Claire's Random Thoughts

Yes, I did officially complete the first day of my Everyman sleep schedule experiment. Now I’m going to take a study break and do an update on the experiment.

So far, I have noticed that the most difficult part is timing the naps so that they are exactly 20 minutes. Although this sleep schedule is practically a cure for insomnia due to exhaustion, it’s still difficult for me to estimate how long it will take to fall asleep so that I can set the alarm clock accordingly. Once, I also tried using the Placebo’s Sleep Track with Bose QuietComfort 3 noise cancelling headphones so that I would not be disturbed by awake (and normal) room/suite mates. If I can start falling asleep more easily, then the Placebo’s Sleep Track with Bose QC3 headphones would be ideal due to its perfect timing and noise reduction.

I have definitely noticed the significant increase in useful time. Four hours per day of useful time should be considered as follows:
In a typical day for the typical human being, 8 hours are spent sleeping.
Approximately 1 hour spent maintaining personal hygiene and otherwise preparing oneself for public appearance.
Let’s say that for a college student, approximately 4 hours a day, on average, are spent in class or en route to class.
Approximately two hours are spent eating, cooking, grocery shopping, or otherwise on food.
Nobody is completely efficient during transition time. So let’s allow 1 hour for dissipated transition time.
Therefore, 24-8-1-4-2-1 = 8 hours of useful time in a day
Thus, I am increasing my useful time by 50% with the four hours of sleep I am saving each day.

I fell asleep almost right away when I went to bed. After all, it was 3 am, and I was tired enough to crash.
I got up around my alarm set at 6 am and had a light breakfast consisting mostly of yogurt, fruit, and juice. After that, I began some productive work, and of course, still wasted a little time browsing the web, facebooking, chatting, etc.

I took my first nap around 10 am. Unfortunately, I found it a little difficult to fall asleep right away and get out of bed right away from this nap and spent about an extra 15 minutes lying in bed. With some more training, as I stated earlier, this should be less of a problem in the future.
After waking up from this first nap, I ate a second breakfast, with more substance, this time eggs and potato pancakes. Some more light productive work followed this, similar to the earlier morning productive work.
In the early afternoon, I was getting bored, so I decided to take a break and hit the gym. I ate another piece of fruit before going, so it would take me longer to get hungry during the workout. Due to the negative effects on the immune system sleep deprivation has, I have to eat healthier to compensate.

Wow, running hurts when you haven’t had enough sleep. This might be an issue later, which is why I’m monitoring fatigue. My heart rate was slightly higher than normal but I was still able to fit in a decent length workout.

Following my workout, I replenished with a 35g protein shake from Trader Joe’s. Those are awesome. I also bought healthy foods accompanied by some cookies. When I finally made it back to my room, I was pretty tired already, so I just took my shower, treated myself to a couple cookies and nuts, and my second nap.

After my second nap, I did a little more productive work, completing the first of two essays I have due soon. Since I was hungry again and it was not quite time for dinner, I ate a single slice of whole wheat bread with a little peanut butter, then killed a little time.

Then, dinner with Katie. Hey, I deserve some fun sometimes. Of course I discussed my current sleep schedule at the dinner table. After dinner? Nap time, again. Then, more cookies.

After the third nap? Studying for the EGB (Economics of Global Business) test. I still had quite a bit of reading left. Pomegranate juice on the side. I am writing this blog post to take a break from that.

Variables I am monitoring:
physical energy – I was no more tired than I am on a typical school day with 8 am classes
fatigue – well, my thigh is still sore now. Maybe this sleep system wasn’t designed for the physically active. I will address this issue again later as I continue my experiment.
memory and concentration – again, not any worse than a typical school day with 8 am classes
redness of eyes – should be ok if I’m not constantly wearing my contact lenses. I can just take them out and wear glasses when I’m sitting in my room sometimes

I am adding one more variable, appetite/weight gain:
I seem to be eating more than I normally do with frequent snacks, no surprise here. When doing my research, this was one of the potential problems listed. Ideally, the additional waking hours and healthier diet should balance it out, but I will have to wait at least a few days to see.

Ok, back to studying. The plan is to study until my core sleep time at 3 am, then write a rough draft for the Con West paper so I can submit something. Good thing the final draft isn’t due tomorrow, so I don’t have to stress over it yet.

I have always had a knack, or at least a strong interest in beating standard systems as well as maximizing efficiency. Historically, most of these systems have been related to money, but thanks to Robert (from my Org Comm group), who introduced me to the concept of the Uberman Sleep Schedule, I am tackling sleep, due to my new busy life as a Sternie. Theoretically, polyphasic sleep, allows people who are able to follow specific sleep patterns to maximize waking time with comparable energy.

The schedule that I have decided on, after some research, is the Everyman Sleep Schedule, due to its flexbility.

Monophasic vs. Polyphasic Sleep
First of all, monophasic sleep is the standard 8 hours of sleep at night for typical human beings. Well, sometimes, like this time, I insist on being different.
Polyphasic sleep just means splitting up sleep into multiple sessions in a day rather than the traditional monophasic 8 hours at night. Polyphasic sleep allows for fewer total hours spent asleep if a set schedule is followed properly. The theory is that we have two reserves of energy that sleep restores. The primary is used first and faster to replenish. The secondary, that causes a “second wind” to keep us awake after we are tired, takes much more sleep to replenish. Thus, if we only use the first reserve and sleep afterwards to restore this reserve, we need much fewer hours of aggregate sleep for the same amount of expended energy.
More on Wikipedia

The schedules I was looking at were the Uberman, Dymaxion, and Everyman
Uberman: One 20 minute nap every four hours for a total of two hours per day. No deviations allowed for schedule to be effective.
Unfortunately, this schedule isn’t really practical for me. The first problem is that I have classes for four and a half hours straight, plus transportation time. If I have to take a 20 minute nap every four hours, then that means I wouldn’t be able to do anything for more than 3 hours and 40 minutes straight.

Dymaxion: One 30 minute nap every six hours for a total of two hours per day. No deviations allowed in this one either without averse effects.
Leonardo Da Vinci followed this schedule. This sleep schedule is often also referred to as the Da Vinci Sleep Schedule. This one actually seems pretty awesome. It allows up to five and a half hours between naps which is enough for most of my daily activities. However, my events, especially social events, can’t always be planned around the naps. It seems like following this schedule may require sacrifice of many enjoyable events.

Everyman: One three hour “core sleep” session accompanied by three 20 minute naps. Small deviations are acceptable, according to my research. Four hours per 24 hour day total.
Finally, one that allows for a little flexibility. This one will cost an extra two hours per day, but at least following this schedule may actually be feasible. Basically, you can go to bed late and wake up early at the cost of looking for three 20 minute intervals during the day to rest.

It is evident that the Uberman and Dymaxion schedules, as efficient as they sound, may not be suitable for most people who wish to have some integration with modern society (yes, I do). The days and nights will literally roll on forever, which is almost a scary thought. Furthermore, these schedules have no allowance for deviations making it extremely difficult to plan daily activities around frequently needed naps.

Starting tonight, I will be following the Everyman schedule. I am aware that this schedule takes at least a week to adjust to, so I am prepared for some misery (along with misery of studying and school work) for the next week, if not longer.

My planned sleep times:
3 hour “core” from approximately 3am to 6am
first nap around 10am (I guess I could just nap in my Con West class on Mondays and Wednesdays…I did that when I was on a monophasic schedule anyway)
second nap around 3pm (I’m usually free around this time most days. If not, then slight deviations should be ok)
third nap around 9pm (This might vary slightly too if I’m going out to dinner or after dinner)

I will be monitoring and reporting on a few variables in this blog to see how this adjustment in sleep schedule progresses:
physical energy – can so little sleep really allow for a comparable level of physical energy?
fatigue level – how tired will my body be?
memory and concentration – will I be able to remain mentally functional?
redness of eyes – might be a problem since my contacts often irritate my eyes more when I’m tired

The real reason I’m doing this? Well, I procrastinated and have quite a bit of work to finish by Monday. Therefore, I would have to sleep less anyway to get some work done. Therefore, I might as well try to make my time saving sleep schedule permanent. Wouldn’t it be great if I could have 4 extra hours every day?

Ok, my alarm is set for 6am. I guess I’ll be going to sleep in about 3 hours. Meanwhile, I should get a little work done. I’ll report on how I’m feeling tomorrow.

This post sponsored by PayPerPost v4.0

PayPerPost.com (definition in a nutshell) = How the starving blogger survives

A few of my posts in the past have been paid advertisements for merchants who hire bloggers to promote their sites and products through PayPerPost.com. Basically, advertisers pay you (bloggers) for exploring their sites and blogging about your opinion about them.

Now they have officially launched a new and improved version, known as PPV v4.0. Because this new version is still in alpha mode, users may still elect to log into the old version, if desired. And, of course, since v4.0 is still in alpha, there might be some bugs that cause abnormal functionality, so you may log onto version 3.0 if you encounter some of these. However, I have not found any problems thus far.

The new version, without a doubt, trumps the old version in simplicity and cleanliness without sacrificing functionality. There are only two essential tabs in the new version, opportunities and my account, and these are really all you need. In PayPerPost v4.0, there are still links under the primary “opportunities” and “my account” tabs that allow access to all the other pages available in the 5-tabbed version 3.

My favorite improvement, above interface improvements, is the new advertiser/blogger writing and payment policy. It used to be that bloggers would have to browse oppotunities themselves, pick a topic, and pray that the advertisers would even respond to written posts. This used to take up to a few months, if ever. Under the new policy, bloggers receive an email when a paid opportunity comes in and can either accept and complete within 3 days or decline the offer. Once submitted, advertisers only have 3 days to manually review your post, otherwise it is automatically reviewed. No more long periods of uncertainty in waiting for approvals! Because of this final improvement, I might start using PayPerPost more frequently in the future than other paid to blog services.

Those of you who know me probably know that I am obsessive and excessive over data backup. I have two separate external hard drives (so I can have a backup of a backup, as if one were not enough) where I keep an archive of all my files I’ve accumulated in this lifetime. Whenever I have a document that’s a work in progress, I obsessively email myself an updated copy at least every couple hours in case my computer crashes. Ok, so you get the point.

Now, instead of emailing working files to myself, I can simply use Dropbox. It’s a pretty new service, and I’ve just started using it, but I would definitely recommend it based on what I have seen so far.

Dropbox currently offers 2GB of free storage without advertisements per free account. That’s probably not enough for all your files, but it is definitely more than sufficient for working files that are not yet archived for the average individual. There are also a couple paid upgrade options, but I feel like 2GB is more than enough for my needs as long as I only store current files. Refer a friend and receive 250mb of extra storage per friend (If you do happen to sign up, then please use my link). They also feature a public folder option so that you can share files with your friends/family. This feature is also ideal for group projects with files that need to be accessed by more than one person.

You can access your storage account via browser or directly from your file explorer, available in Windows, Linux, and Mac, as long as you download their software. I definitely prefer the drag and drop file explorer, because it’s so well integrated that it feels like I’m copying to an internal drive!

Here are some screenshots (click pictures to enlarge):

I am running Ubuntu 9.04 Linux in this screenshot. You can see your folders and files almsot as if they were on your hard drive, but…if your hard drive crashes, the files will still be safe!

Wow, I have to admit that I’m a rare breed. I’m currently both a Linux and Windows 7 RC user. What’s up with that? Anyway, in Windows file explorer, you get roughly the same effect. Sorry, no Mac screenshot, but Mac users, I think you get the point. I’m not trying to be anti-Apple here, but I definitely can’t justify paying for most Apple products, so I’m sticking to Windows (when it’s free or included) and Linux.

If you prefer, or if you need to access your files on a computer without the software installed, then there is also a browser view option where you can upload/download files directly to on the dropbox website. Not as convenient or aesthetically pleasing as the drag and drop software, but it works.

That’s right, calling the new bill, H.R. 627, the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights is misnomer if not a disgrace to what any “Bill of Rights” should stand for. In fact, for responsible cardholders, this may prove to be the opposite of a bill of rights, because it will ultimately detract from responsible cardholders to pay for the revenue lost from irresponsible cardholders.

Here’s why:

On the surface, and in the land of unicorns and fairies (which is the land politicians are trying to convince us we live in), this bill appears to have good intentions to protect consumers from being taken advantage of by creditors. The reforms listed here sound good, don’t they?

The main changes:

1. Universal default eliminated. That is, if a consumer defaults on one account, other creditors do not have the right to assign the default rate to other non-delinquent accounts.

2. No charging over the credit limit fees when a consumer has exceeded the credit limit due to finance charges or other fees imposed by the credit card company.

3. No interest rate increases allowed for late payments unless the payments are over 60 days late. Consumers must also be notified at least 45 days in advance of any rate changes.

4. No more double-cycle billing method for computing interest, that is calculating interest over two billing cycles, a method was previously used to ruin grace periods.

5. A cap on credit lines for college students or people under 21 of $500 or 20% of annual income.

These are not all the provisions of the bill, but they are some of the most important. The full text of H.R. 627 can be found here. This bill is known as a “bill of rights” because it typically means that banks are less able to use tricks to trap laypeople into excessive interest and fees. However, most of the new provisions are most beneficial to less responsible cardholders who usually fail to do their research in the terms of their contracts as well as borrow excessively.

1. This is perhaps the only provision that I do not find unreasonable. In the past, some credit card companies would raise interest rates for non-delinquent accounts simply because the consumer defaulted on another account. This can be argued to be unjust, so I won’t argue against this provision for now.

2. No matter what causes a consumer to exceed a credit line, he/she should be responsible enough not to “max out” credit cards in the first place. Consumers who normally have more trouble paying back debt and are regarded higher risk are the ones who tend to max out their cards. Consequently, it is not unreasonable for them to be charged extra for their irresponsibility, especially since they pose a higher risk to creditors, and creditors do charge higher risk groups more. In summation, exceeding a credit line is exceeding a credit line, no matter what the cause. The consumer should take the responsibility to stay under the credit limit to avoid the “over the credit limit” fee that the credit card company has every right to charge, regardless of the cause.

3. This provides less of an incentive for consumers to pay on time. Revolving credit is extremely flexible, and minimum payments are rather low, so it is not unreasonable for creditors to expect timely payments. If a consumer cannot even afford to pay the minimum payment on time, then that is a sign of financial trouble and higher risk, which means that the credit card company should be allowed to charge more to compensate for such risk.

4. When a consumer applies for a credit card, it is his/her responsibility to read the contract and know how payments are calculated. Don’t like this billing method? Don’t get the card. Or just don’t carry a balance on that particular card.

5. This provision, out of everything in the bill, bothers me, personally, the most. “College student” is defined as either someone in college (go figure) or under the age of 21 (or both, of course). This bill will cap credit lines on any single card to either 20% of the student’s annual income or $500, whichever greater. It also caps the total amount of available credit to 30% of the student’s annual income “Unless a parent, legal guardian, or spouse of a college student assumes joint liability for debts incurred by the student in connection with a college student credit card account”
Actually, I’m wondering what happens to existing credit lines that are far greater than these limits. It will be ridiculous if I have to give up my tens of thousands in credit lines that the banks voluntarily assigned me and I have always used responsibly because of this new ridiculous regulation. Sure, college students often don’t have much money, but shouldn’t the amount of credit extended still be up to the creditor-debtor relationship? This is why credit card companies should start small for college students and increase based on responsibility. There is nothing wrong with credit card companies electing to give out low $500 credit lines to college students, but it definitely shouldn’t be a limit if the cardholder can handle more responsibly. Again, these credit card companies increased my credit lines voluntarily because I proved myself as a responsible and deserving cardholder. I always have cash to back my purchases, so what’s the problem with giving me a little more leeway? Sometimes that $500 limit isn’t even enough for a single purchase! Such ridiculously low limits, which mean practically no borrowing, will make it extremely difficult for young adults to build a good credit history, which will make it more difficult for them to apply for mortgages or car loans in the future.

How does this ridiculous for responsible consumers?
The credit card adviser from bankrate even agrees that good cardholders may suffer under this new law. This new bill will cause credit card companies to lose an estimated $10 billion per year in pre-tax income. Thus, credit card companies will have to think of new ways to raise revenue or reduce expenses, and this will result in good cardholders subsidizing the $10 billion loss caused by lost revenue from irresponsible cardholders. This may include shorter or the elimination grace periods, and reduction of rewards programs. Shorter grace periods affect responsible consumers, because people who use credit cards for convenience and rewards and pay their balances in full will be charged interest for their purchases, even when they have cash to properly back such purchases. Rewards programs are the main reason such responsible consumers use credit cards. Using a credit card while you have cash to back the purchase, collecting rewards points, paying the balance in full without interest, and redeeming the rewards for purchases that would have been otherwise made with cash doesn’t sound too shabby, does it? Too bad the era of grace periods and rewards may end, or at least be considerably reduced.

While this bill may appear to have good intentions, it is flawed in a way that unfairly hurts creditors, which in turn, will cost responsible consumers. It also unjustly penalizes younger consumers, like myself, who have demonstrated the ability to use credit responsibly. Is it right to give irresponsible cardholders a break when the creditors’ lost revenue will be subsidized by responsible cardholders?