Days 16 thru 21

I have been remiss in updating my account of my journey into polyphasicness. On day 16 I slept 5 hours that night, then 9 hours on day 17. My concentration was failing; I had a dull aching sensation in the front of my brain; I needed rest. I felt if I got some rest I might be able to continue. So I did, and then I easily slipped back into a polyphasic schedule, this time, with renewed vigor. I have been sleeping between 3 1/2 and 5 1/2 hours per night each night, depending on how I feel that I can handle the next day, but on average I would say 4 hours a night. My naps have been longer, between 20 and 40 minutes (on average 30 minutes) to help me maintain this schedule. I know this is not as concise nor as optimal as the proscribed Everyman schedule - I assume many people sleep only 4-5 hours per night and get by even without naps, but for me personally this is a huge step forward and huge improvement over my 8 hours of sleep a night I previously required. Perhaps at 50, it takes my body longer to adapt to a new way of sleeping, or perhaps it is merely my physiology. If it is physiology, then this would explain why so many people fail, and perhaps provide a recourse for them to reach Everyman, and in time, perhaps Uberman. I certainly feel more normal than I did on the first leg of my attempt (before the 9-hour night), and maybe I will continue to pare down my sleep and hone my nap technique until I can adapt to polyphasary.

I should mention that yesterday and today were my first standard workdays on a polyphasic sleep schedule. I got 5 hours of sleep the night before the first day to ensure that I had enough focus to teach competently throughout the day, then last night I got 3 1/2. I did my gym workout last night (deadlifts - weights improving) and with a 30-minute nap at noon and at about 6pm each day, plus a 40-minute nap in the evening I'm feeling quite well and happy to continue; certainly this is taking less effort than the first leg of my attempt.

To nap at work, I went to my car, reclined the driver's seat and turned on the engine to idle to provide heat (it's a little chilly in Milwaukee yet this time of year.) The first day I didn't sleep, but today sleep was easily within reach, and quite refreshing. I do believe practice makes perfect.

Another thing I should mention is that people told me I "looked like hell" during the first phase of my attempt, with bulging bags under my eyes. I have not heard that so far during my second attempt, maybe my body is adapting.