I just want to announce to everyone that I am back on the Polyphasic Genius Sleep Schedule and loving it. These days I've been trying four and a half hours of core sleep at night and TWO twenty minute naps throughout the day. This is down from the THREE twenty naps a day the plan calls for, so I feel a little tired and not very much like a genius. Three naps a day is pretty hard to pull off, especially if there are other humans in your life who are not taking three naps a day. I have been productive, however, and I will keep this up for as long as I can and make reports here as scheduling permits.
Recently I stumbled across an article in venerable Gelf magazine about a guy who has been able to switch dominance between right and left hemispheres of his brain, thus allowing one side to rest while the other works. Apparently, he was able to stay awake for eleven days by doing this, and could have kept it up indefinitely. Okay, I admit, this sounds a little extreme--I won't be trying this out although I think it would be interesting to see what effect this all had on the human brain and body.
Click [HERE] to go to Gelf Magazine!
My favorite quote: "I generally feel better and more relaxed when I am sleep-deprived."
Speaking of geniuses, did people see that Stuart Dybek won a 2007 Genius Grant?
5 comments:
I did see that. I like Dybek, and I'm glad he's finally got one. Better him than one of those youngsters who hasn't really earned it. Plus, he's not gimmicky, just a solid, good writer.
Also, I'm reading McKee's story, and while some of it is quite obvious, I thought of you while reading the introduction, which says that over the last two decades he's seen some good movies, and a few very good movies, but "rarely, rarely a film of staggering power and beauty." He then says, "maybe I'm jaded."
It's interesting he says he thinks film is the medium of the 20th century, and if that's the case, I think TV may be the medium of the 21st. Maybe.
Also, in response to your last post, I'm putting a lot of hope into the Jesse James film which is a film version of a Ron Hansen novel. I love Hansen, and hope they have done him justice.
As for sleep, I never get enough, take no naps, and feel less like a genius every day.
For me, I think the key is protein.
Am I polyphasic? For years now I've only needed 5.5 hours of sleep max. Recently that has shifted to 5 hours of sleep. I take precious few naps if ever--only when I am particularly tired or, ahem, hung over. Have I acheived polyphase and didn't even know it?
I think technically you wouldn't be polyphasic and neither would I. True polyphasic sleep is what an infant does-- on and off all the time with no real core or "nighttime" sleep. Ongoing napping. I'm doing a variant on that. Sounds like you are still monophasic, you just require less sleep than normal humans.
Woo hoo! Confirmation, at last!
I think I may see the Jesse James film, but I've heard it's beautiful and boring. But beautiful--there's that.
Your polyphasic thing bemuses me. I like a nap as much as anyone, but I also like to sleep from midnight to seven or so. A brief nap on top of that is perfection. But to each his own.
"Pet Milk" is a beautiful story of Dybek's. Apropos of Dybek.
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