The Ubersleep Book
Ubersleep: Nap-Based Sleep Schedules and the Polyphasic Lifestyle
The Second Edition of Ubersleep is in the works, now with a release date of May 2013! It contains a ton of new information, a fresh (and gorgeous!) redesign inside and out, and a real e-reader-compatible electronic format (as opposed to a PDF, which was totally cutting-edge electronic format back in 2008, cough cough). Put your email address in the box below to receive updates about the book release AND the speaking engagements / signings and stuff to follow!
**AND HOLY COW, PREORDERS ARE UP!**
You can now use the buttons below to pre-order a copy of the Second Edition of Ubersleep — either the Print or .EPUB formats! (If ordering a print copy, please make sure your address is correct! Obviously print copies will take a bit longer to arrive than eBooks, because physical reality is a silly slow thing. ;)
You can even — and this is totally a pre-orders-only thing — pay a tad extra and get your print copy signed. (I'm the opposite of famous, so expect a nice signing with something clever on.)
Click here to get a PRINT copy ($17.95):
Click here to get an eBook ($12.95):
Click here to get a SIGNED PRINT copy ($19.95):
Click here to get the PRINT COPY AND EBOOK at a spiffy discount ($24.95):
[If you've Ordered Things, your cart will display here; click Checkout when you're ready!]
THANK YOU!
Read on for more about the book, plus the First Edition cover and table of contents, or click here if you don't care about all that and just want to buy it (the First Edition).
Yup. It's a real thing — I wrote it in 2008. Because while it's true that sometimes the extra time one gains from a Polyphasic sleep schedule just ends up blown hanging out on the Internet anyway (Who can help it? The 'Net is the quintessential irresistible force), sometimes, it actually does get channeled into something productive. This book collects all the information I gained from my early experiments and discussions with polyphasers, back when the only other writings on the topic were Stampi's highly-technical report and my Everything2 node on Uberman. (I swear, when I first wrote about Uberman I thought, "Surely the 'Net knows all about this already, and people just call it something else…" I spent about 2 weeks scouring the online world, in multiple languages, trying to find links to give to all of the people who were suddenly emailing me! …Then I rather foolishly decided that if I started collecting and publishing the information I had gathered from being polyphasic myself and helping other people adjust, I would get less emails. …I've grown a bit wiser since then, obviously… ;)
Ubersleep: Nap-Based Sleep Schedules and the Polyphasic Lifestyle started out as an instruction manual, but grew much bigger as I wrote it. It's now everything I know about polyphasic sleep, including the whole ridiculous list of stuff you see below, masquerading as a Table of Contents. Right now the book is self-published, which means that a) it's pretty cheap, and b) you can only get it on the Internet, through Lulu.com and Amazon.com. Through Amazon you can only buy the book (and usually through third-party sellers); at Lulu.com, you can purchase either a physical copy or an electronic (non-restricted PDF) copy. Feel free to leave any comments you have on the book here; or, if you'd like to review it, you can do so at the book's page on Lulu.com or on Amazon. Thanks very much to everyone who encouraged the writing of this book, and to everyone who's bought it or will buy it, and who starred it or reviewed it — Thanks tons! The whole project has been immensely fulfilling for me, not to mention having made me a few bucks. ;) Thanks!!
Here's the (rather amazing, I think) hand-painted (and soon-to-be-a-collector's-item) cover of the First Edition:
Table of Contents (first edition):
I. What is Polyphasic Sleep? 7
Introduction 7
Some Terminology 8
History & Known Applications 9
Modern Research 9
Modern Relevance 11
II. Polyphasic Schedules in Detail 13
Beginning at the Beginning: The Uberman Sleep Schedule 13
Being A Grownup: The Everyman Schedule 15
So Which is Better? 17
Other Schedules (The "Formula") 17
III. The Big Question: Should You Be Polyphasic? 20
Wanting To 20
Being The Right Person 20
Contraindications 22
IV. Adapting to Polyphasic Sleep 25
Researching 25
Deciding 25
Scheduling 25
Other Items on the Pre-Flight Checklist 28
Understanding Sleep Deprivation 31
What's the Purpose of Sleep Deprivation Here? 32
Handling Narcoleptic Symptoms 33
Ack, I Can't Sleep! 36
Success! Adjusting to your New Schedule 36
You Know You're Adapting When… 37
You Know You're Having Trouble Adapting When… 38
Tweaking Your Schedule 38
Before Tweaking the Schedule: Red-flag Behaviors that are Known to Interfere with Polyphasic Sleep 39
If You Really Need to Tweak 39
If Tweaking Doesn't Work 41
When To Give Up 41
V. Living Polyphasically 43
On the Nature of Screwing Up 43
Getting Bored 45
Scheduling and Real Life 46
Sickness 46
Travel 48
Emergencies 48
Summing Up: Re-Adjusting 49
Eating, Exercise & Substances 49
The “Crash Theory” 51
Physical Effects 52
Weight Gain and Loss 52
Sleep Disorders, Cessation Of 53
Dreaming 54
Psychological & Social Effects 55
Changes in the Perception of Time 55
Euphoria 56
Changes in your Social Life 56
Learning to Love Sleep 57
Being A Weirdo 57
VI. Philosophical Implications 59
VII. Conclusion 62
VIII. APPENDICES 63
Appendix I: Sleep Drugs 63
Appendix II: Arguments to Bosses 64
Appendix III: Gradual Adaptation 65
Appendix IV: Refutations 65
Appendix V: Resources 66
About The Author 67
XI. "Cheat Sheets": Things to cut out & use for reference 68
Why I Want to be Polyphasic: 68
What is Polyphase? 68
When You First Wake Up 69
Before you Go To Sleep 69
When you Get Tired 70
Habits and Successes 71