I’ve survived week one of my biphasic sleep schedule. Before I started my new routine I would get probably 8 or 9 hours of sleep per night. Last night I settled with 4.5. Here’s how the last 7 days looked:

Day Nap Sleep Total
1 8:30-12 2-6 7.5 hours
2 6:30-8 2-8 7.5 hours
3 7:30-10 2-6 6.5 hours
4 8:30-4 * 7.5 hours
5 7-8:30 2-6:30 6.0 hours
6 8:30-10 2-6 5.5 hours
7 1-5:30 * 4.5 hours

As you can see I started to get less sleep… then day 4 hit me. I got back from skiing that day and went to take my nap… and didn’t wake up until 4am. That was fine, I woke up and proceeded to begin my day. I guess I was pretty exhausted, though.

Yesterday (day 7) I was very busy. Up at 6, class at 8 then work until 3:30, group project, meeting, dinner, meeting and I was finally home by 9. The problem was I had not started any homework and it needed to be done. So, I worked through my nap time and just decided to do the one block of sleep. That went pretty well. I woke up this morning but was a little drowsy. I lied down and watched MTV until about 6:30.

…and here I am working through my nap again. Oddly enough with 4.5 hours of sleep and no nap yet I’m feeling great. A little more irritable (thanks computer!) but not tired at all. I intend to repeat last night’s schedule and then go back to naps tomorrow afternoon.

I really recommend trying this sleep schedule. Waking up is easier. My dreams are more memorable, vivid and lucid (I feel like I control them, it’s weird). Working during the peace of night is great, too. I caught up on 12 magazines, I’ve started a new web project (looking forward to sharing that soon) and watched some good movies. Life is good!