I just finished a (poorly designed) ~3 month experiment with the Paleo Diet. I’m not sure what to do next. Does anyone have any requests for an n=1 trial of something having to do with bodily health/cognitive performance? Please, nothing that has a significant probability of doing massive harm to my mind/body.
Have tried it twice, failed both times. Like Alex_Altair, I recognized problems and attempted to fix them, going so far as to have 24-hour surveillance during my second attempt to ensure that I wouldn’t crash. The surveillance only lasted a week, and I started crashing as soon as I went off it. Typically, the transition period process is getting worse until you get better, and I just noticed getting worse. I strongly suspect that there’s a biological flag which determines whether or not this can work for you, and it won’t work for me.
I tested it four times. Each time I failed, figured out the reasons I failed, removed those reasons the next time, and failed again. I’ve concluded that it doesn’t work, at least for me and my friend.
I maintained a semi-uberman sleep cycle for about 2 months during college (I was Alex_Altair’s polyphasic-buddy, for my second attempt). I slept for ~3 hours a day during this time. We spread it out into four 30 minute naps. The transition period took 3 weeks for me (I believe Alex_Altair did not successfully transition, and we abandoned our team effort, but I continued on my own). I would sleep through my first class each day (approximately 50 minutes) and then maintain the sleep cycle properly for the rest of the day. I eventually screwed up sleeping on the weekend (by consciously choosing to oversleep) in a way that resonated the rest of the cycle until I wound up back in monophasic sleep.
Would I do it again? If I had enough time to transition, and a schedule I could set myself, yes. It’s probably been long enough since my previous attempt that it seems like a good idea to try again (where what I remember of the transition period is mostly tainted by nostalgia). My natural sleep cycle is somewhat stupid, desiring 10 hours of sleep a day and advancing independently of the earth’s rotation, so reducing that to 3 hours a day and having it synchronized with the earth is a major benefit.
Have tried it. I don’t think Uberman is workable for people with a normal SWS (deep sleep) requirement. “Everyman 3” (3 hour core, 3 20-minute naps) is probably doable by anyone who doesn’t mind torpedoing their social life; I did that for > 6 months or so.
EDIT: You can measure how much deep sleep you normally get with a Zeo.
Seems interesting, but I work a 10 hour shift, so the logistics of sleeping for 20 minutes every 4 hours isn’t going to work. I’ll look into it though and see if I can figure something out. Consider it under consideration.
what does the data look like before you started the paleo diet? It’s impossible to evaluate whether the paleo diet caused your weight loss or you were already on a downward trend without this information.
I just finished a (poorly designed) ~3 month experiment with the Paleo Diet. I’m not sure what to do next. Does anyone have any requests for an n=1 trial of something having to do with bodily health/cognitive performance? Please, nothing that has a significant probability of doing massive harm to my mind/body.
I would like to know someone who tested the Uberman sleep schedule.
Have tried it twice, failed both times. Like Alex_Altair, I recognized problems and attempted to fix them, going so far as to have 24-hour surveillance during my second attempt to ensure that I wouldn’t crash. The surveillance only lasted a week, and I started crashing as soon as I went off it. Typically, the transition period process is getting worse until you get better, and I just noticed getting worse. I strongly suspect that there’s a biological flag which determines whether or not this can work for you, and it won’t work for me.
I tested it four times. Each time I failed, figured out the reasons I failed, removed those reasons the next time, and failed again. I’ve concluded that it doesn’t work, at least for me and my friend.
I maintained a semi-uberman sleep cycle for about 2 months during college (I was Alex_Altair’s polyphasic-buddy, for my second attempt). I slept for ~3 hours a day during this time. We spread it out into four 30 minute naps. The transition period took 3 weeks for me (I believe Alex_Altair did not successfully transition, and we abandoned our team effort, but I continued on my own). I would sleep through my first class each day (approximately 50 minutes) and then maintain the sleep cycle properly for the rest of the day. I eventually screwed up sleeping on the weekend (by consciously choosing to oversleep) in a way that resonated the rest of the cycle until I wound up back in monophasic sleep.
Would I do it again? If I had enough time to transition, and a schedule I could set myself, yes. It’s probably been long enough since my previous attempt that it seems like a good idea to try again (where what I remember of the transition period is mostly tainted by nostalgia). My natural sleep cycle is somewhat stupid, desiring 10 hours of sleep a day and advancing independently of the earth’s rotation, so reducing that to 3 hours a day and having it synchronized with the earth is a major benefit.
Have tried it. I don’t think Uberman is workable for people with a normal SWS (deep sleep) requirement. “Everyman 3” (3 hour core, 3 20-minute naps) is probably doable by anyone who doesn’t mind torpedoing their social life; I did that for > 6 months or so.
EDIT: You can measure how much deep sleep you normally get with a Zeo.
Seems interesting, but I work a 10 hour shift, so the logistics of sleeping for 20 minutes every 4 hours isn’t going to work. I’ll look into it though and see if I can figure something out. Consider it under consideration.
also posting this comment on your blog:
what does the data look like before you started the paleo diet? It’s impossible to evaluate whether the paleo diet caused your weight loss or you were already on a downward trend without this information.
You are right, of course (apart from impossible being too strong a word). I replied here.