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Hey Guys!

Well, it’s been another 48 hours, and there have been some mishaps and some triumphs during this trial.

Let’s get the mishaps out of the way first.

I’ve had 2 oversleeps, one was a couple hours, and the other was around 6.  Now, I’m not one to defend myself, because defend oneself serves the purpose to protect your ego.  It means that you don’t want to hear or can’t take criticism, and that’s not what I’m about at all.

Instead, I’m going to explain why these oversleeps have been beneficial, as well as the negative effects.

The main negative effect of oversleeping is this: it takes longer to adapt.  Instead of it being 3-4 days, it makes it a couple days longer, depending on how much you overlseep.

This is because your brain has gotten it’s precious REM and no longer needs to be put into survival mode.  And without your brain going into survival mode, polyphasic sleep simply isn’t possible.

The other negative effect is that it makes you feel even more tired than if you had kept on going.  Counterintuitive, isn’t it?

Despite these negative side effects, I have found some wonderful benefits.  The first being this.  I made it past the 48 hour mark.  The first 48-60 hours of the adaption are the hardest.  After that, it’s basically downhill.  (And I don’t mean to say that it’s easy after that, it’s just easier than the first 48 hours, in which you feel like the living dead…)

Making it past the 48 hour mark is a new achievement for me, which gives me motivation to keep going.

Another reason that I know that I am well on my way to adaption is because I started experiencing both REM in my sleep as well as some time dilation.  Both of these traits are key indicators that an adaption is going well.

To be honest about the situation, the oversleep wasn’t because I was too tired.  It happened because one of my alarm clocks failed to pull through.  My actual alarm clock went off just fine, but during this point in the adaption, it’s common to not even wake up to your alarm.  Some even get up and turn it off without even knowing it.

The second alarm that I have is my partner in crime.  That’s the one that failed to pull through for me.  She fell asleep, and was unable to wake me up.  Hence, I slept through the alarm both times, accounting for both of my oversleeps.

Plan Revised…

We both realized that she was staying up to many long hours, and her body had begun to shut down as well.  To compromise, she know sleeps any time that I feel awake and alert enough to keep going.  I wake her up before each of my naps, and she wakes me up after I’m done with the nap.  (And usually goes straight back to sleep…;) )

This new plan has been working out quite well.  No oversleeps for the past 15-20 hours or so, and I’m nearing the halfway point again of the first 48 hours.  Tomorrow will be quite hellish, but I’ve been through it once, and I know I can do it again.

Strangely enough, after my second oversleep I started dreaming in all of my naps, save the last one I took.  Along with these dreams I experienced a tiny bit of time dilation, which helps with feeling rested.

All in All

This trial is going quite well.  As with any new major adjustment, there have been setbacks and unexpected trials, but with each new mistake I learn a valuable lesson towards the goal of becoming a polyphasic sleeper.

I’m excited to see what the next 24 hours hold, and the 24 beyond that as well.

I expect (and this is an educated guess) that I will be adapted to polyphasic sleep within the next 72 hours.  Break that down, and that only leaves 18 naps.

After physically adjusting to polyphasic sleep, I will also have to adjust psychologically as well.  Becoming a polyphasic sleeper literally rewires your brain in terms of how it perceives and deals with the passage of time.

For some, it’s a but much to handle.  For others, it’s an adventure.  I fall happily within the second category.

Wrapping Up

That’s about it for now, I still have some interesting ideas that I’m testing during this trial pertaining to sleep and such, which I will be sharing shortly after a few more tests.

Also, I apologize for the recent lack of content lately.  I’ve been diving head first into some great personal development material, and haven’t been as focused.

On the plus side, I’ve got at least 20 new, incredibly useful articles in mind for the near future.  Stay tuned!

(p.s.  If you didn’t see my silly video from the second night of the trial, it’s a good laugh, check it out here and feel free to tell me how crazy I am.  Polyphasic Sleep Log – Day 2)

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