Drink. Drive. Go To Jail.

Well, 19 days later, my wife, Erin, and I have decided to throw in the polyphasic towel. Last Sunday, we had plans to get together with family from 3pm – 7pm. Unfortunately, my 5pm nap fell right, smack dab in the middle of that time block. Being the ever adaptable people we are, and not wanting to interfere with the planned festivities with a “shh, Trey is sleeping” period, we tried modifying my nap schedule for that day—instead of 1, 5, and 9, I slept at 9am, 12pm, and 2:45pm, before heading off to Granny Mia’s.

As family get-togethers so often do, this one ran late, and I didn’t get back until a little after 8pm, making this the longest period I’d been awake for in 2 1/2 weeks; I was exhausted. On top of the extended awake period, I spent a bit of the afternoon chasing a three-year-old around in what can only be an evolutionary precursor to the game of tag. I immediately hit the sack once we returned home. Then, we spent the next four hours trying to keep me awake. I even tried taking an intermediary 15-minute nap. Nothing helped. So, after my full nap at midnight, still bleary-eyed, wiped out, we decided enough—we’re sleeping next to each other tonight, for a whole 8 hours. And did I ever sleep?

So, this is the end of my first polyphasic, uberman sleep experiment. What follows are some of my thoughts about the whole experience.

Will I do it again?

Definitely. The big take away for me, is that the normal 8-9 hour per night sleep pattern isn’t the only viable option, and might not be the best solution for me. There is evidence, even , “that the consolidated sleep schedule is a modern result of living in a less tumultuous time”http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/19/opinion/19ekirch.html?ex=1174622400&en=90eb7a176cea66d7&ei=5070; you sleep much better if you aren’t worried about marauding bandits or are kept awake by the chronic hacking of your tuberculous neighbor.

I don’t know if the uberman schedule of 20-minute naps every 4 hours will be the plan that works for me, but I’m confident that neither is the 8-9 hour solid block every night. I fully intend to continue to experiment, hoping to find the perfect plan that will allow me to spend only the necessary amount of time sleeping, while still feeling completely rested.

Was it worth it?

Totally. Aside from teh first couple of days, I think I was performing at 80-90% most of the time. My stress level plummeted with all of the extra time I had, and on top of that I was able to get tons of things done, surely contributing to the lower stress level.

I really missed curling up with my wife each night, and even more waking up next to her, but towards the end of the experiment, I started going to sleep at the same time as her, allowing a little normalcy. We even would go to bed a while before I actually had to nap, so we could get some good cuddle/hang out with each other time. When I try it again, this time will be a must-have.

How did you handle all of those lonely nights?

They didn’t phase me at all. Granted, all of my nights were consumed with trying to stay awake. Maybe if I adapt, it will become more of a problem, but I doubt it.

Didn’t you eat a lot more?

I didn’t really ever feel like I was eating much more. I definitely ate a little bit more, because I had to fuel those extra hours I was awake. Again, because I didn’t fully adapt, I don’t know if this would change. I have heard about people adding a fourth meal in the middle of the night, and though I tried it a few times, I don’t know if I’d really need it, especially anything large.

I did use food to coax me out of bed a few times. I made some delicious cookies one night and used their scrumptious, chocolate morsels as a reward for getting up. The sugar also served a good pick-me-up, too, so I think this is something I would recommend and intend on trying again.

Well, those are the most common questions I get about my experience. If you have more, leave a comment and I’ll be happy to answer it.

I’m looking forward to my next attempt.