I already posted this on Andrew’s blog, but here it is again:
Hahaha, I just saw that today, and am researching it as we speak.
The schedule works almost perfectly around my classes - the 19-up 9-down schedule sounds interesting.
It’s especially attractive because it’s not as drastic as a polyphasic sleep schedule (usually something like 5-up 1-down - I think it’d kill you within a month).
I just have concerns about information retention - under that schedule, my Monday night class is RIGHT at the end of a 20 hour day - in a real way, how well could I function at that time?
It’s attractive, though, because I’m usually useless for the first hour in the mornings.
Over the first month of summer - a year ago when I was unemployed - I think I fell into this sort of sleep schedule; I’d be sleeping 9-10 hours a day, and staying up for 20-25 hours (which kept the same ratio of wake-to sleep (2:1) as an 8 hour sleep, but put more of the hours awake closer together).
One of the interesting things in this sleep schedule is that, if you set it up right, you’re up all night on friday and Saturday - great for the partying crowd.
You also save a wee bit of time - since there are only 6 days, you only shower 6 times/week, you only wear 6 sets of clothes, etc. - there’s the potential for some savings there.
I donno…. I’ve got a schedule off a website that looks like it’d work fairly well; I think the best time for me to break into it would be on Thursday at 4AM (which is the beginning of that day’s sleep period).
I’ll probably repost this comment on my blog, with more discussion.
There’s still one big problem - a decent amount of the time, you’re asleep while it’s daylight out. Another blog, called “Cercadia” had this to say about the alternate sleep schedule:
Here is an idea that sounds great on paper, especially if you are a techno-geek and don’t go out much. However, this schedule ignores biology and will KILL you.
Not exactly a glowing review, really.
I also find that most of the ”Added benefits” are bullshit:
Reduced frequency of daily chores: Anything that you currently do daily would only be done six times a week instead of seven. On a large scale, this would have a measurable effect on the public’s appetite for consumables.
Work only four days a week. While you still work a minimum of 40 hours a week, you only go to work 4 times instead of 5. If you commute 1 hour to work, you save an hour each week commuting.
Transit pollution cut by 20% If EVERYONE adopted the 28 hour day, the rush hours with which we are all familiar now happen only 4 times a week instead of 5 times a week. Air pollution due to commuting would instantly be cut by 20%.
Productivity and free time. If you refer to the “Typical Day Comparison Chart” you’ll see that the longer day not only gives you more time at work, but also more time with your family and friends AFTER work. A typical 28 hour day might give you 11 hours at work, 8 hours of free time, and a refreshing 9 hours of sleep. Just think of what you could accomplish on a day like that!
The Long Weekends: Under the 28 hour day system, your weekend is still two days long, but those two days now total 56 hours, 8 more than the previous 48. The weekend is fully 1/3 of the week.
Every Day is Different: The four hour difference between a 28 hour wake/sleep cycle and the 24 hour light/dark cycle, would create a “sun offset”, which would make each day of the week substantially different in terms of the position of the sun at various times. One day you might have lunch under the stars. Another day, you might breakfast at sunset. Read more about the many additional benefits that arise from the sun offset.
Let’s take ‘em one by one.
Yes, there’d be a slight advantage there (you only have to get dressed 6 times per week), but in almost every case you end up having to do what you used to do 7 times, only 6 times BUT FOR LONGER. It seems reasonable to me - you’re eating fewer meals in a given week, so the meals probably have to be a bit longer/larger; things like that.
Work only 4 days a week, commute less: Not really relevent for me - class is where and when class is, I still have to get there.
BAHAHAHA! I must laugh. Yes, transit pollution will be cut - but you’ve just increased your energy costs by at LEAST that much - You spend most of Thursday and Friday up and doing things in the middle of the night! You’re saving energy on the commute just to spend it heating and lighting the building all night in the depth of winter.
Absolutely untrue - You’ve only got X number of hours in a week. Under the 19 up/9 down schedule, the percentage of the week you spend doing any given activity is the exact same - you’re not saving much time at all. The only way that you “make more time for yourself” would be if you picked a radical sleep schedule, like polyphasic, where you sleep much less. “Just think of what you could accomplish on a day like this!” - Sure, more on any given day… but I have fewer days in a week.
I guess that’s true… but I wonder if you’re as productive as always at the end of that long, long 10 hour work day?
This is a disadvantage - you’re fucking with your body’s sleep schedule; anyone who spends the majority of their time outside would go crazy with this system. The only people who might have a shot at this system are those whose lives tend to revolve around things not related to the sun.
So, should I do it? I donno… there’s only one real, tangible benefit that I can see - I get more time up at a stretch; and considering that I throw away 1-3 hours every morning just getting going, I’d probably be gaining 4-6 hours a week.
Again, one advantage to this schedule is that, unlike polyphasic, it’d probably be pretty easy (relatively speaking) to slip into…