End of the day reflections

I ended up incidentally taking short naps today, and did pretty well with it. I was busy almost straight through until now. I only took a 20 minute nap at lunch, and comfortable in my new napping spot (I figured out that I could lock the door from the inside, and I remembered to bring a scarf with me to use as a pillow), I actually slept for most of that time, because I was well-tired by then from working most of the night and morning. I had some nice white noise of the building in the background, a little sunlight streaming in the window (I always prefer to wake up to light, makes it so much easier to get up), and the only disturbance I had was what sounded like a squirrel briefly jumping around in the ceiling. I actually dreamed, and I feel confident that I experience dreams rather than hypnagogia, because I forgot where I was during their duration, something that I usually don't experience when merely dozing and having twilight-sleep images. I had lunch when I woke up, felt rather refreshed, and went on working. I got tired again around 3:30 and had about 20 minutes of downtime then, relaxing in an armchair, although it was too noisy around me to sleep. I also had one cup of coffee and a Powerbar around this time, because I needed to be awake and alert for several more hours before I could get home and nap.

Overall, I was a little tired, but had no problem doing mental tasks and being energetic. I felt like I wanted to sleep toward the end of my evening class, but I wasn't too tired to concentrate and didn't actually fall asleep. So, I went a day without a core sleep and with minimal naps, and I felt better than I would if I'd not slept at all. Also, just the knowledge that there are polyphasic sleepers who get by on about as much sleep as I got helped me to feel okay with it and to not feel the despair that I used to feel at having to work late and early and not catch much sleep. I didn't have the extreme tiredness or mood swings of sleep deprivation, but I still had some of the light-hearted, easy-going, uninhibited feeling that I sometimes get when I do voluntary sleep-dep. I think this is probably something like the "euphoria" that some polyphasic sleepers say they feel. It's a balance between being refreshed from napping but also having that "Eh, whatever," feeling that you get from being very sleep-deprived. I'd like to know what hormones it is that cause the latter, because it's been such a common feeling for me with being sleep-deprived. Being in that state actually sometimes makes work easier. I procrastinate when I'm afraid of screwing up or feel overwhelmed, and I lack these worries when I'm sleep-deprived, so it's easier to just go along with circumstances and get right to work and get it done when I need to. It's not a feeling that I dislike.

Anyway, after today, I think I could do something like Dymaxion or Uberman, and I think I'm feeling what it'd be like to be on those plans, but I'd rather get more sleep than either of those afford (when I can get it) and have more flexibility on missing naps. I'm going to stick with my "Quad" schedule of 4 x 1 hour naps, I think, and see how I feel. I'm not dead-tired, but feel as if I'd have no trouble napping at anytime now. It's an odd feeling, and I'm going to have to reflect more on whether or not I think this is healthy. It sure beats the depression that often accompanied my "monophasic-fail," though.

Quick nap updates

I've been awake since midnight tonight, it now being about 1:30 AM. I decided to turn my 11 PM nap into a one-hour instead of a three-hour. This was done in part because I needed the extra time tonight, and because I seem to feel better being sleep-deprived rather than groggy from a longer nap. I haven't completely given up on a "core" yet (mostly due to my culturally-instilled superstitious belief that I'm going to die if I don't do the majority of my sleeping at night), but I'm still feeling like I'm more suited to shorter naps. I can actually get up from them and not feel like a zombie brought back to life. I laid down for an hour nap, slept for about 30 minutes of that, with no memory of dozing off or dreaming, and woke up tired but alert and capable of working. Productivity is about average (no more or less than usual), reflexes are adequate.

6:50: My 5 AM nap was predictably harder, although I did get some sleep. I settled down on the palett I'd made on the floor to use until I got more adapted to the schedule, but I kept getting disturbed by noises. This turned out to be the cat, and she eventually came over and started to talk. I told her to settle down and take a nap too, and she laid down by me and proceeded to try to tickle me with her tail for the rest of the hour. I tossed and turned and couldn't get comfortable like I initially was again, and decided I wasn't going to be able to sleep at all like that again today. I was aching too much at that point. Since it was almost daylight, I decided to lay down on my bed and set my normal alarm for 30 minutes. I did that, and actually got a little sleep. I'm glad I did, as I'm sure it will be needed. I feel refreshed, though still tired. I feel a little less productive than earlier, but confident that I can do everything I want to today, once I wake up a little. I think I'll probably sleep good at my 11 AM nap. Not sure what I'll do tonight. I'll have to skip my evening nap, so I might just take a longer core when I finally get home.