---

Hi, thanks for your post. Yeah, I haven't heard of anyone doing it for more than 2 years...yet. It's definitely hard to stay motivated when you don't have the support of people around you. Just keep in mind that most people have never even heard of polyphasic sleep and it's been drilled into our heads that we need at least 8 hours of sleep every night (granted, this is true for monophasic sleep). The risk of the adjustment period is sleep deprivation, which you can watch for, but after that polyphasic seems to be very safe and even beneficial. Long term effects (more than 2 years) are unknown, though, since not many people have tried this.

I'll be sure to take a look at your log :) I'm going to be up at that time anyway, since I'm starting the Everyman sleep schedule in a couple days! (Here's the link to that thread: http://www.dreamviews.com/community/...ad.php?t=88616 ). You can post comments there or send me a PM if you have any questions or insights.

Heya.
Thanks for the interesting information on the Dymaxion sleep cycle. You've given me a few useful ideas, mostly the stick to a solid schedule and use off the timer. I've been using my good old wake up alarm. It's a pain to keep setting it though. Upside is I already use the trick of putting it at the other end of the room so I have to get up to turn it off.
I've just started the Dymaxion routine with my boyfriend today. Just had my 3rd nap 3 hours ago. Ok I didn't actually sleep for any of those 3 naps but I'll have a proper nap soon, I hope. The boyfriend faded on me though. After nap 3 he just rolled over and carried on sleeping. I woke him up a few times and he said "I'm just going to lie here for a bit." and passed out again. Oh well. Guess I'm doing it alone.
Lucky for me I've got 6 weeks off to get used to this new routine.
Good luck for when you try the other systems out again!

I've been thinking about starting the Dymaxion sleep cycle myself, so your posts are very interesting. I have one major concern though. How can you get the right amounts of melatonin? To the best of my knowledge it's a pretty important hormone, and it's production peaks at night. Any light, even small amounts of it, can really slow it's production. If you were up and about all night, wouldn't the body's melatonin production come to a halt?

Hm good point about the melatonin! I read on wikipedia that wearing glasses that block blue light should reduce melatonin loss. And then there's this, could melatonin be related to the increase in vivid dreaming in polyphasic sleep?

Anyway, I'm doing the Everyman 3-nap schedule. It's been around 10 days (not quite sure exactly, I don't make any logs), and so far it's going pretty fine I think (I've overslept only one core sleep, and one-two naps). Usually it's hardest to wake up after the core sleep, e.g. today I needed maybe 2 hours to completely wake up. I mean I got up, walking around, watching tv, and so on, but it took me quite some time until I was able to fully open my eyes :-) But then during the day usually it's all fine.

Lately I've got quite interested in the Dymaxion (the Uberman just sounds like pain in the ass with its 6 naps). So I've realized, this Everyman 3-nap is very similar to Dymaxion, where instead of the core sleep you have another nap. After adapting to the Everyman first, it should be fairly easy to switch to Dymaxion, for example by gradually reducing core sleep from 3, to 2, 1 and then 0.5 hours (and adjusting the other naps accordingly, add one more hour between them and make them 10 minutes longer).

As it seems to me, replacing the core sleep with a nap would probably not make a huge difference (in fact it might be better, given how easy it is to oversleep the core sleep). OTOH, adding one more hour between the naps, now that might be tricky. I usually get very sleepy during the last hour before the nap (unless I'm doing something interesting). Adding one more hour to that would make it a lot lot harder to survive until the nap. Though I probably can't judge correctly right now, as I'm still in the adapting period, it will for sure get better once you get fully adapted to it. And then Dymaxion might not sound so impossible :-)

Damn, it's been a while since I've written this much text on a forum :D

There's just the thing with Dymaxion that there isn't any reliable accounts (from which I know at least) that it's even possible. I tried it last winter, but failed pretty miserably. Of course none of those polyphasic dream schedules are easy, but dymaxion ought to be near-impossible. I tried it for a month (though the last attempts were on uberman). I'm going to try uberman again this July.

@ switchbadger:
Yeah, I remember it took me a while before I started falling asleep for my naps, but after a few days that problem mostly went away. Good luck with your Dymaxion attempt!

@ KingCarnie:
Thanks for mentioning melatonin levels, that sounds like something I'd like to research (which is a fancy way of saying I don't know). In my more recent polyphasic attempt, I did the Everyman sleep schedule, and my 3-hour core sleep was at night when melatonin is supposed to peak (maybe that helps...?). A quick Google search shows self test kit's for measuring your melatonin levels...but that's about $80. If I could find a cheaper way of doing it, I'd love to have that kind of data for my next polyphasic attempt. I'd have to have at least two data points; one taken while still on monophasic, and one after adjusting to the new sleep schedule.

@ dimitar:
Thanks for the link, I'll have to look into those blue light blocking goggles. During my Everyman approach, I definitely had the most problems with the core sleep also, although for me it was more that I'd oversleep the core but generally be fine during my waking periods.

Sounds like a good approach to adjusting to Dymaxion. I would probably pick a core sleep more like 1.5 hours, though, for transitioning because it's closer to the length of a regular sleep cycle. Otherwise you might wind up waking up out of a weird phase of sleep and be groggy. Generally speaking, I try to keep my periods of sleep either to multiples of 1.5 hours for core sleep or a 20-30 minute nap. Anything in between doesn't work as well. (At least theoretically. There is a little bit of wiggle room with the core sleep, because the sleep cycles can be anywhere from 90-110 minutes.)

@ Jakro:
The only successful attempt at Dymaxion I've heard of was Buckminster Fuller, who invented it and was on it for about 2 years. And I later heard that he came up with it by sleeping when he was tired and recording when those times were and they just happened to 30 minute increments every six hours. Kind of different from the approach most of us take trying to adjust to it :roll: In any case, it's definitely a challenge, to say the least.

Good luck with Uberman :)

Hey I started the dymexion as well,
I honestly just need more time in the day to get stuff done,

I am doing good, my biggest problem, like I noticed with you as well, is the falling back asleep after the alarm goes off, I am going to go on a 5 minute walk the second my alarm goes off as a fix to this, your post regarding this helped, thanks:)

It seems like it can/would tottally work, I have more energy, and more hours in the day, it's all about getting up when the alarm goes off, but very doeable if you can.

Exercise seems to help ALOT as well

dymaxion*

is there a technique for school days like it would be strange for someone to sleep at school ,duh!

you can expiriment with the times of naps i.e. move them an hour forward or back, go to wikipedia and type in polyphasic sleeping, if you're in school maybe trying a version of the uberman would be best with only two naps a day, or the evryman
:)

I really want to do the dymaxion sleep cycle! I saw it and pretty much wanted it for the same reasons you did.

The only 2 that where possible for me where everyman and dymaxion because of the longer amounts of time awake. I have a few questions about the Dymaxion cycle though. First does the awake times have to be 5.5 hours or could you shift one to 6.5 and another to 4.5? Just so u can prolong it to fit your schedule? Im just wondering on the flexability of that. Also i was told that for the Dymaxion naps you only had the lee way of +/- 15 mins, is this true? Or is it only true for the first 21 days?

I am currently on the everyman cycle, I am 4 days in. I feel that I am adjusting ridiculously fast compared to others from what i have read. I am doing the everyman 3 cycle. So i get 4 hours of sleep a day. I would love to cut that down by 2 and be on the dymaxion but I am cautious about the fact if i miss 1 on dymaxion im fucked.

I will probably start the Dymaxion at the end of first semester of uni. To your knowledge what would u say the best times to sleep are to have the least interuptions from sleep in a day. I liked the Idea of yours but think this could be better 0100 - 0130 then 0700 - 0730 then 1300 - 1330 then 1900 - 1930 can u see any imediate problems with this pattern?.

Hey everyone, I came across this thread and feel like bumping it. I'm starting the Dymaxion cycle today after 20 days of the Everyman cycle as of today.

how are you spacing your naps? evey 5.5 hours? My revised Dymaxion sleep pattern is going to be for semester 2: First 30 min nap at 0220-0250 then part 1 of day is 0250-0730 (4hours 40mins) then 30 nap from 0730-0800, day part 2 is 0800-1310 (5hours 10mins) then 30 min nap 1310-1340, day part 3 is 1340-1930 (5hours 50mins awake) then 30 min nap 1930-2000, day part 4 is 2000-0220 (6hours 20mins awake. I found that this way I can still go to social events in the evening that start around 7 and just be a little late, as well as being able to go to town an stay up with friends. My everyman gets me sleeping at 12:50 which is just to early to stay out all night with friends. Another reason i suggest times like this is that only 1 nap will be inside of normal working hours of 9-5, this leaves you with only the 1310-1340 nap to find a good place to nap.

I will be starting this in juneish. At the moment I am on a everyman cycle with core sleep 0050-0350 and 3 naps 0740-0800, 1310-1330, 1930-1950

Due to school times, I have to space my naps a little oddly. Something like this.
0000-0030, 0500-0530, 1420-1450, 1800-1830.