An issue many people who go on polyphasic sleep encounter sooner or later is boredom. This is particularly evident in the Uberman* schedule, but it happens in other schedules as well. This is going to be a short guide on how to tackle the issue.
Why do people get bored?
Polyphasic sleep is far more effective than ‘normal’ monophasic sleep. As a result, we do not need as much sleep, leaving us with more free time. Uberman saves the most time, since it only involves an accumulated 2 hours of sleep, leaving us with 22 hours of waking time. My own schedule involves roughly 3.6 hours of sleep (2 90 minute cores + 2 20 minute naps) which still leaves me with over 20 hours of waking time per day. (If I don’t oversleep, that is).
Even if I spend 10 hours a day going to work, working and coming home, I still have 10 hours left, subtract another hour and a half for showers, getting dressed and meals, I still have 8.5 hours left. That’s an entire working day! I don’t have children and our apartment isn’t big enough to take an entire day to be cleaned, so even after every single chore has been done, there is plenty of time left to do whatever I want.
A drawback for some people is that the time gained, is time at night. This means it’s usually not possible to go and spend time with friends, unless they are polyphasic sleepers too (or insomniacs). Also many companies are closed at night, so shopping sprees are limited to online stores, which is not nearly as much fun. Cultural events are often during daytime or the early evening, but rarely after midnight.
So what can we do to prevent boredom?
There are actually many things one can do at night without upsetting the neighbours. I will now list some options, but this is not an exclusive list. If you know anything else you’d prefer doing, by all means go with that.
1) Cook
Get into the kitchen! Cooking and baking have several positive influences. First off it keeps you active, both mentally and physically; It is creative and therefore it stimulates the brain and you’ll be standing up and busy making dough or cutting veggies so your muscles are active causing your body to release endorphins, which make you feel good. Secondly you will be able to enjoy the fruits of your labour pretty much straight away! Whether it’s an Indian curry, a delicious cake, or an energy boosting fruit smoothie to help you stay awake without need for caffeine.
2) Art
Any type of visual art should be silent enough to do at night without waking up the neighbours. Performing arts and musical art might not be such a good idea, but drawing, painting, animating, even film editing (with headphones if necessary) are all solid pastimes, that need not wake anyone up. Because of the creativity involved and the creation of a solid end product this can be very rewarding. Keep in mind though that you should not strain your eyes by looking at a computer screen for too long, and bright light (especially computer screens) will make it harder to fall asleep when the time to sleep does come. In moderation however, these hobbies make wonderful bore-retardants, even in the wee hours.
3) Start a blog
This one is rather obvious, since it’s what I did. Again it is creative and can be very rewarding. Especially seeing your blog grow, get more likes and more followers every day, even though this blog is very small at the moment, it is growing steadily, which is good.
4) Read a book
Old-fashioned it may be, but it is definitely quiet. Books are amusing, they expand your knowledge and your creativity. You can get completely absorbed by an alternate universe or by someone’s story. Much more so than with the average television show. Books allow you to give all the characters their own faces, to go on amazing adventures, to imagine lavish landscapes, to visit mysterious mansions, and to travel the whole wide world and beyond.
So yes, books… Read ’em.
5) Learn a language
Because why not? You have hours to spare, so spend an hour or 2 per night in the books and before you know it you speak fluent Punjabi!
6) Make an indie game
If you are able to write computer code, or even just use software like Adobe Flash, you can build your own independent game from scratch. Seeing it develop and eventually self-publish the game via the internet is a dream only few people realise. With the extra hours you’ll be able to spend on this, your game will be up and running in no-time!
7) Work
Now this does not have to be as bad as it sounds. There are ample opportunities to make a little money on the side from the comfort of your own home. Do you like writing? Become a freelance writer! Did you do nr. 5? Become a freelance translator! As a freelancer you get to pick your own hours and you decide when (and if) you work or not. It may not make you a fortune, but a little extra is always nice.
8) Write a book
Don’t like blogs? Freelance not interesting enough? Head overflowing with good stories to tell? Write a book! Publishing is easier than ever due to crowd-funding opportunities and the possibility of self-publishing an e-book.
9) Educate yourself
With just a couple of extra hours put in every day, you can take control of your own destiny. There are plenty of night courses and distance-learning courses available, that could help you further your career. Tired of doing the same boring desk job every day? Take a course, get certified and switch careers!
10) Learn a trade
Now obviously not all trades are suitable for night-time without having a frustrated, sleep-deprived neighbour on your doorstep every night, but some trades are quiet enough to practise at night. Being able to use your home-made items, give them to your friends and family as personal gifts or even sell them for extra income is a rewarding experience. Again creativity plays a major role in this hobby. Seeing and using the resulting products of your work is the most rewarding experience there is for the effort that was put in.
As I stated above, there are of course many more things you could do with your extra hours, these are just a few ideas to help you get rid of the boredom. If you have any other ideas please let me know in the comments and I might give them a go!
*I will write a post explaining the different types of polyphasic sleep in more detail sometime over the next few days.
20/7 Tai 