polyphasic sleep
I know that hackers (in all senses of the word) as a rule tend to have odd sleep patterns so this seems as good a place as any to post this.
I've recently been reading about polyphasic sleep or sleeping for about 15-20 min. Every 4 hours or so. This would lead to about 2 hours of sleep per day. 14 hours per week out of the possible 168. So I will try to shift over to this cycle over the next week. As proof I'll be posting about once per hour unless the mods tell me not to. This means that afterwords I will either a) have succeeded b) Be batshit insane c) be dead or d) failed and given up.
In the mean time does any one have any thoughts opinions arguments on the matter of sleep? You can even flame if you want, it might help keep me amused and awake.
Sleep deprivation is dangerous!
It is a torture technique,it can make you have illusions,and even make you become completely delusional and paranoid :)
It can even induce a comatose like sleep-state.
These are no experiments that you should take lightly.I don't know if you have any clue wtf it is that you are trying to do?Do you even know yourself WHY you would try such a thing without professional guidance?
You are willing to fuck with your own brain,while you have no fucking clue about what's going on at molecular level in your body :/
omg.
darksun wrote: Sleep deprivation is dangerous!
It is a torture technique,it can make you have illusions,and even make you become completely delusional and paranoid :)
It can even induce a comatose like sleep-state.
These are no experiments that you should take likely.I don't know if you have any clue wtf it is that you are trying to do?Do you even know yourself WHY you would try such a thing without professional guidance?
You are willing to fuck with your own brain,while you have no fucking clue about what's going on at molecular level in your body :/
omg.
The year following my beating, I went into complete isolation from everyone; that is I only programmed for a solid year. I didn't eat, and I slept VERY rarely; I was terrified to fall asleep. Lol, I remember one time I was running down the stairs of my completely pitch black house, only a ray of light shining through one window and I saw my shadow and it nearly stopped my heart. That's how completely batshit insane I was. That's how I came up with my alias SlpCtrl. I made it while just completely batshit insane from sleep deprivation, lack of any nutrients because I wasn't eating, isolation. I tortured myself for a solid year basically. I'm willing to bet very few people could do it but who knows :p
slpctrl, most people could probably do it as long as it's not made by their choice alone, but instead at least partially forced upon them. Many horrible things happen to people that normally you wouldn't get through if you have the attitude of I'm doing it to try it out and with knowing that you've got the option to just quit, you will. If it's on the other hand forced upon you then you're shocked, get used to the situation for the time being and change to survive with it. You might technically have the option to quit, but at some level from shock, or something else you're still mentally not at the point of grasping the just quit situation, sometimes not physically either. Afterwards you might yourself be amazed how you managed to get through it.
Well I've always suffered from somewhat of a bit of insomnia, and my family isn't exactly a stranger to insanity but I think it will be alright. Today is just day one so not much is going to happen till at least days 2 and 3.
I'm not really going into this blind, just somewhat vision impaired. For the curious here is a blog by someone else I found that was switching over to this type of sleep cycle.
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/10/polyphasic-sleep/
(—jeez slpctrl that must have really sucked––)
@ op: Please don't be stupid. You said you have been reading about it for 20 minutes? Well then I guess you know everything… You aren't necessarily missing something if you don't try everything. Just get a taste, imagine, and quite while you can.
I've had a pretty good-sized dose of insomnia for a couple years now, and I have done the whole thing where you try to induce drug-like experiences through sleep deprivation, set records (like you), work or read for long periods of time, and other similar things. But to me the potential benefit of polyphasic-sleeping wasn't getting less sleep, but getting more productive sleep. If you are tired, then go to fucking sleep!! You body sends you signals like that for a FUCKING REASON!
While I have changed the topic to efficiency rather than setting some stupid personal record, you should also read up on diet and exercise. If you don't like sleep because it is a time killer, then there are other, simpler, healthier ways to get what you want.
2 more predictions: You don't have a job, do you? And please tell me that you aren't planning to stay awake by drinking a lot of energy drinks. If you take 2,000 mg of caffeine right before you go to sleep, you will definitely have some pretty productive sleep. The only problem is it usually feels like your brain is bleeding/dripping something inside your head. Sleep deprivation works a similar miracle.
@ slpctrl, similar experience. Worst trip ever. I don't know or remember if I have dreams any more. I just sort of black out, and wake up. Now it always just feels too weird to miss that big of a chunk of time. I don't want to get too personal. No regrets though.
I'm willing to bet very few people could do it but who knows One life lesson I took to heart is: never underestimate a person's ability to do something stupid or loose control. I learned that from school.
Ah, I didn't say I had been reading about it for 20 min. I said the plan called for increments of 20 min. of sleep. I should have made that more clear. I have been interested in the mind and improving it in various ways for quite a few years now. I'm not doing this for this for the sake of productivity or to set a record while those are certainly nice I have more than enough free time now and don't really care to brag.
I do technically have a job, but it does kinda seem as though I don't as its just a lame freelance writing job, lowest bidder type stuff.
This is true, will power is pretty easy to test. Honestly I'm doing this as kind of a way to counter my screen name as well. I have a huge problem focusing on projects and this one seemed like it might be one of the more difficult ones to try. I've done other things in the past such as trying to write ambidextrously and switching to the Dvorak keyboard method in the name of improvement… even though it didn't seem to actually improve things all that much. (Except for carpel tunnel Dvorak layout is pretty good for that).
I'm not really sure why I do so, maybe for the sake of curiosity I guess?
well, try it and see how it works. I tried the same thing and it didn't especially work.
As for focusing and productivity I would recommend: exercise, diet (check out ginkgo biloba), getting to work as soon as you wake up, learning when to take a break from work, time management and if how tired you are is a factor, ordering tasks by complexity.
Multi-tasking, and longer hours never worked for me.
Sound advice. As for the longer hours thing, polyphasic sleep will actually have the reverse effect as one would basically be sleeping every 4 hours anyways. The real problems are with getting the REM sleep to adjust properly and whether the body can easily compensate for the lack of the other types of sleep. Even if they are useful it seems likely that they could be replaced except for REM sleep.
—I really should spell check my posts before posting them, not after—
Do you mean this article: http://lifehacker.com/345828/stay-functional-on-two-hours-of-sleep-a-night It was an easy Google search away….
Yep, my problem is with my bad track record with dreams. I usually never remember a dream. The few occasions where I had a lucid dream they immediately started to dissolve, and when I tried to stay asleep the process only slowed down. My subconscious really doesn't like me knowing about my dreams.
Earlier on I said I would post once per hour to show I was awake. However, this could generate a lot of spam. So I've thought of a workaround I will post a new one once per hour, then edit it the next hour thus generating 2 time stamps for with only 1 post.
Quick check to see if time stamps stack.
skathgh420 wrote: You will once it starts getting bad. Trust me sleep problems are BAD! ;)
I disagree. I could go on a 5 page rant on how cutting back sleep has effected my life for the positive. I'm in 10X better shape physically and mentally. It's just a routine I guess I donno. I feel so much sharper at everything B).
slpctrl wrote: [quote]skathgh420 wrote: You will once it starts getting bad. Trust me sleep problems are BAD! ;)
I disagree. I could go on a 5 page rant on how cutting back sleep has effected my life for the positive. I'm in 10X better shape physically and mentally. It's just a routine I guess I donno. I feel so much sharper at everything B).[/quote]
Well than you obviously haven't had a REAL sleeping problem, when I say I have insomnia I don't mean I get a couple hours of sleep a night. I mean I don't sleep a lot of night's and stay up for day's…..
dex_poet wrote: [quote]skathgh420 wrote: Well than you obviously haven't had a REAL sleeping problem, when I say I have insomnia I don't mean I get a couple hours of sleep a night. I mean I don't sleep a lot of night's and stay up for day's…..
Congratulations! You Won!! Not.[/quote]
Could you please specify on what I have won? As I am unsure of what you are talking about? I was just stating a point. (that being that I actually have a real sleeping problem)
Sleeping problems a new source of pride? More at eleven.
Anyways I seem to be reaching the point were it is most difficult to avoid sleeping to much. Part of this process involves forcing oneself to sleep for 20 or so minutes every 4 hours. Last time I slept for 40 or so by accident. It'll only get harder from here.
Quick side topic. When I woke up afterwords I was partially numb, sorta like the feeling you get when you sit on your leg too long except everywhere. At first I was worried, but I'd skipped sleep for longer than this before. Then I remembered, sleepwalking.
So quick quiz, what happened?(I'm not looking for anything specific just the general theory.)
––am i the only one still up? Oh well. edited for time stamp––––
haha this sounds interesting. i would like to know how this turns out for you, although my predictions would be grim. 15 to 20 minutes every 4 hours does not seem like enough. no REM sleep, sounds like its gunna fuck you up good. just my opinion, im no doctor.
it is funny how hackers seem to have sleeping problems. maybe looking at screens late at night and shifting sleeping patterns is part of it. interesting data.
i dont have "insomnia" per se, but i certainly do not sleep well. maybe its more of a schedule thing. i go to bed at 4 am and wake up at… yeah… 12 or 1 pm. kinda ruins your whole day. thats my summer schedule at least.
altough i often do take "power naps" as i call them, usually 20 minutes in length. it does seem to replenish me without tiring me out, i usually take one every day when i get home. i do like them quite a lot, although as an ALTERNATIVE to sleeping doesnt bid well.
good luck my friend! sometimes i try crazy shit like that. me and my friend once agreed to not eat for 3 days, and we got through it. made me appreciate food a HELLL of a lot more. you have no idea. i think its a good lesson for people to learn. maybe this will at the least help you appreciate sleep :)
mkay
oh wait, i have one more thing to say :P
ive got like crazy foot structure problems and all this weird posture shit, and i went to this crazy witch doctor. she gave me pills that had ground up raw cow organs and sheep tissue and all this weird shit in them, and told me they would help me sleep. maybe its all psychological, but they did seem to help :right:
theres some crazy alternative medicine shit out there.
Ha, well the theory is that the brain will be forced to enter REM sleep the second you go to bed. But the week it takes for that to happen is supposed to be hell.
The pills might have had a placebo effect, but there is also the possibility that just the nature of how it would be digested and what not may have made a difference. You never know there could be lots of reasons or it could be coincidence.
—edit for timestamp; always edit for timestamp—–
@ skathgh420 I was only making the point that there are no winners in a contest that revolves around inducing brain damage. If we put that in a different context… "Well than you obviously haven't had a REAL heroin problem…". In this example, is it only a heroin problem if he sold his mother for dope money and went blind from free-basing in his eye? Where is the line? There simply are no winners once you start, and it is all more or less dealt with in the same way.
@ lazybum When you sleep, you body uses that time to relax, reset and regulate its functions. Make sure you still get some down time to stretch and lie down. Keeping a positive attitude will also help. And the caffeine could also be playing some tricks. did you take caffeine pills or drink something with coffee?
depending on how long you want to do this, you will probably get some "flu-like symptoms". In other words,you could feel anything from something like food-poisoning to dry eyes and a watery nose.
I have heard of this and IT IS NOT FOR PERMANENT USE. When your body gets too tired your brain stops sending the messeges to your diaphram and heart making you stop breathing and stops making your heart beat. I do not recommend you try this for any longer than maybe 2 weeks. 3 if you take like a day a week break of good sleep. This may also lead to sleep apnea (or not breathing while asleep). Again another reason not to try this for any prolonged time.
skathgh420 wrote: [quote]slpctrl wrote: [quote]skathgh420 wrote: You will once it starts getting bad. Trust me sleep problems are BAD! ;)
I disagree. I could go on a 5 page rant on how cutting back sleep has effected my life for the positive. I'm in 10X better shape physically and mentally. It's just a routine I guess I donno. I feel so much sharper at everything B).[/quote]
Well than you obviously haven't had a REAL sleeping problem, when I say I have insomnia I don't mean I get a couple hours of sleep a night. I mean I don't sleep a lot of night's and stay up for day's….. [/quote]
When you have to take 25+ mg of ambien (non XR) to get 4 hours of sleep a night, you know you have a sleeping problem :happy: I've just never been able to sleep after that shit happened. It was my fault too, I was kind of a hippy; I loved psychedelics. And passing out with someone tripping on PCP is just a horrible idea. But the rest of my life is fine, I know sooo much more now than what I did before it happened, I got into physical shape. Everything happens for a reason I guess but yeah, I can take 25-35 mg of ambien and get…eh not very much sleep from that. That's enough ambien to get most people to trip literally :p. If I were to be taken off of my sleeping meds, I probably wouldn't sleep for days.
lazybum wrote: That does sound like a sleeping problem… I don't suppose you'd ever advocate drugs after that experience.
I support the LegalizationofSpiritualDiscovery :)
No but seriously, I did trip on acid yesterday. I've still got quite a nice body buzz going on. I wouldn't recommend doing PCP especially with people you don't know very well. Just because I almost died doesn't mean the right drugs can't be used properly though :p
lazybum wrote: I suppose that is true. I actually have known people who went from being asses to having laid back personalities. So it can't be all bad. Though they did always seem to be somewhere else.
Eh, I used to be really bad on drugs. Like really bad. Even as of recently I've been doing well over 160 mg of oxycontin every day plus at least 30 mg of ambien and drinking heavily on top of all of that, which lead to other much much worse drugs. I don't recommend using hardcore or addictive drugs at all, that can also really wreck your sleeping habits (opiate withdrawals are a real pain in the ass). Luckily I got clean. Now all I do is acid very seldom (I only did it last night because I was with a new girl I'm trying to get and she really wanted to do some acid and I can get it all day :p) But yeah, going through life fucked up isn't the way to go. At least though I can say I've always stayed on focus though, I still make mah $$$$ and code my ass off so I guess all isn't lost ;). Call me a hippie(I'm really not hahhaha :) ) But I think every human being should trip on a psychedelic at least once in their lives. It helps you to center yourself as a person :p.
/offtopic
Meh, I'll probably never try that stuff, Hell I don't even like alcoholic. But I did know this one guy from a while back who was the closet to a real genuis I ever met. He always did that stuff, said he'd tried the nerd route and decided he'd rather have fun with his life. Or something like that, I don't really remember it was a while ago.
hm. well I got into that stuff because of music. It seriously gives you a perfect voice without any kind of warm up. I'm pretty clean now, except cigarettes. The link is a show kurt cobain played while on heroin and some kind of upper. nick drake and nikki sixx would be other examples I guess. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMan6STpZAE
@lazybum, how many days has it been from since started?
Don't even try Oxycontin lazybum/anyone else. I know people who have lost EVERYTHING because of it.
Anyways, as far as drugs and spiritual discovery, I was very disappointed when I first took drugs. I know that people who say they can do things, like what I'm about to say, can be labeled schizophrenic or something like it, but I think that is usually due to bad communication. In reality, the average person knows shit and gets fucked up in their own way. There's just a lot of them.
Anyways, I think drugs only amplify the body's normal experiences and functions (example: any kind of medication). This means that you can get a lot of the drug "experiences" without actually taking drugs. Lucid dreaming was mentioned earlier, that can be similar. There are also breathing/ meditation techniques, etc (basically, ways to work with, control, and reprogram your body). But drugs were far too straight-forward for my likening; I didn't like feeling the same way for minutes-hours at a time, especially when I knew I could clearly imagine what the specific drug would have been like. Unless you want to take everything under the sun, you would probably have to do something like that anyways.
I have no problem with any drug being used either, as long as it's used as a tool. If it's taken because you're bored, it's there, because you've taken it before, etc… Know when to take a break ;)
lazybum wrote: [quote]dex_poet wrote: 40 hours isn't too long. give it 3-6 days.
Hey, I'm still wide awake. I don't intend to give up I'll either succeed or collapse and sleep for half a day. Unless I start seeing some freaky hallucinations then maybe…[/quote]
Uh oh. The shadow people are gonna come :o
haroman666 wrote: [quote]lazybum wrote: [quote]dex_poet wrote: 40 hours isn't too long. give it 3-6 days.
Hey, I'm still wide awake. I don't intend to give up I'll either succeed or collapse and sleep for half a day. Unless I start seeing some freaky hallucinations then maybe…[/quote]
Hallucinations from lack of sleep are actually quite rare. Well, REAL hallucinations are.
I mean, sure you might see some motion blur and stuff appearing to move in the corner of your eye, but nothing major.[/quote]
That's good, one less obstacle to deal with .