A Late Nap After A Late Morning

4:33 p.m.
I was very worried today because I realized around two thirty that I was not sleeping and had forgotten about the afternoon sleep cycle.  Initially I was even more frustrated as I had already messed up today but I think it become something positive.  I went to sleep at 3:00 and I fell asleep pretty fast.  I went to sleep quickly and this shows that I have practiced falling asleep enough that I can now make my body sleep much better than I could before.  This is very useful as I almost always had difficulty falling asleep. 

Happy Canada day!

 The other good thing that came out of this is the fact that I have utilized a rest period at 1:00, 2:00 and 3:00.  Three different times for my afternoon nap and they were all done successfully. This is exciting because it means that this rest period is very flexible.  If you’re looking to try this biphasic cycle, don’t worry about needing a very strict schedule because you can actually change the time around daily. Granted, I haven’t strayed outside of the three hours but I don’t think much more than that would be an effective sleep schedule.  This is still good news either way.

Art Work Is Almost Done. New Cycle?

Almost done!

4:17 p.m.
I had my afternoon sleep period at 2:00 today and it went well.  I went to sleep within minutes and even though I felt a little groggy afterwards I was still refreshed.  As far as this morning went however, I was slightly tired up until about 9:00 or 10:00.  I’m not sure for the reasoning behind this as the mornings have usually been a time of alertness so far.  I don’t think that this was a sign for concern as it was only a slight drowsiness and I functioned completely fine.

This morning I got a lot of stuff done.  I did some work for my dad, I almost finished the art work that I had posted earlier in the blog and I also updated the blog a bit.  I don’t know if the sleep cycle has given me a new mentality or it just allows me to get more work done but for the amount of work that I have completed I am very satisfied.

I have no side effects to mention although I had been thinking and since this biphasic sleep cycle has gone so well and the transition has been relatively easy, I might be able to try another sleep routine later this summer.  I would like to try something that has even less rest in it.  I am thinking of the dymaxion cycle.  For information or an easy to understand graph, go here.  This cycle looks to be the most extreme as it calls for four 30 minute naps a day.  That’s a total of two hours slept a day.  Hopefully that will provide a greater challenge.

Let me know what you think of these ideas!

The Basics

June 3
I’m going to sleep for five and a half hours a day. This is called the Biphasic cycle and is the one that I will be using.  I decided on this one because it takes the least amount of will power of all the sleep cycles except of course for the mono-phase, which is by far the most common sleep cycle ever. 
  
What surprised me a few months ago is that there are many alternatives to the common eight hours of sleep a night.  The only other cycle I had heard of was the Uberman; 20 or 30 minute naps six times a day.  I dismissed this because like most people, it’s not realistic for me.  I go to school and play football.  I cannot take naps throughout the day, it’s just not accepted.  Could you imagine if I said to my coach “could you just let me sit out for this set of drills; I need to catch up on my sleep.” Laughter from my teammates and disbelief from my coach would ensue.  The Everyman cycle involves a three hour nap added with three half hour naps while the Dymaxion cycle is four thirty minute naps throughout the day.  These have all been tried successfully before. 
  
I decided to nix those cycles and attempt the biphasic for one main reason; schedule.  I will be returning to high school in the fall for my last year.  As mentioned before, I can’t depend on another cycle throughout a school year.  This isn’t realistic.  The Biphasic cycle allows me to sleep at night, like everyone else but gives me an extra few hours during the day by adding a one and a half hour nap shortly after lunch.  I plan to achieve this be using a spare (period without a class) to catch up on my rest.  Whether this nap is done by going home or by finding a place within my school, (Brantford Collegiate Institute) I’m not sure yet.  I will decide when the time comes.
  
I have decided to structure this experiment or hopefully book by setting it up as a journal.  Experts have said that it takes ten days for one’s body to accept a new sleep cycle.  Throughout these days I will be writing down how my body and mind react to such a trial.  I will also keep journaling during the summer months as long as there is something significant to write down.  I will also examine how my school year is performed.  I imagine that there will be much to read about during the first month of this experiment, not much in the middle as my body has fully adjusted and then much again to read about as I have to adapt to the school year. 
  
I’m exciting to try this experiment as I have seen that those who try this have become more creative without any negative side effects.  If this experiment is performed    successfully I hope to someday set a sleep cycle revolution, if you will, in place.  This is to allow people the opportunity to use a different cycle without being prejudiced against.
  
I’ll use my Blackberry to set off alarms to keep me on schedule.  That said, you will not hear from me again for at least two or three weeks (until exams are over).