Days 101-162

In my personal opinion and experience, these are great days for the polyphasic sleep. I am finally starting to see ACTUAL improvements in life, not only on the personal level, but the beneficial effect of the polyphasic sleep regime reflect also in my academic performances, as a remunerative payment for the my studying.

The beautiful thing is that I did not have to convince myself that the method worked, and quite well I might add, the problem was to find a way to convince the skeptics about it, using objective facts. And here I am, now I have proof.

Current Schedule

     04:30 - Wake up           Total Sleep Time: 5-6 Hrs/day
     07:35 - Sleep                               Variable
     08:00 - Wake up
     12:35 - Sleep
     13:00 - Wake up
     18:35 - Sleep
     19:00 - Wake up
     00:00 - Sleep

This is what I call "My perfect schedule". That's right, MINE, that's because there is no such thing as the perfect schedule, there is just the perfect way of living for each one of us, it took me more than 100 days to get it right, and now I do not intent to abandon it for any reason at all.

I see that Steve Pavlina switched back to monophasic, not because of health reason, but primarily because "the rest of the world is monophasic". I can understand his position, since he has a wife and a daughter, wether I live basically myself. Yes, I do share the apartment with some friends, but I do not have any responsibility that is comparable to the ones that a father has to face.

I think one of the reasons might also be that he was an advocate of the "Strict regime", and I understand that it can be pretty difficult to follow the 4 hours cycle. My lifestyle is a bit different.

A New Theory

Here's my theory. Animals in nature, and specifically mammals have several naps during the day, according to their natural instincts, therefore their sleep is "aleatory". But we humans, who differentiate from the beasts because we are rationals, as the great philosopher said "Zoon Politikon", we have the power to impose to modify nature, and therefore we also changed our habits. So why don't we use that power to ameliorate our sleeping techniques and habits, instead of using our power not properly?

Here is a set of rules (tough word, maybe suggestions is more appropriate) to follow if you want to succeed with the polyphasic sleep:

1. Don't push yourself. The polyphasic is supposed to help you feel better and more receptive, it's no use if you walk like a zombie for days.
2. Start gradually. Using a 5 hours schedule the first week, moving to the 3 hours the next two weeks.
3. Find your own equilibrium. Instead of sleep randomly like beasts, we can achieve better results. According to your lifestyle, model you nap gaps. A normal person who works 8 hours a day or goes to school is probably not going to be able to bare the 4 hours gap. Instead, sleep a bit more in the night and take 2-3 naps at a distance of 6 hours in the day. I suggest before the meals, that way you will avoid a hell of a lot of problems and complications. Also, almost everybody gets about 1-1½ hours break for lunch and dinner, hence the choice fits perfectly.
4. 25 Minutes. The most important thing is the 25 minutes. That may be 30, 35 at maximum, but it shall not vary more than 10 minutes. Your nap should be 25 <= nap <= 35 minutes.

If you follow these instructions, I think you'll manage with the polyphasic.