The Polyphasic Sleep Experiment - Preparation
When I tried this sleep schedule, I failed after two days.That means, for me, that I need to make some preparations.
After surfing on the net, I’ve found a really good tip that I believe will help me tremendously.
Condition yourself to go out of bed right away when your alarm goes off
This is an exercise I’ve found on stevepavlina.com. It’s very simple, you practice getting up as soon as your alarm goes up. Not in the morning, but during the day when you’re wide awake.
Darken your bedroom. Go through all the routines you do before going to bed, like brushing your teeth. Then set your alarm for a few minutes ahead. Lie down in bed just like you would if you were sleeping, and close your eyes. Pretend you’re actually asleep. Visualize a dream location, or just zone out as best you can.
Now when your alarm goes off, turn it off as fast as you can. Then take a deep breath to fully inflate your lungs, and stretch your limbs out in all directions for a couple seconds. Then sit up, plant your feet on the floor, and stand up. Smile a big smile. Then proceed to do the very next action you’d like to do upon waking.
Now shake yourself off, restore the pre-waking conditions, return to bed, reset your alarm, and repeat. Do this over and over and over until it becomes so automatic that you run through the whole ritual without thinking about it. If you have to subvocalize any of the steps (if you hear a mental voice coaching you on what to do), you’re not there yet.
To improve my chances of succeeding in this sleep experiment, I will rehearse this exercise ten times a day until it becomes a habit.