The First Step IV - Cold Turkey

'What gets measured, gets done' - Andy Grove

• Tuesday 5th June - down at 02:30. I only went to sleep when I was tired.
• Wednesday 6th June - up at 06:30 (nearly didn't make it) - down at 02:00. Still only going to sleep when I'm tired. Problem is, I'm getting tired too late. Nap at 14:30.
• Thursday 7th June - up at 06:30 - down at 01:30. Why aren't I falling asleep earlier?! Naps at 09:00 and 15:30.
• Friday 8th June - up at 06:30 - down at 12:30. Nap at 09:00.
  

At first I was amazed at how functional I was on so little sleep. Up to a point. By the 3rd night of this I'd discovered I could get up even though my cumulative sleep deficit was increasing, but it was getting harder and harder . The key is the nap during the day - do not oversleep. Do not nap more than 30 minutes (from when you set the alarm). I don't understand why I wasn't flopping down on my bed exhausted each evening despite the fact that I was clearly sleep-derived. By Friday night I'd decided I'd had enough - I needed to have my brain back during the day so I could complete an assignment that needs to be handed in by Sunday.

Where to from here? Do I go back to the gradual approach? Have I wasted my time yet again? Am I back to square one? No - I learned two valuable things;

1. When it's time to get up, it's time to get up.
2. The nap is key. Don't overdo it.

For some odd reason, I didn't fall asleep normally. In fact, often my body would treat the beginning of the main sleep period as a nap and I would wake up spontaneously after around 20 minutes. I don't think it's a permanent feature - just something that' s affecting me at this moment in time. But as a result, I've decided that the gradual approach would work for me best right now.