Since my schedule adherence difficulties over Labor Day weekend, I've still not recovered fully. I feel that I'm still tired after my naps and the feeling continues with me from one nap to the next. I must remind myself to not give into sleeping more than 45 minutes. It is definitely a challenge.
Anyhow, last night's midnight nap wasn't fruitful as I couldn't fall asleep so I ended up getting up when the alarm rang. The 6 AM nap however went off without a hitch. Overall I feel that the 6 AM nap is consistently my best sleeping time. I wonder why? The sniffles and sneezing I had yesterday seems to have manifested in a full blown cold now. Hopefully, I can overcome it fairly quickly. Also, I'm guessing the recent bout of headaches might have been a precursor to me getting the cold? I don't know, I'm not doctor!
On a positive note, I've noticed no matter how much or little sleep I get, I can definitely concentrate and be productive. I suppose my body has gotten used to the idea of short naps and knows one isn't far away at anytime.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
Day 7 - Afternoon Update
So it's been a bit busy, and yesterday / today was quite difficult in terms of being able to maintain my schedule. Unfortunately, yesterday 3 naps, 12 PM, 6 PM and the mid-night naps didn't go as planned. The first 2, I was unable to get to sleep in. The mid-night nap didn't end up happening until 4 AM unfortunately, I was so exhausted, I ended up oversleeping a few extra hours. My noon nap today was pushed back to around 2 PM and again it lasted a bit longer - as I slept through the alarm.
What I'm beginning to see is that it's critical to adhere to the schedule. Any deviation from the set schedule has lasting effects. A couple times where I have missed naps or been unable to sleep, I've paid the price by oversleeping and essentially losing the benefits of this schedule. Additionally, when I oversleep, I wake up with terrible headaches and feelings of continued grogginess. At this point, I've been wake for over 4 hours and yet I still feel extremely groggy. Additionally, I think I might also be getting a cold, as the weather has changed a bit in the last few days. Hopefully it doesn't last - the cold that is.
In the coming week, I'm going to try harder to stick ot the schedule. In order to remedy the excess sleep, I skipped the 6 PM nap and will be sleeping again at mid-night. Hopefully, I'll be back on track by 1 AM.
What I'm beginning to see is that it's critical to adhere to the schedule. Any deviation from the set schedule has lasting effects. A couple times where I have missed naps or been unable to sleep, I've paid the price by oversleeping and essentially losing the benefits of this schedule. Additionally, when I oversleep, I wake up with terrible headaches and feelings of continued grogginess. At this point, I've been wake for over 4 hours and yet I still feel extremely groggy. Additionally, I think I might also be getting a cold, as the weather has changed a bit in the last few days. Hopefully it doesn't last - the cold that is.
In the coming week, I'm going to try harder to stick ot the schedule. In order to remedy the excess sleep, I skipped the 6 PM nap and will be sleeping again at mid-night. Hopefully, I'll be back on track by 1 AM.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Day 6 - Afternnoon Update
I can't believe I've been doing this for 6 days already. Today has been great. I seem to be in the flow of things. I've just noticed that it's extremely easy to sleep for longer than 30 or 45 minutes and it's taken some dedication on my part to make sure I don't.
Last night after my midnight nap, I wasn't motivated to do anything, so I just vegged and watched TV for a few hours and surfed the web reading random things and some news. My 6 AM nap went off without a hitch. For the 2nd time I believe since I started this experiment I had a vivid dream which I still remember. I slept for about 40 minutes, however the dream was extremely real. I'm guessing, I've began to drift into REM sleep.
My noon nap today unfortunately didn't result in a dream, no matter, I do feel rested but do have a pounding headache. Perhaps it was due to doing a few hours of yard work? My morning was extremely productive and I came out of the gate highly motivated and ready to get things done.
Last night after my midnight nap, I wasn't motivated to do anything, so I just vegged and watched TV for a few hours and surfed the web reading random things and some news. My 6 AM nap went off without a hitch. For the 2nd time I believe since I started this experiment I had a vivid dream which I still remember. I slept for about 40 minutes, however the dream was extremely real. I'm guessing, I've began to drift into REM sleep.
My noon nap today unfortunately didn't result in a dream, no matter, I do feel rested but do have a pounding headache. Perhaps it was due to doing a few hours of yard work? My morning was extremely productive and I came out of the gate highly motivated and ready to get things done.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Day 5 - Afternoon Update
So it's been nearly 24 hours since my last update. I've actually been quite busy, between creating my to-do list and executing on it. Nevertheless, let's move on to how the experiment is faring.
Last night went about without a hitch. I had another very productive night. Between the midnight nap and 6 am nap, I was extremely focused. I'd say I was nearly a 9. The 6AM nap did however cause a bit of a wrinkle in the experiment. I severely overslept. I went to bed around 6 AM and slept through multiple alarms finally waking at about 9 AM. I woke up and was extremely groggy and it took a while for me to get my bearings. Today again being an extremely busy (and productive) day, my noon nap time was displace by a few hours.
I ended up finally laying down at 3 PM, 3 hours later than I should have. However I kept this nap brief (1/2 hour) so that I could try to get back in to the rhythm and take a 6 PM nap as well. What I found peculiar was that around noon my body was craving for me to go take a nap. Not just a nudge, rather a full blown drowsiness, like when one comes out of surgery or an allnighter.
I'm currently at a 6 for awareness and feel like I'm fading fast. Well it's nearly 6 so it's time for me to take another nap.
Last night went about without a hitch. I had another very productive night. Between the midnight nap and 6 am nap, I was extremely focused. I'd say I was nearly a 9. The 6AM nap did however cause a bit of a wrinkle in the experiment. I severely overslept. I went to bed around 6 AM and slept through multiple alarms finally waking at about 9 AM. I woke up and was extremely groggy and it took a while for me to get my bearings. Today again being an extremely busy (and productive) day, my noon nap time was displace by a few hours.
I ended up finally laying down at 3 PM, 3 hours later than I should have. However I kept this nap brief (1/2 hour) so that I could try to get back in to the rhythm and take a 6 PM nap as well. What I found peculiar was that around noon my body was craving for me to go take a nap. Not just a nudge, rather a full blown drowsiness, like when one comes out of surgery or an allnighter.
I'm currently at a 6 for awareness and feel like I'm fading fast. Well it's nearly 6 so it's time for me to take another nap.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Day 4 - Afternoon Update
Not much to report at this time. I had become extremely tired so I took a nap an hour before my nap time at 11 AM instead of noon. That nap seemed to work it's magic as I'm still pretty amped. My concentration, awareness and energy levels are near 7 or 8 and I've been extremely productive since. It's been good so far, but I'm fading fast. I think I will probably last until 5:30ish.. That's just as well as I have to be somewhere at 6. I need to get my to-do list together for tonight. I think the one thing that causes me to be unproductive during the night hours is my lack of planning. I'll get that done prior.
Day 4 - Morning Update
I'm pleased to say that I was able to get my first workout in, albeit, it was a short one, but it was positive. I have a long ways to go! Overall the night went well. As I got closer to my nap my awareness level and concentration both increased - strange?. It was semi-productive - mainly due to my disorganization, I didn't have my usual to-do list and lazily did whatever I felt like doing. The night was great, I was quite focused on the task a hand, awareness and concentration levels were both around 8 by the time my 6 AM nap came around..
As far as after my 6 AM nap, I feel like I've hit a wall. Waking up from the nap was quite difficult. I snoozed for about 20 minutes. Additionally, my head still feels cloudy and sleep hasn't left me just yet and I've been awake for more than an hour. I hope this improves as I have quite a bit to do before my noon nap (which I will need to postpone to 1ish due to Jummah).
At sehri I took a few Advils just as a precaution as I've been getting headaches after my morning naps. Today is no exception, my head is pounding, my eyes are puffy and I'm having a hard time staying awake. I'm literally nodding off while writing this entry.
As far as after my 6 AM nap, I feel like I've hit a wall. Waking up from the nap was quite difficult. I snoozed for about 20 minutes. Additionally, my head still feels cloudy and sleep hasn't left me just yet and I've been awake for more than an hour. I hope this improves as I have quite a bit to do before my noon nap (which I will need to postpone to 1ish due to Jummah).
At sehri I took a few Advils just as a precaution as I've been getting headaches after my morning naps. Today is no exception, my head is pounding, my eyes are puffy and I'm having a hard time staying awake. I'm literally nodding off while writing this entry.
Day 4 - 3 AMish Update
Yesterday evening, since my modification of the schedule two things happened:
My days have become interesting. I don't see a clear break from one day to the next anymore. It seems that I have to take external cues such as calendar date or time to determine that I'm in the next day since the prolonged nightly sleep isn't there.
I've also noticed a few changes in my normal behavior / health. Typically, I would take a shower every morning once I woke up. Now I'm taking 2 showers in a 24 hour period. For some reason, I'm taking a shower right after I get up from my noon nap and the midnight one. Perhaps my body is seeing it as 2 days? Additionally, I've seem to have developed sort of a cold. I seem to get a runny nose when I'm getting closer to my nap time and begin sneezing. Perhaps I'm getting sick or it's a cue telling me that I need to sleep?
As for my diet, I've been trying to keep it as healthy as I can. As I mentioned before, I'm trying to keep up the high fruit intake, with limited caffeine intake. Additionally, I've also cut down my meat intake. It's weird, when I am able to eat, I'm not getting that hungry. Perhaps it's because I gorge at iftaar time and I'm set for the rest of the night? One thing I don't do is drink water throughout the night. It's something I'm going to remedy immediately.
Currently, I still feel sleepy. When I got up after snoozing my alarm for 1/2 an hour, I felt that I could probably sleep for another 3 to 4 hours easily. In terms of awareness, concentration etc.. I feel that my awareness level right now is quite low - probably a 4, concentration is near a 5 and lastly, I'm really not motivated to do anything. I'm going to try to push myself to get some work done and once again try to get a work out in. So far I've "planned" on working out but haven't managed to get myself to do it.
- My noon nap got delayed until 2 PM
- I completely missed my 6 PM nap
My days have become interesting. I don't see a clear break from one day to the next anymore. It seems that I have to take external cues such as calendar date or time to determine that I'm in the next day since the prolonged nightly sleep isn't there.
I've also noticed a few changes in my normal behavior / health. Typically, I would take a shower every morning once I woke up. Now I'm taking 2 showers in a 24 hour period. For some reason, I'm taking a shower right after I get up from my noon nap and the midnight one. Perhaps my body is seeing it as 2 days? Additionally, I've seem to have developed sort of a cold. I seem to get a runny nose when I'm getting closer to my nap time and begin sneezing. Perhaps I'm getting sick or it's a cue telling me that I need to sleep?
As for my diet, I've been trying to keep it as healthy as I can. As I mentioned before, I'm trying to keep up the high fruit intake, with limited caffeine intake. Additionally, I've also cut down my meat intake. It's weird, when I am able to eat, I'm not getting that hungry. Perhaps it's because I gorge at iftaar time and I'm set for the rest of the night? One thing I don't do is drink water throughout the night. It's something I'm going to remedy immediately.
Currently, I still feel sleepy. When I got up after snoozing my alarm for 1/2 an hour, I felt that I could probably sleep for another 3 to 4 hours easily. In terms of awareness, concentration etc.. I feel that my awareness level right now is quite low - probably a 4, concentration is near a 5 and lastly, I'm really not motivated to do anything. I'm going to try to push myself to get some work done and once again try to get a work out in. So far I've "planned" on working out but haven't managed to get myself to do it.
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