Consistency, Finally

6:16 a.m.
Good morning everyone.  If you were wondering if I stayed up until 1:00 last and got out of bed this morning on time, the answer would be yes.  Two days in a row now I have stayed right on schedule.  Last night though I went to bed ten minutes early because I was very tired.  I was actually tired at about 9:00 p.m.  I am going to chalk that up to me not getting a full one hour sleep.  Overall though, I am pretty happy with the results.

Talking to my girlfriend yesterday she had said that she wanted to try the cycle and was actually planning on starting last night but I don’t think she did.  I encouraged her to do so since if my routine becomes boring and predictable, I can post her results from the beginning.  This would provide a cool contrast between two peoples experiences especially since she is much more forgetfull and laid back about her routines.  Either way, I’ll give you a heads up.  Unless you want to hear her results sooner just comment or tweet me that that’s the case and I’ll get on it.

Another Late Morning

7:56 a.m.
I slept in again today.  If it weren’t for sleeping in I would have no problems with my experiment.  However, as it is, I’m sleeping in about half the time.  This is getting to be very frustrating since it would make the project pointless if I continue to do so.  I hope that simply hitting the snooze button no matter how awake I am will do the trick.  I haven’t once used it so far because I didn’t feel like had a need for it.  I’m thinking much differently at this point.

Last night went well, I stayed up right until 1:00 p.m. and I watched my first episode of Mad Men.  It’s very well done but I’d recommend watching it in order and not jumping in wherever your older brother is.  I was glad to have stayed up that late even though I almost dozed off a couple times and was drowsy.

My typical breakfast, delicious

So as this post shows you, I’m doing the sleep cycle but it’s the details that I’m getting ahold of.  I don’t have anything wrong with me mentally or physically and I’ll stop telling you that after this because I haven’t felt off since the first couple days.

Some Bumps Along The Way

6:19 a.m.
Again I did it this morning.  I woke up at five a.m. when my alarm went off then I lied down and fell asleep until six.  Yesterday I was okay with it but today I’m frustrated.  This needs to stop as sleeping for an extra hour a day is not part of the experiment and is cheating.  Tomorrow I will have to get up and walk around like I mentioned earlier.
 
I also fell asleep half an hour early last night so that’s upsetting as well.  I guess I spoke too soon when I said that this project was going well and it was easy.  As of now, I have gotten up at the right time two of the four mornings.  I have went to bed three of the five nights.  These are not good numbers. 
  
I guess I should keep in mind that I have read that it takes ten days to fully switch over sleep cycles. This had been my goal before but I had just been thinking that it would take ten days to not be really tired in the day.  I’m not sure if they meant ten days to be able to fall asleep and get up on time.
  
I don’t want to speak too soon but it appears that the afternoon rest period is the only one that has been constant for me.  This at least, is a good sign.
  
I’m not experiencing any physical or mental side effects at this point.  I’m just frustrated with myself that I haven’t been able to stay up and then get up when I have needed to.  If you guys have any suggestions you can tweet me or let me know in the comments.

Second Post of the First Day

9:10 a.m.
It feels extremely odd that I have been up for four hours and normally I would have been just getting started in my first class at school.  As of now it feels that I have opened my whole day up and I have an endless amount of time to do whatever I please.  So far I have read, set up the blog, and watched an episode of criminal minds (I dozed off for the last ten minutes).  I have been very lazy for four hours but the thing is it’s only nine o’clock in the morning; I still have my whole day ahead of me, except of course for one nap.
  
As I mentioned before, I dozed off for no more then ten minutes.  I wouldn’t be so concerned about this except I am not tired at all.  This is bad news because from about 7:00 until 8:20 I was extremely drowsy resulting in me resting for a few moments.  I wasn’t sure if I would be able to stay up until 2 o’clock on the first day.  Even if when switching sleep cycles you’re not supposed to be able to stay up for the nine or ten hours after the first night I count this as a loss.
 
The last thing to note is my hunger.  Normally I have dinner at around six or seven then don’t eat until breakfast twelve hours later.  That is pretty average for human’s eating habits. What I thought would happen was that my body wouldn’t get hungry until seven in the morning and I could continue to have three meals a day.  This is not the case.  Even though I had steak last night at six, I was extremely hungry at 5 a.m. today.  And since about seven I have been starving.  That’s why I am about to make some eggs for my second breakfast. I also had a banana at around six thirty but I’m counting that as my first breakfast.  It appears right now that I will have to eat about five meals a day with smaller portions.  The approximate times they would happen would be about 5:00, 7:30/8:00, noon, 6:00 and 10:00.  I don’t mind this new meal schedule at all and if I remember correctly, many smaller meals is actually much healthier.
  
I’m wide awake and alert which concerns me because of my ten minute nap.  I am also very hungry.  My mental state appears to be fine (maybe skittish) but I just noticed now as I’m typing that my hands are shaking.  I could attribute that to the fact that I’m slightly cold even with a cardigan on.
  
I thought about changing into pants because I was cold earlier (I never experienced being awake on purpose that early before). However, I decided against it not wanting to change outfits multiple times a day.  I think that I may have to wear pants and sweaters in the morning then change into shorts and t-shirts around noon or before my second rest period. 
  
I should have another update after three o’clock.

Morning After the First Night

6:09 a.m. June 26, 2012
Running sucks.  I thought that it would be a good way to start the day and it was.  That doesn’t change that it sucks.  I woke up at 5:00 a.m. right on schedule and was going to go for a run right away but it was still too dark.  Instead I had breakfast and waited half an hour.  Do not eat cheerio’s minutes before you go for any kind of run.  That’s an important lesson.
  
This morning when I awoke I did not feel rested at all.  I slept for nearly the entire 1 to 5 time-period with a little trouble at the start just because my body hasn’t had the need to fall asleep right away.  Nevertheless, I guess that I fell asleep with twenty minutes after 1 o’clock.  However, when I woke up I felt like I hadn’t gotten any rest at all.  This was not a problem until just now as my head is starting to feel a little funny.   It has a tinge of a headache and my head almost feels light headed.  I don’t quite feel myself this morning, (I had developed a bit of a sore throat a few days ago.  The physical senses being a little off might be a direct cause of having a small cold).
  
Last night it felt very odd making myself stay up until one o’clock when my body was telling me to go to sleep.  I watched the daily show, the Colbert Report and Conan.  Upon telling my girlfriend that I was in the midst of watching these, in all her subtly she texted me, “Ohhh so this sleep cycle will give you lots more time to watch tv.”  This was not my intention; to watch more TV.  I had just watched these shows to keep me up last night.  However, she raised a question that I had to mull over; “What am I going to do with all the extra time?”  I will attempt to finish as many side projects as I can.  These include unfinished paintings, short stories, books I’ve yet to read and other small undertakings.  So I guess that’s my goal; to have more time to complete more things.
  
It is now that I feel my stomach not agreeing with something.  Was it the cheerio’s before my morning run? Quite possibly.  It also could be messing around with me since I am messing around with my body.  I will comment later.
  
I guess I had not told my parents about this sleep cycle as both asked me at separate times this morning why I was up.  They showed some interest that I am starting a sleep cycle.  I am glad that I did not wake anyone up today though as the alarm went off for a couple minutes and the shower was turned on before six o’clock.
  
Looking back I realize that I have not disclosed my actual schedule.  It is simple and is as follows: 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. is sleeping time.  2 p.m. to 3p.m. is also sleeping time.  That’s all for now.  If I decide to include other activities in my schedule such as my morning runs or yard work I will write it down.
  
I have done minimal research so my hope is that the afternoon sleeping period is very flexible. I mean that some days I can start it at twelve and go to one or start it later at four or five.  If I have to rest at one o’clock everyday then this experiment becomes very restricting.
  
After the first night my body feels off and uncomfortable.  My eyes feel as if I have just woken up an hour and a half after I woke up.  My stomach feels funny and my head isn’t doing too well either.  Last night was a bit of a challenge to stay awake and I don’t feel rested.  I feel as if I am running off of four hours of sleep (makes sense).  As of now I am very much looking forward to my afternoon nap.

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).