The Uberman Addiction

It's really weird, since writing my last article, the idea of the Uberman schedule has really taken hold, to the point that a few of my friends tried to do it.  Only one succeeded.  Even I planned to do it, but decided I would wait until I wouldn't have as much to lose from sleep depravation.  Below is the blog I wrote in preparation about a week ago:

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I suppose I should put a little background info up here so that people know exactly what they can improve off our method or what we did right, depending on the outcome.  As far as I know, my little group of three is the youngest to seriously attempt the Uberman schedule (assuming we do it).  We are all Juniors in high school, and the vast majority of Ubermen are in college or above.  So it'll be interesting to see how this works.  I can't speak for the others, but I hate sleep.  I currently get around 6 hours of sleep a night.  I wake up a little before 6 every morning for school and go to bed around midnight.  Not too efficient, and not too healthy.  Definitely not getting enough REMs.  In addition, I swim competitively everyday for 1.5 to 2.5 hours a day, depending on the day and excluding Sundays.  So that's it, no job at the moment, although I'm planning to start applying soon, and nothing else remarkable to take up my days except hobbies.

In addition, right now is possibly the best time to start the cycle.  We've all finished our AP classes, so we really have nothing to do all day anyway, so we might as well experiment with expanding our waking day.  Several teachers have expressed support, so that shouldn't be a problem, although there will be one section during the day where I will be forced to spend nearly 5 hours awake.  Most successful Ubermen have reported being able to remain awake for up to 7 hours, but that's usually after a few weeks.  We'll see how that goes.

So now I suppose I should throw up my sleep schedule as it is now.  I have everything in military time because keeping track of A.M. and P.M. when there really is no 'night' is going to be rough.  So here it is:

Free >> 2400 - 300 >> 3 hours
Post-Midnight Nap >> 300 - 330 >> 30 minutes
Free >> 330 - 640 >> 3 hours 10 minutes
Pre-School Nap >> 640 - 710 >> 30 minutes
School >> 710 - 1205 >> 4 hours 55 minutes
Lunch Nap >> 1205 - 1245 >> 40 minutes
School & Free >> 1245 - 1530 >> 2 hours 45 minutes
Pre-Swim Nap >> 1530 - 1600 >> 30 minutes
Swim >> 1600 - 1930 >> 3 hours 30 minutes
Post-Swim Nap >> 1930 - 2000 >> 30 minutes
Free >> 2000 - 2330 >> 3 hours 30 minutes
Midnight Nap >> 2330 - 2400 >> 30 minutes

Totals: 3 hours 10 minutes sleep ; 20 hours 50 minutes
That's a net gain of around 3 hours per night, or 21 hours a week.  That's more than a full waking day!  And when I limit it down to 20 minutes per nap, I'll only be sleeping 2 hours a night, with a net gain of 4 hours a day or 28 hours a week.  Pretty good, eh?

So obviously my schedule is not true Uberman.  But it should work, seeing as I've surrounded the hardest parts of my day with more frequent naps.  You might also note that my naps are 30 minutes long, with the exception of the Lunch Nap, which is 40 minutes.  This is mainly for the beginning so that I can ensure that I have enough time to fall asleep.  I don't actually plan on spending all 30 minutes sleeping, but I'm giving myself that gray area to get the ball rolling before I tighten things up.  Uberman isn't exactly an art, and very little is actually known about the schedule, so we'll see how this goes.

Also, I've researched just about everything I can about the art of the Uberman and have come up with a few things that should help me to adjust faster/ make this work.  Below is my personal "Uberman Creed," an attempt to ensure victory.

THE UBERMAN CREED

• If I feel any serious effects from the sleep deprivation (i.e. throwing up, passing out, inability to wake up, etc.), I will stop.
• If, after 10 days, I do not recognize any positive changes, I will stop.
• If I need to I will take an extra nap for no more than 20 minutes.  (This won't provide me with any REM sleep, but I've heard some NREMs can help the transition a bit.)
• I will consume at least 7 servings of fruit and vegetables a day (especially juice blends).
• I will attempt to consume around 100 grams of protein a day.
• I will limit my consumption of fatty foods as much as possible.
• I will limit my consumption of caffeine as much as possible. 
• I will drink at least 75 ounces of water a day.
• I will stay busy.

That last one is crucial.  From what I've read, most of the people that fail fail because they were either not busy enough or focused too much on the future instead of simply living for the present.  I plan to take cognizance tests everyday in math and memorization in hopes of either proving or disproving the belief that cognizance is unchanged from the practical sleep schedule to the Uberman.  We'll see, but I want to make sure that it isn't delusion that convinces me.  I will also be asking my friends and family for their input.  I'm not sure if I'll be adopting this schedule for got or not yet, but I want to make sure that everything I do is documented so that I know for sure what the results are and others can base their attempts off of mine.

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It seems obvious to me now that I was writing off of the high that was created from the excitement of having so much extra time.  I'm looking at things a bit more practically now, and I now understand what a commitment this cycle is.  It really is dangerous if you're not careful, both to yourself and others.

Irony and The Pursuit for Greatness

It's ironic really.  We spend our entire lives straining to achieve some level of greatness, some ideal state of being, and yet we look to fit in with society's standards to achieve that goal.  However, if there's one thing I've learned in my short life, it's that no one ever becomes great by simply achieving the standards set forth by society.  My favorite, and probably most cliché, example is that of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, arguably two of the most successful men in present history. The idea of greatness through individuality isn't isolated to this single case, but nearly every person who has gone on to do something amazing with their lives.  Don't believe me?  Look into it, and I'm willing to bet you that 90% of 'The Greats' weren't your average everyday Joes (not that I have anything against the name).  You see, there's more truth to the phrase "Strength through tragedy" than most people realize, but it isn't simply tragedy that breeds strength.  In fact, it's the simple act of carving your own path into the world instead of simply tracing the paths of others.


So why do we strive so hard to fit into the popular, the mediocre?  Why do we care what other's opinions or general studies show us when we should be striving to be beyond the standard or the general?  In my opinion, the greatest thing an individual can do is reject the standard in an effort to develop their individuality and inner strength.  The only real issue that I have with society in general (not American society, not European society, not even Modern society, but society as a whole) is that we tend to have low self images of ourselves, leading to a herd mentality.  We rationalize the decisions of others no matter how backward or obviously wrong they may be because, surely, "someone knows better than me."  Why?  Why should we base our opinions and ideologies on  the notion that there must be someone better?  Why can't you be the best?  If you spend your entire life following the decisions of others without ever taking the time to form your own beliefs and opinions, you will never emerge from the shadows of those around you.  You will never be the best, and you will never be great.  Instead, we should always assume that we have an equal chance of knowing just as much as the next guy.  Obviously there are exceptions and you shouldn't get into an argument with a nuclear physicist about dark matter or alpha decay unless you know what you're talking about.  Instead, I am saying that you should never discount your own, personal reason.  You have just as much of an opportunity of reasoning things out as the next guy and we should never discount that. 


Why is it that each of us dedicates years of our lives to a general education with general students who may or may not have the same drive as we do to succeed?  Why are we so bound a system that only serves to equalize performance, to meet a set standard established by someone who 'knows better' than you?  The biggest issue with this system is that it binds the progress of the individual to what others deem to be necessary.  This is supposed to raise smarter, stronger, and more efficient future generations.  But in reality, how do future generations become smarter if they are being told how to think?  How are future generations becoming stronger if they don't need the will power to forge their own path to success?  How will future generations be more efficient if they are bound to a set standard of performance?  It simply doesn't work out.  It's ironic.


And to ensure that this system of dominance and marginalization reigns supreme, the schooling system grades it's students on their progress and performance.  These grades are then used to determine things about the student that could not possibly be known.  Their work habits, their intelligence, and their ability to meet the standard are all determined by simple subjective letters.  Not only is this demeaning, but it punishes those that dare to rebel against the general and standard and think for themselves.


In my junior year of high school, I had a teacher who decided to grade me harder than the rest of the class simply because she "thought I could do better."  So while the rest of the class averaged out at a B+, I was awarded a C-.  I knew that I had done decently well in the class and had certainly performed better than the class average.  Obviously confused by this, I decided to confront the teacher to determine what I had done wrong or if it was simply an error in the system.  The words she said changed my perception of our schooling system for good.  She told me, "You met all of the requirements and performed as well as the other students, but I know you're smart and can do better.  So I had higher standards for your performance than the others."  I can honestly say that I have never been more angry in my life.  I was not angry about the grade.  I was not angry about the teacher's audacity that she thought she was responsible for determining my potential.  What I was angry about was the realization that everything I had ever done in school was subjective.  There is no standard.  Grades have no meaning because they are subjective to the instructor handing them out.  All the time I had spent working towards good grades was wasted because grades are inaccurate and subjective.  At that point, I proceeded to give my teacher a lecture that I stand by today.  I told her that it is not the teacher's job to judge the potential or the intelligence of the individual.  Her only job was to teach the class the information relevant to the class and then to determine the degree to which each student understood that information.  By choosing to grade me harder than the other students, she told the world that I had an incomplete understanding of the topics she was instructed to teach, when in reality I was "one of the smarter kids in the class."  Because of this event, I decided that getting good grades was not worth the effort it required.  Instead, I decided to educate myself outside of school, learning programming and graphic design.


Now, this isn't simply one isolated case where our system is inaccurate.  If you think about it, our current education system is much like winning the lottery: you might get a good teacher, or you might get someone who has no idea what they're talking about; your teacher might hand out A's, or he might believe that all students deserve C's; your teacher might like you and therefore be more generous with their critique, or he might dislike and grade you on unfair standards.  There is a flaw in our standards for performance.  We treat a subjective and unreliable system as if it represents a basic standard by which everyone can be judged equally. By placing such an emphasis on a flawed and demeaning system, students become slaves to a system that they view as an accurate judgement of their performance.  Instead taking the risk and questioning the teaching and beliefs of their instructors, students choose the more reliable route and instead learn to simply accept information without verification.  They don't need to think for themselves because their instructors think for them, and if they dare defy their instructors, their all important grades will suffer.  Is this ok?


Each student should be required to seek their own education.  If we as a culture insist on public education to teach our youth, then it should stop after grade school, when children can still develop the skills necessary to think for themselves.  In addition, the grading system as a whole should be abolished.  Unless the state would like to implement standardized testing like the AP Exams, SAT, or ACT to determine grades, they are inaccurate, subjective, and unfit for judging performance.  We should be encouraging our youth to make mistakes, to take risks, and look at things from their own perspective, not forcing them to comply to our sense of good or right.  The greatest asset humanity has is our ability to look at situations from different perspectives.  When you attempt to destroy this asset by forming a uniform and marginal society, you destroy any hope for innovation, progress, or change.


Now, I realize that many will argue against my proposed solution to combat the blatant sabotage of our youth, and I would like to address some of those arguments now.

1. But how will lower income families afford to educate their youth if there is no public schooling? That's the real beauty of our modern society.  Information is at the tips of our fingers.  Anyone can find a library and access the internet or read a book.  I admit, it may be more difficult for an individual lost in poverty to educate themselves than a wealthy youth.  But I believe that those lost in poverty have an asset that the rich do not: motivation.  Those that engage in a constant struggle to improve their lives are going to leap at any opportunity to progress in society while the rich have no reason to strive for greatness.  Instead of limiting individuals by confining them to a set standard of rules and obligations, why not allow those with the motivation to work hard and rise up to do so while leaving the lazy and unmotivated behind?
2. How will colleges and employers judge potential employees if grades are inaccurate?  They might have to actually do the work necessary to determine if potential candidates are worthy or not.  This means interviews, standardized tests, maybe more essays.  Yeah, it'll be more work, but at least students won't have to be afraid to forge their own path to excel.
3. Won't students just use their time for other things besides school, like video games or socializing?  Have you ever noticed that when you tell someone to do something, their first reaction is to do the exact opposite?  That is because the individual inherently wants to assert his freedom and does this by rebelling against authority.  This is why teenagers are often seen as rebellious.  They aren't bad people, they are simply trying to assert themselves as an individual, something I believe to be a good thing.  So when teachers and parents attempt to stop students from doing anything but their studies, what do you think is going to happen?  They are going to rebel and do what they want to do, despite the fact that they know that studying and improving themselves is probably the best decision for their future.  In addition, a large part of the current student's need to waste away their free time on what we perceive to be waste might arise from a desire to take a break from the ridiculous eight hours of schooling five days a week in addition to the work that instructors send home.  What individual wouldn't want a break from that?  Without the constant pressure of school bearing down on them, students will be allowed to pursue their own interests.  If a child chooses not to, then that's up to him.  Those with the drive to succeed will rise up while the others will be left to determine their own destiny.  They will have no one to blame but themselves because they will have been given full responsibility for their actions.  It would be refreshing to know that people are finally responsible for their own actions, huh?

Now, just to be clear, I am not against college in any way.  At least they provide a way for the individual to make decisions for themselves and form their own path in life.  It is only when a government forces our youth into a particular course of action in order to 'succeed' in life that I begin to get frustrated.

In addition, this line of thinking is not limited solely to our school system, that is simply the most prominent and potentially devastating example that I could think of.  Churches, workplaces, and nearly any societal institution falls into this line of thinking.  We as a society need to wake up and begin to carve our own path into the world, choosing to take risks rather than simply submit to the popular course of action.  Thomas Jefferson wrote in "The Real America:"

And above all things, when it comes to religion, fix reason firmly in her seat and question everything. Take no man's singular opinion. Question the very existence of God, for if there be a God, He must surely rather honest questioning over blindfolded fear.

I agree with this sentiment wholeheartedly, although I believe it applies to more than simple religion.  Question everything.  Each individual has the potential to be great, no matter how cliché or lame that sounds.   In order for that to happen however, the individual needs to step out from the shadow of his predecessors and shape his own path in the world.

Uberman

Last night I was on StumbleUpon (the bain of productivity) and came across an article describing weird, but more productive, sleep schedules.  This article caught my attention since I absolutely hate sleep.  But, it is necessary.  So I decided to look into the polyphasic sleep cycles a bit more, specifically the Uberman cycle.  Basically they are based on the premis that the REM sleep cycle is when the actually recovery takes place, and it therefore the most valuable part of your nightly sleep.  Unfortunately, REM occupies a very small segment of time.  Stages 1 through 4 are occupied by nonREM sleep with Stage 5 being a short period of nonREM sleep, where dreams typically take place.  The Uberman cycle attempts to eliminate Stages 1 through 4 so that you only experience Stage 5, the valuable stage.


While this sounded great to me, I was also skeptical about missing Steps 1 through 4.  Can you really have 4 steps that have no specific purpose and if not, what do you need to change to make up for that loss?  So I did some research as to the value of nonREM sleep and finally came up with this from webMD:

"During the deep stages of NREM sleep, the body repairs and regenerates tissues, builds bone and muscle, and appears to strengthen the immune system. As you get older, you sleep more lightly and get less deep sleep. Aging is also associated with shorter time spans of sleep, although studies show the amount of sleep needed doesn't appear to diminish with age."

Ok, so nonREM sleep is associated with the repair and regeneration of tissues, but why do you need to be asleep for that?  Is there anyway to get the benefits of nonREM sleep without wasting so much time?   I'm specifically interested in foods that would help ensure proper healing because I'm fairly confident that while I sit here and type this I am fully capable of regenerating just as many tissues as when I am lying on my bed, dead to the world.  The key things that I learned are as follows:

1. Keep a high nutritional value to caloric intake level.  While this may seem obvious, it is important that you spend as little time digesting food as possible so that your body can focus on removing toxins from the body.  This means reducing fat and high carb intake, which increases caloric intake with little to no nutritional value.
2. That said, the body still needs enough calories to continue working at optimal levels.  In layman's terms, you still need to eat.  This means avoiding foods that digest slowly which are, again, high in fat/lipids.
3. Protein is incredibly important as it provides a foundation for body maintenance.  Consuming lean meats such as fish, poultry, lean cuts of red meat, and nonfat dairy products will help get you the protein you need without adding too much fat to your diet.  A protein intake of 1 - 1.5 grams per kilogram (bodyweight) per day is a good amount to shoot for, although higher numbers may be beneficial.
4. Eat fruit and vegetables.  Vegetarians and vegans have reported a higher success rate on the polyphasic sleep cycles than anyone else, perhaps because their diet is already rich in fruits and vegetables.  I think this fact is probably the most important on this post.

I think this should make up for the lack in the first four cycles.  I'm not really sure though, needs experimentation.

Either way, I'm planning on trying out the Uberman here soon.  I'll be interested to try it out and see what results it yields, so look for an update soon on that front.


UPDATE:  I decided to wait to try out the Uberman cycle, mostly because I didn't want to give up everything for a week for an experiment that may not work.  I'll probably try this summer though, because this really does interest me.