Biphasic Sleeping

Week in Review

2007-02-25T12:33:00.000Z

Well, I think my biphasic sleeping has been going okay. It could be better, but I am kind of sticking to a schedule with it, so that is a start.

I absolutely LOVE my nap in the afternoon. I live for it. I think I've finally gotten Night convinced that he doesn't need to come in and check on me every 15 minutes, so I might actually be able to fall asleep. Keira has been taking her naps a little later (it used to be 1:00, now it is 3:30ish), so we are sleeping around the same time. I like that. I've even been able to cuddle with Josh too. I find that I don't sleep as well with Josh there, though. I still get my rest and I like having him close.

My biggest problem is getting up in the mornings. I try to sleep according to the 90 minute cycle, but I'm having a hard time getting up when I had originally planned. I didn't do too badly this morning, but it is really the first morning I've gotten up when I wanted to do so.

I think I've discovered that my sleep cycle is actually closer to 70 minutes rather than 90. I'm still testing this theory, though. I tried to notice the time on the clock when I went to sleep and woke up. It seems that an hour and ten minutes is it-at least that is what I woke up twice last night. Since last night was the only time that I paid attention, I will need to check it some more, but looking back, I do usually wake up before the alarm during my nap, but then I go back to sleep. I had always blamed something else for waking me, but maybe I will feel more refreshed if I just get up after 70 minutes-something to test this afternoon.

Ahh! This afternoon! I'm already looking forward to my nap, and it is only 6:45am!!

I'm Back...

2007-02-16T12:12:00.000Z

I think I'm back at least!! Since Josh started going to school at night on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, it had become impossible to take a nap because he didn't get home until 10:30. It seemed pointless to try to take a nap at 10:30. I was also using this as an excuse because I was feeling...lazy.

Now that I possibly have a new job with excellent hours, I think I am going to try it again. I've had about a month's hiatus (from work and biphasic sleeping), so I am feeling ready to give it another go! Here is what I think my schedule will be:

wake up 4:00am. I am choosing 4:00 because it seems that if Keira is going to wake up in the middle of the night, it is usually right around 4:00. I guess that is HER sleep cycle. I want to set my wake up time around then so that my sleep cycle isn't messed up if she does get up in the middle of the night. Josh is usually up until around 3:00 anyway, so there is little time for her to mess it up!
nap for 1 1/2 hours around 3:30pm. If I get the job, this should be around the time I get home everyday. Since it is waitressing, sometimes sidework takes a little longer, so I over estimated a bit. Josh leaves for school at 5:15, so I should be up (and maybe a little groggy) when he is ready to go.
Sleep at 1:00am. This gives me 3 hours of sleep. If I am feeling extra tired, I will be able to go to bed around 12:30am without any hassle.

I'm 2 1/2 hours into my first morning. I haven't had too much difficulty yet. It was Night that woke up this morning, but not until 5:45. He had a nightmare about an elevator or something, so right now we are watching THE WILD THORNBERRIES. Don't be jealous.

What have I done so far this morning? Laundry (folded, moved clothes to the dryer, and started the washing machine), drank 2 glasses of water (I'm a good girl) and one big mug of coffee, did pilates, and watched 1 episode of LOST. I'm hoping Night will fall asleep on the couch so I can continue LOST.

So far so good. I'll keep you updated!!

I'm trying, I really am....

2007-01-11T22:13:00.000Z

I'm trying to get back into it, I really am, but this time, I am finding it really hard to get up after my nap.

Tonight I was sleeping by 7.30 (on the theory my first nap had to be early) but when the alarm went off at 9, I just DID NOT want to get up, I felt like I could have stayed asleep and not get up until tomorrow.

And I'm grumpy! I feel sorry for Tino.

Jinxed?

2007-01-10T12:53:00.000Z

I think I jinxed myself by writing that I had plenty of energy! I haven't followed my sleep schedule for about 3 days now. I am sooo tired in the mornings-I keep hitting snooze.
Once I'm up and around, I'm fine. I just can't stay away from that snooze button! I have even rearranged the room, and getting to the alarm is like going through an obstacle course (obstacles being a cat, a dog, and a husband). But, I still hit snooze rather than turning it off.

I've been fighting a cold, so I think that might be part of it. I also have not been disciplined enough to do pilates. It is because I'm too tired in the mornings. I know I need to do it, but I just can't bring myself to do so.

I think I might just sleep tonight until I wake up because tomorrow is my day off. It might reset me. Of course, maybe I am just saying this because I've only been awake for a few minutes, and I want to go back to sleep!

Back in the saddle again....

2007-01-10T10:02:00.000Z

...and not that happy about it.

I've done two nights of fitting in sleeping biphasically without fail, but I've been feeling awful waking up from both sleeps. Both evenings I've not been able to nap until at least 9pm.

Given the success last time, I think I've worked out the following:

I need to be able to take my first nap early in the evening (preferably being asleep before 7.30)
I need the awake period to be substantial - ie more than 2 hours

Otherwise I feel really tired.

Another observation I've made is that when I monophasically sleep, 6 hours is enough, but when I biphasically sleep, I need my second sleep to be 6 hours, meaning I sleep 7.5. Isn't that a bit weird?

Still Feeling Energetic

2007-01-04T20:50:00.000Z

Even though I haven't been following my biphasic sleep schedule exactly, I still feel the benefits of it. Since my parents have been here, Keira hasn't been sleeping well. Combine the fact that she doesn't like change in schedule with her cold, and that makes for a very grumpy baby! I haven't been getting much sleep at all (Okay, I've also been watching the 24 DVD set that I got for Christmas-very addictive). Anyway, Keira has been getting me up in the night, but not at the scheduled time. I haven't felt sleepy during the day at all.
I've been doing pilates when I wake up-both times, and that seems to help get me going. I've been really happy with biphasic sleeping. Who would've thought that less sleep would give you more energy?! I could give Jack a run for his money!

Oops!

2006-12-29T14:24:00.000Z

For the first time since I started biphasic sleeping, I overslept-on accident. Yes, I've overslept on purpose-decided I didn't really need to get up when the alarm went off, but last night, I didn't even hear the alarm. That is very unlike me. Ever since I had the babies, I've been a fairly light sleeper.
I have been setting my cell phone alarm rather than the bedroom alarm because it is a bit quieter, less intrusive to my sleep, and closer when it goes off. I've been doing this for over a week, without any problems. Last night, I was supposed to get up around 12:45am. Josh came in around 2, asking me what was going on. I said I was just waking up-I had heard the alarm about 2 minutes before he came in. He then told me the time-I had been hitting snooze that whole time! I guess the fact that I can't see the time as well on the cell phone made it easier for me to oversleep.
Luckily, it wasn't the alarm for the morning, though I doubt I'd oversleep that one. Of course, that is what I thought about the cell phone alarm...
I ended up just sleeping through the night. Well, that had been my plan until Keira woke up around 3:30. I guess the gods wanted me to sleep biphasically last night after all.

Interesting Facts

2006-12-22T15:29:00.000Z

I found a list of 40 interesting facts about sleeping that I thought ya'll might want to read. It looks like it is from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2000, so it is probably outdated a little, but it is still fun to read!

2nd "Nap"

2006-12-19T16:54:00.000Z

I took my 3 hour nap as usual and was very successful with getting up, exercising, and ironing my clothes. I wasn't very tired when I went to sleep, but I wanted to get in 3 hours rather than 1 1/2. For some reason, I thought that 3 hours would be better even though I wasn't that tired-even after only getting 4 1/2 hours of sleep the previous night.
Well, when my alarm went off after the 3 hours, I REALLY didn't want to get up, let alone exercise again. It felt like I had only exercised about 10 minutes before!
I intentionally did NOT exercise because I did NOT want to wake up. I was being a bit stubborn! Instead, I set my alarm on my cell phone to give me 20 minutes to get ready for work (lucky I ironed beforehand!) and took another nap on the couch.
I think I'm going to try the 1 1/2 hours for the second sleep since it worked so well. I convinced myself that it wasn't long enough, even though I had no evidence to support my theory.
Tonight's plan:
sleep 3 hours
exercise, iron, etc
sleep 1 1/2 hours
exercise, have time alone doing stuff, go to work

Two Times, Thank You Very Much

2006-12-19T01:55:00.000Z

I not only followed my biphasic sleep schedule, but I did pilates after waking up-both times. It felt pretty good. I think I might be back into the swing of things again-finally!
The thing that threw me off last time was when my parents came to stay with us and I couldn't follow the schedule very well. Then I started feeling depressed and wanted to sleep all the time.
So, now that I'm back to normal...guess who is coming for Christmas?!! Actually, they are coming a few days after, but that isn't the point. The point is I think I'm going to tell them to sleep in the living room instead of the den because I can't do my pilates in the living room, and I don't want to get messed up again.
Josh said that he thinks my parents add to my depressive feelings too, so I'm going to have to be on my toes with that as well. I'll stick it out, though!

Success

2006-12-17T13:12:00.000Z

I am still doing really well with getting up after my nap-3 hours seems to make me feel rested enough that I can get up easily. Okay. I DID hit snooze twice this morning, but it was never with the intention of just turning the fucking thing off, which is what I used to want to do...
I did pilates after my nap, and it was wonderful. It is so calming yet energizing. It is the perfect start to the "day." I just did the 20 minute workout, which isn't too long to take away my 'being awake' time.
As I was working out this morning, this WAS my goal: every time I wake up (which is twice a day, right?), I will do a 20 minute pilates workout. I have 2 different versions, so I shouldn't get too bored, and I have longer ones that I can do if I do get bored. It'll be perfect-like the way a shower wakes me up. I will be getting exercise and be feeling relaxed and rejuvenated at the same time. That would be 14 workouts in 1 week. Not bad at all-that should help get rid of this "baby" fat (you know-from the "baby" that is now 15 months old-she was 9 1/2 pounds, so you have to give me some slack here).
Anyway, wouldn't you know it, I DID hit my snooze this morning at 6am like I wanted to turn the fucking thing off. And I did, until 7:00, which gives me just enough time to right this post and this post, shower, and rush off to work.
7 workouts in a week are better than none, right? Maybe I was pushing myself too hard...

(I'd be a great marathon runner-one who DOESN'T push herself to train)

Mornings

2006-12-15T13:00:00.000Z

I have been doing so well with my biphasic sleeping, as far as my nap goes. I usually go to bed around 9:30 and sleep for three hours. I then get up and spend time with Josh. Even though I would like to incorporate a little bit of productivity at this time (maybe ironing my clothes or putting away dishes), I have been enjoying this time with Josh.
Now, when it comes to waking up in the morning, it is a completely different story! I set my alarm for another 3 hours (sometimes even 4 1/2), with plans of doing pilates and a few odds and ends before getting ready for work. When the alarm goes off, I negotiate with myself, and I end up either hitting snooze a few times or resetting it all together. I can easily sleep until 7:00 and still be able to get ready for work, so that is usually what ends up happening. It throws off my sleep cycle and it ruins my plans for doing anything, but at least I get those few precious minutes of sleep...

Update

2006-12-08T12:55:00.000Z

Okay. I suck at making lists and sticking to them!

Here is what got done last night when I woke up from my nap:
NOTHING.

Keira was awake (she didn't take a nap yesterday, so she went to bed early), so that was good-I spent some time with her. Then I laid on the couch until I went back to bed. I DID sleep according to the 90 cycle, though: 3 hour nap, 4 1/2 hour sleep. I just didn't accomplish anything, and I'm pretty sure that the only thing that will get done on that list this morning is ironing my scrubs, unless I can figure out how to get out of that...
Maybe I should make my list shorter-like one or two things. The fact that I blogged it just made me feel guilty! Here is a conversation from my head last night:

why am I awake? I don't need to do anything.
oh-there is a list.
I don't want to do anything from the list, though.
I have to pee. I don't even want to pee. I just want to go back to bed.
Maybe if I pee, I'll have the energy to do something else from the list.
...
nope. I'm going back to bed!

I did have good/weird dreams, though. I don't know all the details, but Josh and I were chasing after someone who stole a model train or something (anyone see CSI last night??). We were being very covert, but then my parents and grandparents showed up to "help"-as if that would be good for anyone. Other details that stick out-I dyed our white dog (or maybe it was a cat) pink because I thought it would be cool. It was, until we petted it-then the white from underneath stuck out. Apparently, I didn't do a very good dye job. Maybe it was because I was so tired...

My Goals for Tonight

2006-12-08T03:03:00.000Z

(maybe this will help motivate me)
1. iron my scrubs
2. do pilates
3. check if the 1st episode of Heroes is on demand and then watch it
4. finish loading the dishwasher

stay tuned for an update!

Why is it...?

2006-12-07T18:40:00.000Z

I KNOW that biphasic sleeping is better for me-I get more done and I feel more rested. I just can't drag my fat ass out of bed, and when I do, I don't usually do anything productive! To me, productive is a relative term. At 2:00 in the morning, I find watching a tv show or movie that I've been wanting to see productive since I don't have time to myself to watch anything. I've been getting up after my 3 hour nap, watching a little bit of tv, talking to Josh, and going to bed. I guess that IS productive, isn't it??
Last night, I went to bed thinking I wouldn't get up in 3 hours-it was the night before my only day off. A girl deserves some rest, right?? (Yes, I know that makes no sense since I feel more rested when I DO get up...) However, I automatically woke up 3 hours after going to sleep. Pretty cool.
I got up and watched some tv. I was planning on watching the end of CSI that I had started (on demand-cable is so wonderful), but it wasn't working properly (did I just say that cable is wonderful? how much am I paying for this shit?), so I watched a documentary on TLC. I love documentaries. It was about babies that weren't meant to survive, but they did. It was very good.
I then went to bed and woke up 6 hours later, not long before Night came in and told me that it was time to wake up and play his video game with him. It is amazing how I easily fit in NINE hours of sleep, still getting up at 8:30 in the morning! How did I ever say that there weren't enough hours in the day to sleep? That makes no sense.
Anyway, I know that biphasic sleeping is much better for me than monophasic sleep, and I don't know why I can't make myself do it all the time!! I know that I keep saying this, but...tonight I am starting all over-getting back on track. I guess last night could be the start since that was successful. The point is, I WILL SLEEP BIPHASICALLY!

Dreams

2006-12-05T11:37:00.000Z

I've been pretty bad at sleeping bi-phasically of late, I'm finding it really hard to discipline myelf. I have been pretty good at sleeping on the 6 or 7.5 blocks though, I really notice the difference to my morning moods.

I did have a weird dream last night, I only remember sketchy details of it though. I dreamt of the wedding, and I was walking down the aisle, but the aisle was coil shaped, and I was walking around and around my guests. And it wasn't dad giving me away, it was Ellen I think, or mum, I don't know. Then I said that I'd had enough and was going to have a whole different wedding. It was weird.

I have difficulty remembering my dreams, they are often really sketching.

I'm napping tonight, I'll see if it makes a difference to my dreams. Interesting.

Del, I can add you as a contibutor to this blog if you want, just let me know.

I Forgot My Dreams!

2006-12-04T17:24:00.000Z

I had some fantastic dreams last night, and I thought about them this morning so I could blog about them. Now I've lost them. So sad! I should write them down right away!
I went to bed around 9:45 last night and woke up (with the alarm-not on my own: lets not get crazy) 3 hours later. I could've easily stayed up and accomplished a lot of stuff, but Josh was going to bed, so I needed to cuddle with him! I did some laundry first, though, so that is a plus. I decided to sleep another 4 1/2 hours, which worked out well. I want to get back to the 6 hours rather than 7 1/2, but it is so cozy and warm in the bed... I have been sticking to the phases, though, so I think that works pretty well.
The goal is to feel more energetic when I am awake, so I have met that goal with biphasic sleeping. Now I just need to discipline myself to actually do all of the things on my "to do" list when I am awake! Tonight I'm striving for 6 hours total. I enjoy the 3/3 schedule rather than the 1.5/4/5. I feel more rested when I get up from the first sleep.

New Plan

2006-11-27T19:16:00.000Z

Hey, Anna, this blog is starting to look like the notebook... Who has that, anyway??

Here is my new biphasic sleep schedule:
I go to bed around 9:30ish. I sleep for three hours. I get up for awhile. Then I go back to bed and sleep for either one and a half or three hours (probably the latter, with how I've been feeling...). Night's bedtime has been moved back an hour to 10:00, so I go to bed earlier. Since I am going to bed earlier, I can sleep longer and still get up and do stuff, leaving plenty of time to sleep afterwards. I think it'll be good. The thought of waking up just an hour and a half after going to bed has seemed daunting lately. The 3 hour time period seemed to help last night.
I have done this schedule for 2 nights now. It has seemed to work pretty well. Boy have I had some crazy dreams, though! I dreamt that I was flying. I dreamt that I was in a snowstorm (not likely here in Nashville-even when it does snow, it hardly ever sticks on the ground). I can't remember my other dreams now, but they were dooseys! It was like a series of unrelated dreams, all in one long sequence.
I feel pretty rested today too, which is a bonus.

Need to get back on it

2006-11-27T10:50:00.000Z

I have been really bad at prioritising having a nap, and I've noticed that the old feelings of reluctance to get out of bed have started to creep back in. I've become less disiplined about sleeping on the 90 minute cycle, and find that I am pretty lethargic in the mornings again. My eating isn't as disciplined, and neither is my productivity/organisation, my moods are up and down again too.

So I need to get myself back in a routine and sort myself out.

Okay, today is day one!

One on, one off

2006-11-16T17:14:00.000Z

I seem to be averaging one night of biphasic, one night of monophasic and I'm feeling good about it. It seems to fit with my lifestyle better and as it turns out, when I monophasically sleep, I only need about 6 hours.

I've also discovered an answer to falling asleep in my nap, I have to use earplugs. I guess that the 6.30-8.30 time slot is quite busy with people getting home, making dinner etc and there is just a lot of background noise. I still have to allocate myself between 15mins and 1/2 an hour to fall asleep, but I do get there eventually.

I really can't believe after all these years I've managed to find a way of not feeling exhausted!

I Did It!

2006-11-15T20:11:00.002Z

I FINALLY slept according to my biphasic schedule! I didn't have a problem getting up from my nap because Josh was driving home from Indiana, so I called him. As far as getting up in the morning, same thing! I guess I just needed motivation to get out of bed-what's new?! I feel refreshed today and ready to stick to my schedule again. Of course, I won't stick to it because we are starting our road trip tonight, but I feel confident I can get back to it soon!

Wow-We Could Have the Same Title!

2006-11-13T16:00:00.000Z

Anna and I are having the same problems: sleeping on a schedule and GETTING OUT OF BED! I think we have both observed that you have to be mentally focussed in order for biphasic sleep to work properly. It worked sooo well for me when I first started. I felt energetic and on top of things. Then, my schedule was a little off, which threw me a bit but made me miss biphasic sleeping. Then, my mental focus was a little off, which threw me a lot and I can't make myself get back to the schedule!
I've had the opportunity to take my nap for three nights now. I ended up sleeping until morning all three times! Last night, I was alone in the house, and I did notice that I kept waking up in 90 minute cycles. What is my problem? I can't sleep because the kids are there and are loud. Then I can't sleep because the kids aren't there and are quiet. Even though I would wake up, I wouldn't get out of bed. I didn't want to!
If I recall, it was difficult to get started the first night of biphasic sleeping, so to go back to it will be hard too. I definitely think that it is a great lifestyle, if I can get back into the swing of things! Tonights the night!!

I need to get back in focus

2006-11-12T21:44:00.000Z

Hi have been a bit all over the place recently, both with my sleeping and mentally, I'm pretty sure it's connected to.

I've had a lot going on personally, my uncle died a week ago, my friend would have been 30 on Friday, but she died earlier this year, which made me realise I hadn't entirely dealt with her death, work has been busy and I'm just exhausted. You know when you are so tired that your words don't come out in the right order when you speak.

This makes sleeping on a routine hard, once I'm in bed, I don't want to get back up again. I am trying really hard to only sleep on 90 cycles, and to biphasically sleep, but I just can't get up.

I napped tonight - from 6.50-8.40 but I felt like I could have slept through until morning.

I planned to nap last night, but we were painting the lounge room an it took us sooooo much longer than intended.

I need to check my diary (how pretentious does that sound?) but I'm going to try really hard to nap every night that I'm home this week, and really get my routine established again.

Trying to Get Back into the Swing of Things!

2006-11-10T17:47:00.000Z

I've been having problems staying awake lately. Yesterday was my day off, and I decided that I would sleep a lot-get it over with so to speak then start all over with my biphasic sleeping schedule on Thursday night. Well, I slept about 11 hours! Then, I went to bed again at 9:30pm, woke up a little after 11:00pm (my alarm was set for am instead of pm!). I didn't do anything other than sit on the couch with Josh, but that was very nice!
I went back to bed around 1 because I couldn't keep my eyes open! I had intended on waking up at 5:30 and exercising, ironing, cleaning, etc. Well, I didn't get up until the last possible second at 7:10 this morning. I slept HARD.
I don't think my problem waking up has anything to do with the biphasic sleep schedule, and I feel SOOO much better when I follow it. Although, I do agree with Anna that it is tough if you do anything in the evenings. Since I usually don't...I'm fine! I'm going to give it a go again tonight. I really need to make myself active after the nap; I think that makes a big difference. We'll see how it goes!!

Catch-up

2006-11-08T15:28:00.000Z

It's been a while since I wrote, it's been a bit frantic for the last week, plus I've been out of the office for the last two days so not really able to blog.

I've decided biphasic is not 100% practical unless you do not do things in the evenings. So I've developed a kind of dual sleeping pattern which seems to be working for me.

If I can, I head to bed as soon as I get home from work, for about 1hr 45mins, I normally don't fall into a deep sleep during this nap, but still feel refreshed and relaxed. Once up, I make dinner and do stuff until about 12.30 when I head back to bed until my alarm at 7. I'd like to cut back the second sleep to 4.5hrs, but I've been really busy and am scared to be tired at work, I'll try this weekend.

If I can't fit in a nap, I usually sleep for 6hrs only, being in bed for about 6.5 hrs to allow time to fall asleep.

Either way, I'm waking up much better and am not as tired which is brilliant.

I still think it's weird that Tino seems to be more reluctant to get out of bed now, he's not sleeping, he's just not getting up. Which makes it hard, because I then want to get back in with him!

On another note, I was telling a supplier of mine about biphasic, and instead of looking at me like I'm suggesting growing a second head, he's really interested and is going to give it a go. He has a 2 year old and will go to sleep at the same time as him for a nap, then have better quality time with his wife. Pretty cool!

I slept for 7 1/2 hours!

2006-11-06T22:54:00.000Z

I took my normal nap at 10pm; I was a little tired before 10, but I stuck it out till my bed time. I woke up okay at 11:30, and I was kind of tired-not too bad. Around 1:00, Josh commented on how red my eyes were-I was tired!
I went back to bed and slept hard. I didn't get up when my alarm went off at 5:30. I actually reset it to get up at 7. It is weird because I feel like I slept SOOOO much, but then when I look back, it is a normal amount, if not less than a normal amount! I am fine today-I still didn't want to get up, but I was really pushing it by getting up at 7:00-good thing I ironed my clothes after my nap!
At first, I kind of felt like a failure because I slept longer than I was supposed to, but I kept it at a sleep cycle (as best I could--Keira woke up again!) and I was awake alone with Josh. I don't feel too groggy today, so I met all of my expectations for Biphasic Sleeping. I really would like to get my body used to sleeping just 4 1/2 or 6 hours a day. It seems to be taking awhile to adjust, though. I have not been eating right (hello-Halloween!!) or exercising (couldn't wake up!!), or drinking my water (I usually don't-I like coffee and diet coke oh so much better), so I think that might have something to do with it. I'm going to try to be better.

I've yawned twice during this entry. Maybe biphasic sleeping isn't working-but I don't feel tooooo tired. We'll see.

Trying to Wake Up

2006-11-04T13:02:00.000Z

It is almost 7am. I didn't take a nap again last night. I set the alarm for 6 hours, figuring I'd be fine since it was for 4 sleep cycles. I think it would've worked if Keira wouldn't have gotten up-what is her problem, anyway? She used to sleep straight through the night...
Anyway, getting up when Keira did interrupted my sleep cycle but I didn't have enough time to get in a full one before work, so we'll see how the day goes. I feel exhausted right now-and I've already had my shower, so usually I'd be fine right now.

No Nap For Me Either

2006-11-03T19:54:00.000Z

Last night I didn't get my nap in. Josh was out working on his movie, and Night's bedtime is 11:00 (whereas mine is 10:00). I didn't think it'd be a problem-I'd just take my nap and wake up later. Well, Night is working on giving up his pacifier, and last night was a tough one for him. So, he not only cried for 1 1/2 hours straight, but he woke up his sister.
I left him in bed and let Keira get up to play in the den until Josh came home. Around 11:45pm (about when I would've been waking up from my nap), I COULDN'T KEEP MY EYES OPEN! Not being able to keep your eyes open with a baby who is just learning to walk is quite dangerous!!
Josh came home and saved us. I don't know when she went to sleep, but she decided to wake up around 5:00 in the morning. Josh had fallen asleep on the couch in the den and didn't hear her, so I woke him up! I reset my alarm for 1 1/2 hours later, testing the sleep cycle theory of 90 minutes. Well, I woke up (and felt refreshed) 2 minutes before my alarm went off!
Not bad.
So I guess when I get woke up mid-cycle, I just need to reset the clock for a full cycle. The problem is whether or not I have that long to sleep before work! Of course, that is just a guess, and maybe I would've felt the same way if I wouldn't have reset the clock (which would have given me about 45 minutes of sleep after being woken by Keira).

Night one at 4.5 hrs

2006-11-03T10:05:00.000Z

Well last night was my first night with a 90 min nap, and 4.5 hrs of proper sleep.

I feel good. I was really unhappy getting up this morning, and have to admit, I stayed in bed for an extra 30 mins, but I tried to stay awake - the duvet was just too warm.

I had not done biphasic for 2 days, and I was soooooo tired by the end of the day yesterday, I've got a late night out tonight, so wont be able to nap, I hope I don't get tired later.

Sleeping increments

2006-11-02T00:45:00.000Z

Interesting question about waking up. I've been thinking about a similar thing. If I want to nap for 1.5 hrs, do I go to bed for 1.5hrs or for 2, knowing that it will take me some time to fall asleep. Is the sleep cycle the actual sleeping amount or the sleeping amount plus the falling asleep time?

Wavering...

2006-11-01T17:03:00.000Z

It seems like my biphasic sleeping was going so well--now it's not so much... I took about 4 days off because our schedule was a little bit wonky and I couldn't stick to the sleeping times very well. Also, when I did sleep, my baby (almost toddler-she has been taking a few steps!!) would end up waking up, therefore waking me up.
Anyway, my first day back to normal was Monday-I stuck to my sleep schedule and had lots of energy. I even slept one less sleep cycle, which I had been wanting to try out. Tuesday, I noticed that I got really tired about an hour before my scheduled naptime. I'm thinking this is due to the daylight savings time change. Then, I woke up from my nap and didn't stay up too long-maybe an hour. Then I had a hard time getting up after 3 hours like I had wanted, so I got up after 4 1/2 (one more sleep cycle). It wasn't too bad, but I wasn't very energetic and didn't get much done before work.
Last night, I again got really sleepy early. I went to bed a little before my naptime, but not too early. I got up from my nap and started watching a movie with Josh. I should've known that I couldn't be sedentary right away-I don't know how far into the movie we were when Josh looked at me and told me I should go to bed...
Josh then convinced me that I had lost a lot of sleep when my houseguests were here, and I just needed to catch up. He offered a SHOCKING solution-sleep for 6 hours straight rather than 3 or 4 1/2. At the time, I didn't need much convincing!!
So, I got back into bed and set the alarm for 6:30, giving me 6 hours of sleep. Keira woke up not much later (I don't know the time-I was sleeping!) and I gave her a bottle. This made me wonder-how does it affect my sleep cycle when I am awakened during it? Do I start over with another increment of 30? Or do I just pretend I didn't wake up? Hmm...
Today, I feel a little groggy-not too bad, but not as energetic as I had been previously during biphasic sleeping. I would like to get back on track and be productive during my awake times. That's the goal. It worked before, so it should work again. It kind of feels like a plateau or something...

Role reversals

2006-11-01T16:52:00.000Z

I've noticed something strange with sleeping like this, Tino and I have changed rolls. He is now having trouble waking up, is dopey in the mornings and get's sleepy earlier in the evening.

It's wierd because he's always been the other way.

I think he might have jumped into sleeping 4.5hrs in the second phase too quickly.

Last night we didn't get to sleep biphasically (or tonight) we slept 6 hours straight instead, which I seemed to be okay with.

I wonder how much of this might be psychosomatic?

I'm hungry

2006-10-31T12:22:00.000Z

I wrote yesterday how I seemed to be less hungry. It's not true today, it's 12.14 and I'm starving. Yesterday I only ate 2 eggs on toast for dinner because I didn't feel hungry, I went to bed at 12.30 and woke up at 6.45 (I allocated 15mins to fall asleep) Maybe I didn't eat enough last night? I'm so hungry now. I can't wait to head out for lunch!

London - I can't seem to sleep in the first nap

2006-10-30T23:26:00.000Z

So far the sleeping is going well, actually it's probably more appropriate to say the awake part is going well, but I'm experiencing two problems.

I don't seem to be able to fall asleep during my first 90 minute nap. I'm not sure if this is a sound thing, or it just takes me quite a while to drift off, I find it takes me at least 1hr to fall asleep meaning I only sleep for about 30 mins. I'll have to try ear plugs for this nap and see if it makes a difference. I'm often grumpy when I first get up from this, and I think it must be down to the fact that I've not slept enough
The second thing I've found is funny given one of the reasons I started sleeping like this is to give myself more time to do things. I run out of time when I'm awake!! It's 11.30pm now and I'm due back in bed at 12.30 already, but I really want to wash my hair, organise my wedding invites into countries to start sending and paint my nails. I'm easing my way into it. I will move to 4.5hrs in my second sleep this weekend and I'm really looking forward to the extra time already!!

This week is going to be interesting, I'm definately seeing the benefits already, but I worry about how this is going to work in reality. It's been fine til now, I've not had anything social on, but this week will be a test, I've got 2 nights out this week, so there will be no napping. I'll try to stick to 6 hr blocks, but I'll miss my nap... We'll see how it goes.

Anna

A New Blog is Fun!

2006-10-30T20:52:00.000Z

Well, I'm in about week three of my biphasic sleeping trial, and I would say it is going very well. I had a little involuntary hiatus, and last night was my first night back. I took 3 days off, and I really missed my biphasic sleeping! I felt pretty tired when I didn't get up in the middle of the night. Weird, huh?
Last night, I went to bed around 11:00; woke up at 12:30; went to bed at 2:30 and got up at 6:30. I was supposed to get up at 6:00, but my husband was cuddling me, so I had to be cuddled-oh the sacrifices we married women make... It was the first night that I went with only 3 hours as my second phase of sleeping rather than 4 1/2. I really enjoyed my time awake! I really could have gotten up at 6:00 without any problem, and I really feel refreshed today! One difference I did notice was that I had a harder time falling asleep the second time than usual. When I say harder time, I mean it took maybe 20 minutes. I usually fall asleep within minutes, and I felt like I needed longer to wind down last night/this morning. I read my book but still didn't quite fall asleep. Then Keira (12 month old) decided to wake up around 3:00, right as I fell asleep, so that kind of put a kink into things, but all was fine!
What did I do during my awake time?
Dishes, laundry (3 cycles!), blog, e-mail, print off pictures and frame them(about 10 pics),pilates, make and drink coffee (I drink about 5 okay: 10 cups a day: it has nothing to do with biphasic sleeping. I just love coffee) ate breakfast, ironed my scrubs, read my book, and watched the news.
Josh didn't stay awake with me after my nap; I think part of the reason was I was mean to him. I was a bit grumpy at the beginning of my return to my sleep schedule. I should be better tonight, so maybe he will stay up and watch a movie or play a game with me. We'll see!

Mari (in Nashville, Tennessee, USA)

London Sleeper

2006-10-30T13:30:00.000Z

I've just started biphasically sleeping (is that a word?) and have been quite suprised at how little information I've found on the net about it. There is plenty of information available on polyphasic sleeping, but that just seems to impractical.

So, I thought Mari and I could record our sleeping patterns, we can compare each others, and if others are looking for examples, our records might be useful.

I started biphasic sleeping about 5 days ago, basically I was fed up with never feeling like I got enough sleep, it seemed that no matter how many hours I slept for, I always hated getting up, felt really lethargic for ages and quite honestly was a bit of a morning bitch.

So far so good, I'm feeling refreshed, wake up alert and happy (my fiance loves this benefit) and really enjoying having time to be productive. A brilliant effect has also been that I'm less hungry. Mari do you find that too?

The principles are not that far fetched when you think of the Spanish and their siesta's. They siesta during the day, then socialise into the evenings, and are still able to start work at 9am like everyone else. We are very conditioned to having 8 hours sleep every night, but it just doesn't seem needed.

The basic principles of biphasic sleeping is to take a 90 minute nap, get straight up and then sleep for a 2nd phase for a period of either 3, 4.5 or 6 hrs. The point is, it must be in 9o minute blocks.