Day 0 - the cycle begins

24 hours is never enough. That's where polyphasic sleep comes in. I looked into polyphase sleep around a year ago, but back in high school when there really wasn't anything worth staying up for. But these days, trying to fit activism, dreams, social life, and somewhat meaningful classes, as well as a little sanity-time into a 24-hour period is coming at the expense of the somewhat meaningful classes.

I have also been thinking about the recent actions in Greece, with frustration at the USofA and how the anarchists here really aren't as organized here as we could be. Not to say that only firebombing of banks and police stations will prepare the revolution, but really, we could do more to shift the power through autonomous social movements, independent media, organized labor, participatory economics, and local assemblies. This is a shame, because here in the US we are opportunistically situated in the underbelly of the murderous, consumerist, atomizing system we call the "free market." If we were able to increase our waking hours from 4 to 7 hours per day, we would have all of that time open for resistance, indymedia, love, cooking, biking, or whatever. We might also remember our dreams better, which would make imagining utopia and drawing all the easier.

Now: this blog. I've personally decided to make a switch over to the Dymaxion sleep cycle, which consists of 30-minute naps followed by 5.5 hours of waking, repeated four times every 24 hours. This schedule is taken from Buckminster Fuller's diaries. It would add approximately 7 hours to my day if it works, decreasing my sleep time from 9 to 2 hours per day. I will be blogging about my experiences with the Dymaxion cycle on a daily basis, from the perspective of an anarchist-communist activist and student. If this works out, I will be plugging it about it to all my anarchist and socialist friends, while staying suspiciously silent to the capitalists and fascists.

The medical establishment thinks polyphase sleep is a bad idea. Then again, the medical establishment is against medical marijuana but okay with electroconvulsive shock therapy, so that doesn't really doesn't mean much. I've been reading up on anecdotal evidence about polyphase sleeping--blogs, stories, friends who've tried/trying it, etc. Some people who have tried it have found it impossible or miserable. Others report a renewed sense of physical well-being, increased happiness, healthy weight loss, cured sleep disorders, more time, better dream recollection, more vivid dreams, and generally more productivity. It's a promising crapshoot, as well as a little risky, since no tests have been done on the long-term impacts of polyphase sleep. Leonardo de Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Buckminster Fuller--four incredibly prolific creators--all slept on a polyphasic cycle. They were all sort of crazy, but not too crazy to function. Steve Pavlina, an obnoxious self-help advocate also tried two different polyphasic cycles (the Uberman and the Dymaxion), documenting his experiences in great detail on his blog, http://www.stevepavlina.com/. He is a bit crazier than the four people I just mentioned, a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps capitalist douche kinda guy. The hunter-gatherers of the Piraha nation are known sleeping on a polyphasic cycle, as well as for disproving Chomsky's linguistic theories. A primitivist's orgasm, they seem to be doing pretty well: avoiding corporate globalization, maintaining a structurally unique language, and forming a society based on non-hierarchical organization.

There are a lot of different ways to switch over to polyphasic sleep. Some people map out a smooth transition, while others make the switch immediately. No matter what you do, most peple go through a "transition period" where your body is adapting to sleeping on schedule in short naps and quickly falling into REM sleep once your head hits the pillow. I'll be going for the second option, because it seems easier and less time consuming. Also, everyone who's tried this that I know of has overslept sporadically for the first few weeks, so a smooth transition seems like a waste of time anyways.

So in order to make this work, I've also solicited some advice about how to succesfully sleep on a polyphase cycle. Advice:

• eat healthy
  
• no caffeine or other stimulants
• no or little alcohol
  
• eat right after you wake up - I think the Dymaxion makes this easy
  
• use as many senses as possible for your alarms
• set multiple alarms
• wear a blanket or warm clothing when you wake up (the body is colder when it's asleep)
• set to work on a big project so you know what do with the time: for me, researching ideas for Communal Assemblies and doing pre-reading for my Zapatista class
• set a rigid sleep schedule
  

My new sleep schedule is arranged around my classes, the dining commons schedule, and Poverty Is Not a Crime meetings. I've made it so nothing pre-planned or regular happens until 30 minutes after I wake up, so I have time to eat, brush my teeth, and maybe accidentally oversleep without it intruding too much into my daily life. To make this work, I had to make some modifications to the Dymaxion cycle. On Saturdays and Sundays, I will be awake for ten extra minutes during each "unit" of waking time. On Monday, my "days" will be a bit short, in order to revert back to the normal schedule. Here is my goal for a modified Dymaxion sleep schedule:

Sunday: 12:40 - 1:10 a.m. 6:50-7:20 a.m. 12:00-12:30 p.m. 7:10-7:40 p.m.
Monday: 12:50 - 1:20 a.m. 6:34 - 7:04 p.m. 12:10 -12:40 p.m. 6:00-6:30 p.m.
Tuesday through Saturday: 12:00 - 12:30 a.m. 6:00-6:30 a.m. 12:00 - 12:30 p.m. 6:00-6:30 p.m.
Saturday 12:00-12:30 a.m. 6:10-6:40 a.m. 12:20 - 12:50 p.m. 6:30-7:00 p.m.

For now, though, it's winter break, so I don't have any time-specific obligations at all! That means that I'll stick to the regular schedule of sleeping at 12:00 and 6:00 for 30 minutes for now, and switch over to the weird Sat.-Sun.-Mon. schedule once Wintersession starts. Wish me luck...