Days 26 and 27 - More over-sleeping
In my last post I mentioned the catnapper CD and how the nap was different from a regular polyphasic nap for me. I used it twice in a row that day (day 25) at 4:30pm and 8:30pm then took a regular nap at 12:30am. The "regular" nap did no go so well. I wound up in a daze for the rest of the night until about 8am. So that's how day 26 (yesterday for those who have lost count) started.
I tried both methods of napping (from here on out a "normal" nap is without the catnapper CD and a "catnapper" nap is with the CD) throughout the day yesterday and decided that the catnapper naps were far more reliable. While it was POSSIBLE that I would feel more alert mentally after a normal nap, there was an equal chance I'd feel worse. My experience with the catnapper naps has been very consistent.
At 10pm last night I decided I would take catnapper naps exclusively for the next few days. If things go well I'll probably keep it up for a week or more (until I feel confident in the schedule) before making any changes.
The next question I've gotten is what kind of sleep do I get with the catnapper CD. From the video evidence it looks like I'm getting about 15-18 minutes of REM which starts as soon as I fall asleep. I'm falling asleep between 5 and 10 minutes into the CD (during the relaxation section) so as far as I can tell the CD isn't putting me in and out of REM.
I generally wake up during count down at the end of the CD, but occasionally I sleep through that part. To remedy this I've created my own version of the CD with a 25 minute obnoxious alarm track after the catnapper track. So far I haven't gone more than about 1 minute in to the alarm track before waking up, but it's still early yet.
I think what I like best about the catnapper naps is the guided relaxation section. It really helps you feel physically better rested when you relax well before falling asleep. I tend to be pretty tense during my normal naps.
Anyway, on to day 27. Today I thought I had somehow slept through that 25 minute alarm because I woke up after a 3 hour over-sleep this morning. Going back to the video however it looks like I actually woke up, restarted the catnapper track, woke a second time, stopped the CD entirely, and fell sound asleep. I don't recall any of that. Sigh. At least the alarm is WORKING :-)
For the 12:30am and 4:30am naps (the sole naps I have any problems with at this point) I'm going to set several redundant alarms on day 28.
Incidentally, tomorrow is 4 weeks since I started the transition and I haven't had a full week of success yet. Wow I'm stubborn ;-)
I tried both methods of napping (from here on out a "normal" nap is without the catnapper CD and a "catnapper" nap is with the CD) throughout the day yesterday and decided that the catnapper naps were far more reliable. While it was POSSIBLE that I would feel more alert mentally after a normal nap, there was an equal chance I'd feel worse. My experience with the catnapper naps has been very consistent.
At 10pm last night I decided I would take catnapper naps exclusively for the next few days. If things go well I'll probably keep it up for a week or more (until I feel confident in the schedule) before making any changes.
The next question I've gotten is what kind of sleep do I get with the catnapper CD. From the video evidence it looks like I'm getting about 15-18 minutes of REM which starts as soon as I fall asleep. I'm falling asleep between 5 and 10 minutes into the CD (during the relaxation section) so as far as I can tell the CD isn't putting me in and out of REM.
I generally wake up during count down at the end of the CD, but occasionally I sleep through that part. To remedy this I've created my own version of the CD with a 25 minute obnoxious alarm track after the catnapper track. So far I haven't gone more than about 1 minute in to the alarm track before waking up, but it's still early yet.
I think what I like best about the catnapper naps is the guided relaxation section. It really helps you feel physically better rested when you relax well before falling asleep. I tend to be pretty tense during my normal naps.
Anyway, on to day 27. Today I thought I had somehow slept through that 25 minute alarm because I woke up after a 3 hour over-sleep this morning. Going back to the video however it looks like I actually woke up, restarted the catnapper track, woke a second time, stopped the CD entirely, and fell sound asleep. I don't recall any of that. Sigh. At least the alarm is WORKING :-)
For the 12:30am and 4:30am naps (the sole naps I have any problems with at this point) I'm going to set several redundant alarms on day 28.
Incidentally, tomorrow is 4 weeks since I started the transition and I haven't had a full week of success yet. Wow I'm stubborn ;-)
posted by Jeremy | 12:21:00 PM
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