How to take a nap

[ZotC]

Well, due to several major changes in my life as of late, my schedule is completely open: no school, no work, no nothing (that's why I've found the time to finally join up and start posting here rather than just reading the occasional thread!). Well, I do have one prior engagement, from 5pm-8pm a few days a week, but that's about it. Because of my old job, I used to be nocturnal. Working seven night a week from 8pm-3am, I usually went to sleep between 6-10am, waking up anywhere between 1pm and 6pm to start my "day". It was a tough habit to break, but I've gotten myself back onto a relatively 'normal' sleep schedule, going to bed between midnight and 3am and sleeping until anywhere from 6am til 10am. Now that I'm back on a normal schedule, I want to go ahead and get on an abnormal one again Not abnormal-nocturnal, like I was doing, but something conducive to LDing; something polyphasic. I've got nothing but time to adapt to a new schedule, but I do have one major hurdle to overcome: I DON'T KNOW HOW TO NAP! I've never been a great napper. I used to 'take naps' with my (now ex-) girlfriend and lay in bed thinking while she slept next to me. It's not that I don't like taking naps, I just don't really know how. It takes me a long, loooooong time to get to sleep, and even longer to wake up once I fall asleep. For example, a one hour nap is often a 3+ hour ordeal by the time I get sleepy, actually sleep, and then wake up to more than an open-eyed zombified state. So before I ramble on anymore and scare away any readers, I'll get to the point: How do I develop the habit of napping? Before I decide on a rigid pattern of core sleep and naps, I need to actually develop the ability to nap! I've been trying for a few days with varied results: the first day I napped for 2 hours (one hour longer than I planned), the next day I napped for 7 minutes (after 53 minutes of trying to get to sleep), the third day I spent 2 hours laying down in a quiet and dark room without ever getting sleepy, and today (day 4) I was too wired to keep my eyes closed long enough to try to nap. Does anyone else experience this? Am I a freak of nature? How did you overcome your nap-aversion? And most importantly, Does anyone have any advice on how to start napping??!

[Placebo]

I've been meaning to make an article about this, but as with everything, been procrastinating Do you have an mp3 player, and decent earphones? Then try using a soundtrack to make it easier to block out noise and ease yourself into sleep. And get yourself a sleep mask to make it seem darker while napping (light has a lot to do with a sleep routine) If you want some premade soundtracks to try, check out the ones on my site: http://polynap.grelly.com (on the left menu) Also, I'm going to revamp and put up a new version that I'm using in a day or two, so keep tuned

[ZotC]

I've got an iPod with those crappy earbuds that are awfully uncomfortable, but I'll have to try that once I invest in a nice, cozy pair of over-the-ear ones.

[Placebo]

Cool well, try that. Also, perhaps you need to learn how to clear your mind and let it drift from your conscious worries and thoughts. Firstly, try the muscle relaxing technique of concentrating on your feet, clenching foot muscles, and releasing. Then moving to your shins, knees, upper leg, etc all the way to your head. This helps to release the physical tension of the day Then there's a few other tricks to clear your mind. Lately I imagine a flame and any thoughts that come along get thrown into the flame. Don't get upset when you keep drifting .. just accept the thought, and throw it away. Once you find that the thoughts are dreamy and not work/consciousness related, then let yourself go and drift into the images and thoughts. Try not to think about them, just go with it without analysing them. It's a bit of an art, and just takes some time to get used to

[ZotC]

Thanks for the tips, I'll start implementing them tonight with my core sleep and tomorrow with my siesta. Funny you should mention imagining a flame; I just made another thread about my inability to visualize. No, not even a flame... Any advice for learning to visualize, too?

[Euthanatos]

Specifically, light absorbed by the eye sends a signal to the brain to stop producing melatonin. With the lights out, it is much easier to convince the brain to produce melatonin. This endogenous chemical can by obtained as a Supplement where vitamins are found at your pharmacy. I've found it helps me go to sleep and more often than not I have a lot of difficulty falling asleep 'on time.' The best thing I've ever found to help me sleep isn't something I can really reccomend, but without it I would long ago have become a homocidal maniac (One trained in hand-to-hand combat, Urban tactical warfare, and IED production and use btw...) and that is marijuana. Again, I can't recommend it to anyone, especially considering the political climate of our world today. Other things I've found that help me sleep are small amounts of alchohol right before laying down. A glass or two of red wine is healthy for your heart as well. Kratom, a legal herb (Though facing possible legislation in some states) is said to have opiate like sedative effects (Though not being an opiate itself nor having the severe addiction tendancies of opiates). One can find information on dosages and such from such places as Erowid or Entheogen forums. I have no personal experience with this though. Sounds like you're already into meditation and such. Excercise has always helped me sleep as well. I should point out that there are times when one of these alone, or in fact combinations have failed to help me produce sleep. I've taken melatonin, drank a couple glasses of wine, smoked a joint, and meditated before and still been unable to sleep for hours. Sometimes I get so manic nothing brings me down. Also, finding music that makes YOU relax can be important. It seems odd to point this out when it has already been suggested, but I personally have found that black metal (Not death metal....I don't like the abrasive voice) like Cradle of Filth or Dimmu Borgir have been more productive than any of these during certain periods of my life at producing sleep. There is something Melodic even about those artists....IMHO.

[theyearthreethousand]

a) sleep less in the night so that you are tired in the daytime b) do lots of exercise in the day (walking will do) so that you are tired in the daytime c) buy a sleeping mask it's that simple.

[Placebo]

More specifically: Don't do exercise within a few hours of sleep, that'll keep you awake, not help you sleep. Exercise in the day is good, as it wears down your reserves I disagree with Euthanatos on the alcohol tip ... firstly, this doesn't work the same for everybody, some people are kept awake by it But secondly and most importantly, alcohol disturbs your natural sleep cycles and chemistry, which means you might sleep, but not healthily and in good quality.

[ZotC]

The best thing I've ever found to help me sleep isn't something I can really reccomend, but without it I would long ago have become a homocidal maniac (One trained in hand-to-hand combat, Urban tactical warfare, and IED production and use btw...) and that is marijuana. funny you should mention that. Check out my blog (the link in my signature) for a post I just made 5 minutes before reading this, about the very same thing. Unfortunately, I'm in a "total abstinence blah blah woof woof" rehab program for opiate addiction, meaning I get drug tested regularly and had to give up the ganja... not that I mind much (well, I do mind... lots... ), but if you check out the latest post at the link below, you'll see that my first love, Mary Jane, seems to supress my ability to dream. How do the rest of you react to smoking a doobie, as far as dreaming goes, that is? we all know how sleep is effected, but do anyone else's dreams suffer? I've seen anecdotal evidence of people who THC affects likewise in browsing this forum years ago, but I'm always curious as to how it effects the rest of you.

[ZotC]

90 minutes nap after only 30 minutes of trying to get to sleep... I'm getting better