Day 16

Uggggg.

So like I said I would on day 11, I have started being more ridgid in my core sleep times. I went to bed promptly at 4am last night, after trying to keep myself awake. I was a little worn out when I went to bed. Alarm went off at 7, and I woke up. But then, while I remember the next 40-45 minutes, I just wasn't functional. I was in a state of awake, but not really. It's hard to explain. But the important thing to note, is I'm hurting. What I'm feeling this morning is what I was expecting during the adjustment period. It sucks. But I think that I'm at the stage when I'm somewhat comfortable with my schedule asa 3am-7am core, with my 3 naps. And that's not where I want to end up, so time to force my body into the schedule I want. Hopefully I can adjust to this within a couple of days.

My weekend summary, with the lack of sleep and abundance of drinking, has started some discussion over at my friend Kevin's blog ( http://kevin.scaldeferri.com/blog/ ). He, I guess, is my polyphasic pal. We're both starting reasonably similar sleep plans around the same time (I think I started maybe a couple days before him) We're also going through a lot of the same things. With a couple distinctions.
I couldn't give up my Tea. I have cut back, and I only allow myself at most, 1 glass of tea, and I make it right after a nap, and I give myself about 30 minutes to finish it. I find it really helps me feel more alert and awake after a tough nap, and has not (or doesn't seem to) effect my napping at all. Kevin has dropped caffeine entirely. He's also quit drinking entirely, where I still have a beer every now and then. I am cutting back on both, but trying not to cut them entirely. I made a bunch of sacrifices for this sleep schedule, but I'm trying to make as few as possible.

Kevin also brought up some good points in a recent post that I had never thought about, but makes sense. He has not been very consistent with his nap locations, and is speculating that it may have a deterimental effect. I guess in that I would be the other side of the controlled experiment. Due to constraints at work, I always have my noon, and 5 nap in my car, and my 11 nap is most often on the futon in the basement, Core Sleep is in bed. The only thing that ever changes in that is my 11 nap sometimes is in a car, if I'm out. Even when I leave work early to get home before my 5 nap, I usually sleep in my car. Largely because by the time I get home, I'm just exhausted, because it's close to nap time. Walking inside is a freaking long walk. plus I have a comfortable blanket that is right beside me. Although I park on the street, in front of my neighbours house. They must think I'm weird, as there have been days when they were workign on something in the garage, and I pulled up in front of their house, and shifted over to the passenger seat and slept for 25 minutes, then left my car. I sometimes wonder what they figured I was doing, or if they talked about the crazy neighbour who sleeps at weird times, and in his car.