Everyman Polyphasic Sleep- Day Zero

Not to put to fine a point on it, this polyphasic sleeping thing is, well, tough. It has to be expected - sleep deprivation is a funny world at the best of times, and of course is sometimes used for interrogation purposes; I hesitate to call it torture since that word gets bandied around today to describe things which are not in fact torture.

However, not too many people interrogate themselves, and herein lies the fundamental problem - it requires a monumental dose of self-discipline, again something rarer than the proverbial rocking horse shit in today's world, and I am no exception.

The nearest experience to this which I can think of goes back some 10 years or so when I was doing selection and training with the Royal Marines; sleep deprivation was quite a big part of life, especially in the field, and I remember being introduced to the experience of falling asleep whilst standing up!

At least I get to sleep indoors and don't get cold with this experiment.

After much deliberation and changing of plans I've decided to build up to things 'gradually' instead of leaping straight in, in the way a couch potato doesn't go straight into their first full marathon.

 This week will follow the 'everyman' schedule. This involves taking a core sleep of a few hours, with shorter naps spaced out the rest of the time, instead of just short naps at equal intervals. The schedule for this week is: 3 hour core sleep 00.00-03.00, with three half hour naps at 07.00, 11.00 and 19.00. This gives a relatively long drag during the day but then I have to be places some of that time anyway; this way the schedule doesn't have to be tinkered with to accomodate other commitments, which I think was part of where I was going wrong before - there was no consistency.

Next week the core sleep will be cut down by about half an hour, but one day at a time. The intention is to update on this daily, which may prove a motivating factor for staying on schedule this time.
By the by a useful resource for anyone considering this (though I wonder who in their right mind actually would) is available here.