Part 2

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I felt reasonably energized and rested throughout the day. I have read numerous accounts of how difficult it has been for some people to transition to Polyphasic Sleeping. Some have tried to avoid exercise for the first week or so. Despite this caveat, the weather today was so nice that I just had to work out. I was curious to see how my body would respond.


Prior to using the Dymaxion Sleep Schedule I have been capable of running at a high level. Running as much as 6 miles at a fast pace was not a difficult task just a week ago. Today I attempted to run to an outdoor lifting facility. As I ran, my legs felt about five time as heavy as they usually do. I had a lot of trouble synchronizing my stride, and I never felt like I was running fluidly and effortlessly. I also had a lot of trouble running at the high pace that I usually try to sustain. I felt that if I had to make a quick dash, that I would not have been able to go nearly as fast as I am used to. My feebleness could be due to the fact that I am just now getting over a very minor cold that hit me about a week ago, and I haven't been running in several days.


Despite my disappointment with my running ability, my cardiovascular endurance and my upper body strength have not lost any ground whatsoever. If anything, I felt that I was breathing more relaxedly, sweating less, and lifting weights more effortlessly.

After running and showering, I felt very relaxed but very tired. I had the most trouble that I have ever had making it to a nap checkpoint. That said, I did succeed in staying awake until 6:30pm (which was my next napping checkpoint at the time). Unfortunately, my phone alarm went off but it was so quiet that I slept right through it for an extra hour. This is the first time that I have overslept since starting the formal Dymaxion Sleeping Schedule.

It is frustrating to be so dependent on an alarm. After waking, I went straight away to purchase another alarm. For my next nap I will set my phone alarm, my newly purchased clock alarm, and my computer alarm. This way I can literally rest assured that I will not oversleep.

I have read other Dymaxion Sleepers say that oversleeping can result in extreme disorientation and can offset the individual's adaptation progress. However, the oversleeping does not seem to have affected me in a negative way. I feel relaxed, alert, and sharp-witted.

The first full day of Dymaxion Sleeping has been a very long one. I actively acknowledged the start of this day at 1am, and I will mentally say goodbye to this day before my next nap 12:30am. This means that I have been (with the exception of 3 naps) for 23 hours and 30 minutes. This is truly a fascinating phenomenon since in the past my waking days were often only 14-16 hours long. So far, my adaptation process has been efortless and enjoyable.

sleep well :)

Part 1

For the purpose of blogging, I have put some thought into the question of when to start a "day" . Now that I am not sleeping for more than 30 minutes at a given time, my perception of a day is not quite as clear.

I have decided to name days as a calendar does. When the clock changes from 11:59pm to 12:00am to 12:01am, the day changes from day n to day n+1.

I just woke up from my first ever 12:30am 30 minute nap. It is now 1:00am on Saturday. I will call this the beginning of Day 1.

How shall I describe what I am feeling right now? I do not feel tired. But, I also do not feel like I am surging with energy. My eyes feel as if they are somewhat refreshed, but I expect that in 4 hours or so they will feel tired and stiff. My body does not ache or cry out to me in any way. I feel very relaxed, as if I just returned from one of the two-hour yoga sessions that I partook in last fall.

This relaxed state helps to calm(pun intended) one of my reservations about the Dymaxion Sleeping Schedule which is the fear of increased levels of stress. While researching, I have come upon claims that monophasic sleeping (normal people's sleeping [i will refer to normal people as muggles until my current ennui returns]) includes several sleep cycles in which breathing becomes slower and more rhythmic and the muscles go into a deep state of relaxation.

However, I have read many accounts written of and by polyphasic sleepers and I have frequently seen them say that they feel much more relaxed and at peace. I am almost certain that in my current hyper-relaxed state that my breathing is deep and rhythmic and that the majority of my muscles are very relaxed.

This leads me to a thought that has been recurring in my mind for quite some time. I feel that polyphasic sleepers lack the ability to put their body in a restful and recuperative position without falling asleep. It is important that polyphasic sleepers have several hours each 24 hour period (each day) in which there body is relaxed and inactive.

I suspect that these inactive hours are mainly spent sitting in a chair of some kind. I think that sitting in a chair poses some undeniable problems to the goal of negligible strain on the body. For instance, right now my legs feel quite relaxed but my upper-body faces a slight dilemma: I must either exercise good posture and put physical strain on my lower back for long periods of time or slouch slightly thereby misaligning the spine for long periods of time. I am merely suggesting that a new method of relaxing while awake has the potential to greatly benefit the future and practicality of polyphasic sleeping.

I really do feel very comfortable, relaxed, happy, and excited right now. More updates to come later on in the very very long day ahead of me.

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