4 Hours Sleep Project – 1 Month – Final
March 8, 2007 by Ryan Merlin · 2 Comments
The final result of training myself to sleep 4 hours like Dean Karnazes has been so much better than I could have ever expected. After really sticking to the training through February and testing the progress every Friday night, I’ve taken the last few days to start to zero in on the new ideal sleep time. I’m excited to report that I’ve been really happy with right about 5 hours at night from midnight to 5 am. Then usually one 20-35 minute nap again before starting work or in the afternoon. The naps are the best part! I almost always wake up feeling totally juiced!
It continues to amaze me how much less is necessary when the quality is that much better.
I seem to have just as much energy as I ever had, if not more. Especially with training, working out, and in general. The human body’s ability to adapt is unbelievable, and usually ignored and accepted as is. For me, what works and what’s good, usually isn’t good enough and I want to improve it.
On that note, I’ve already started my next self-training experiment. For this month I’m shifting my focus, attention and energy into immersing myself into learning Spanish. I can stumble through understanding and (barely) speaking it right now. And it’s my intention to accelerate that process as much I possibly can through this month by finding the best of the best when it comes to learning, developing, and engaging myself in the process of being fluent in Spanish. Hey, with 3.5 extra hours every day now, I’ll even have more time to work with.
More on this later and my initial strategies and thoughts.
About my 4 Hour Sleep Project
4 Hours Sleep Project – Day 28
March 1, 2007 by Ryan Merlin · Leave a Comment
I originally started this experiment with the idea of trying it out for one month to experiment. Trying to give up all pre-conceived beliefs, standards, “research”, opinions, etc. And with the last few days approaching, I’m looking back at just how well the basic approach worked. Actually, I really want to continue to experiment with it using different strategies and technologies to keep improving.
For example I’ve really been trying to use the Neuro-Programmer program for sleeping and have even used it for meditation a couple times. I still don’t know if I’m completely sold on it yet. But I will tell you this, I took a nap today after a good strength workout and put on a track that is for “accelerated regeneration & Human Growth Hormone” and ended up taking only a 17 min nap feeling just as good as I do with a typical 30 – 40 min nap. Now that’s cool.
What do you think about the effects of specific sound waves on the brain and inducing specific states? I’m not completely sold but I do know the huge impact that sound has on physiology while you’re awake, just think music. You can change your mental state and physiology radically by just changing songs or radio stations. In other words, I feel like I have a lot more experimenting to go with the neuro programmer. I’m also trying to approach the company to sponsor this project and even carry it over in to performance areas such as when my racing season starts again, maybe even training who knows?
I also want to continue to work with the environment of where and when I sleep. For example, by far the hardest time of the day is between 4am and 6am, but once the sun comes up it’s totally different. So I’ve really been creative on how to maximize the 4-6am time. Instead of just reading, I’ll read while engaging my physiology at the same time such as a medicine ball or physical therapy balance board. Which, by the way, has actually helped me read better and retain more, Definitely worth checking out. Or starting out the morning with some tasks that are particularly inspiring and motiving for me. It’s all about momentum and having a purpose. Once the momentum is there, it’s fantastic. It’s definitely given me tons of reason to take a lot of action in towards my dream goals!
It continues to amuse me as so many people respond to my experiment automatically with aversion and the knee jerk reply “that’s crazy”. And then I get to have fun challenging their automatically programmed beliefs asking, “Have you ever considered that you could sleep less, have more time to live, and still feel just as energetic?” …..ummmm No. There’s only one way to know for sure.
About my 4 Hour Sleep Project
Floyd Landis – Train The Hardest & The Most To Win
February 25, 2007 by Ryan Merlin · Leave a Comment
After reading the article on Dean Karnazes that inspired me to experiment with 4 hour sleep training and the limits of human performance and training, I also found an incredible article on Floyd Landis. This is before the doping scandal, but paints an amazing picture of what it takes to race on that level. Sounds like he knows how to direct his energy, attention, and power in a distorted yet almost unbelievable direction. One can, almost feel his ability to overcome limits and pain.
From Outside Magazine
“Everybody wants to say, ‘I couldn’t win because of this or that,’ ” he says. “To my way of thinking, it doesn’t matter if your goddamn head fell off or your legs exploded. If you didn’t make it, you didn’t make it. One excuse is as good as another.”
Landis takes a sip and leans forward in his chair. “There’s only one rule: The guy who trains the hardest, the most, wins. Period. Because you won’t die. Even though you feel like you’ll die, you don’t actually die. Like when you’re training, you can always do one more. Always. As tired as you might think you are, you can always, always do one more.”
Z-Man rouses, concerned. “I hope some 16-year-old doesn’t read this and then go kill himself on the bike,” he says.
“That was what I did,” Landis says, not missing a beat. “I read something like that, and I trained like that, and, yeah, I was pretty damn depressed for a while. Then it got better.”
So there’s no such thing as overtraining?
“If you overtrained, it means that you didn’t train hard enough to handle that level of training,” Landis says, his fingertip rapping the table for emphasis. “So you weren’t overtrained; you were actually undertrained to begin with. So there’s the rule again: The guy who trains the hardest, the most, wins.”
“I saw firsthand what Lance did, and it was superhuman,” he continues. “I saw how his system worked. It’s not necessary for me to be like Lance in every way. But there are some things that I want to take from that and use.”
For instance?
“His boldness at taking charge of things. His willingness to say, This is what I want, and I’m going to take it. It’s very hard to compete against that.”
4 Hour Sleep Training – Day 19
February 20, 2007 by Ryan Merlin · 4 Comments
I downloaded a demo copy of Neuro-Programmer 2 to try out and last night was the first night. Seemed to work really well and I didn’t really have a problem with the headphones because when you sleep deeper, you don’t really move. Truth is that I don’t really know how much of an impact the sounds had, but today was awesome and I still think that everything adds up.
This is such a fascinating concept to me and I’ve been using it everywhere I can, including reading and even waking up. There are sound patterns for most types of focus scenarios. Try it for yourself.
At this point it really seems to be coming together and going surprisingly well. So now it’s all about fine tuning the process. A big part of that is dialing in the environment and prep. I have an air filter that makes some very soft but irregular noises so I turn it off. Try to control the temperature, (which has been hard because of the wicked weather we’ve had for over 2 months now), sleep with socks on. Prep includes journaling, reading, meditation and visualization. Specifically visualizing waking up feeling awake and refreshed, believe it or not, it makes all the difference. The morning is the key, it makes or breaks it and is all about a decision to start the momentum.
And on a theoretically related note, I have been kicked into a high gear learning state of mind. I have been more hungry for growth, knowledge, adventure, etc than the usual high level. ie. learning Spanish, human behavior and psychology, teaching myself to do most things like write, eat, computer mouse with my left (non dominate) hand. The best way I can explain it is that it seems to build on itself. The more I adapt, the more I want to adapt more. It’s so interesting.
Here are 29 other tips to a good night sleep from Dr. Mercola.
- Listen to White Noise or Relaxation CDs. Some people find the sound of white noise or nature sounds, such as the ocean or forest, to be soothing for sleep. An excellent relaxation/meditation option to listen to before bed is the Insight audio CD.
- Avoid before-bed snacks, particularly grains and sugars. This will raise blood sugar and inhibit sleep. Later, when blood sugar drops too low (hypoglycemia), you might wake up and not be able to fall back asleep.
- Sleep in complete darkness or as close as possible. If there is even the tiniest bit of light in the room it can disrupt your circadian rhythm and your pineal gland’s production of melatonin and seratonin. There also should be as little light in the bathroom as possible if you get up in the middle of the night. Please whatever you do, keep the light off when you go to the bathroom at night. As soon as you turn on that light you will for that night immediately cease all production of the important sleep aid melatonin.
- No TV right before bed. Even better, get the TV out of the bedroom or even out of the house, completely. It is too stimulating to the brain and it will take longer to fall asleep. Also disruptive of pineal gland function for the same reason as above.
- Wear socks to bed. Due to the fact that they have the poorest circulation, the feet often feel cold before the rest of the body. A study has shown that this reduces night wakings (Click Here).
- Read something spiritual or religious. This will help to relax. Don’t read anything stimulating, such as a mystery or suspense novel, as this may have the opposite effect. In addition, if you are really enjoying a suspenseful book, you might wind up unintentionally reading for hours, instead of going to sleep.
- Avoid using loud alarm clocks. It is very stressful on the body to be awoken suddenly. If you are regularly getting enough sleep, they should be unnecessary. I gave up my alarm clock years ago and now use a sun alarm clock. The Sun Alarm™ SA-2002
- provides an ideal way to wake up each morning if you can’t wake up with the REAL sun. Combining the features of a traditional alarm clock (digital display, AM/FM radio, beeper, snooze button, etc) with a special built-in light that gradually increases in intensity, this amazing clock simulates a natural sunrise. It also includes a sunset feature where the light fades to darkness over time – ideal for anyone who has trouble falling asleep.
- Journaling. If you often lay in bed with your mind racing, it might be helpful keep a journal and write down your thoughts before bed. Personally, I have been doing this for 15 years, but prefer to do it in the morning when my brain is functioning at its peak and my coritsol levels are high (CLICK HERE)
- Melatonin and its precursors. If behavioral changes do not work, it may be possible to improve sleep by supplementing with the hormone melatonin. However, I would exercise extreme caution in using it, and only as a last resort, as it is a powerful hormone. Ideally it is best to increase levels naturally with exposure to bright sunlight in the daytime (along with full spectrum fluorescent bulbs in the winter) and absolute complete darkness at night. One should get blackout drapes so no light is coming in from the outside. One can also use one of melatonin’s precursors, L-tryptophan or 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP). L-tryptophan is the safest and my preference, but must be obtained by prescription only. However, don’t be afraid or intimidated by its prescription status. It is just a simple amino acid.
- Get to bed as early as possible. Our systems, particularly the adrenals, do a majority of their recharging or recovering during the hours of 11PM and 1AM. In addition, your gallbladder dumps toxins during this same period. If you are awake, the toxins back up into the liver which then secondarily back up into your entire system and cause further disruption of your health. Prior to the widespread use of electricity, people would go to bed shortly after sundown, as most animals do, and which nature intended for humans as well.
- Check your bedroom for electro-magnetic fields (EMFs). These can disrupt the pineal gland and the production of melatonin and seratonin, and may have other negative effects as well. To purchase a gauss meter to measure EMFs try Cutcat at 800-497-9516. They have a model for around $40. One doctor even recommends that people pull their circuit breaker before bed to kill all power in the house (Dr. Herbert Ross, author of “Sleep Disorders”).
- Keep the temperature in the bedroom no higher than 70 degrees F. Many people keep their homes and particularly the upstairs bedrooms too hot.
- Eat a high-protein snack several hours before bed. This can provide the L-tryptophan need to produce melatonin and serotonin.
- Also eat a small piece of fruit. This can help the tryptophan cross the blood-brain barrier.
- Reduce or avoid as many drugs as possible. Many medications, both prescription and over-the-counter may have effects on sleep. In most cases, the condition, which caused the drugs to be taken in the first place, can be addressed by following the guidelines elsewhere on this web site.
- Avoid caffeine. A recent study showed that in some people, caffeine is not metabolized efficiently and therefore they can feel the effects long after consuming it. So an afternoon cup of coffee (or even tea) will keep some people from falling asleep. Also, some medications, particularly diet pills contain caffeine.
- Alarm clocks and other electrical devices. If these devices must be used, keep them as far away from the bed as possible, preferably at least 3 feet.
- Avoid alcohol. Although alcohol will make people drowsy, the effect is short lived and people will often wake up several hours later, unable to fall back asleep. Alcohol will also keep you from falling into the deeper stages of sleep, where the body does most of its healing.
- Lose weight. Being overweight can increase the risk of sleep apnea, which will prevent a restful nights sleep. CLICK HERE for my diet recommendations.
- Avoid foods that you may be sensitive to. This is particularly true for dairy and wheat products, as they may have effect on sleep, such as causing apnea, excess congestion, gastrointestinal upset, and gas, among others.
- Don’t drink any fluids within 2 hours of going to bed. This will reduce the likelihood of needing to get up and go to the bathroom or at least minimize the frequency.
- Take a hot bath, shower or sauna before bed. When body temperature is raised in the late evening, it will fall at bedtime, facilitating sleep,
- Remove the clock from view. It will only add to your worry when constantly staring at it… 2 AM…3 AM… 4:30 AM…
- Keep Your Bed For Sleeping. If you are used to watching TV or doing work in bed, you may find it harder to relax and to think of the bed as a place to sleep.
- Have your adrenals checked by a good natural medicine clinician. Scientists have found that Insomnia may be caused by adrenal stress (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, August 2001; 86:3787-3794)?
- If you are menopausal or perimenopausal, get checked out by a good natural medicine physician. The hormonal changes at this time may cause problems if not properly addressed.
- Don’t Change Your Bedtime. You should go to bed, and wake up, at the same times each day, even on the weekends. This will help your body to get into a sleep rhythm and make it easier to fall asleep and get up in the morning.
- Make certain you are exercising regularly. Exercising for at least 30 minutes everyday can help you fall asleep. However, don’t exercise too close to bedtime or it may keep you awake. Studies show exercising in the morning is the best if you can do it.
About my 4 Hour Sleep Project
4 Hour Sleep Training – Day 11 & Sea Urchins
February 12, 2007 by Ryan Merlin · 3 Comments
Just a quick update. After the test over the weekend I’ve been back on track. And for some reason unknown to me, after only 4.5 hours last night I’ve been fired up all day, training, working, studying.
I think that some of it definitely comes from learning to direct my focus more, which I’ve had to do if I want to be productive. I’ve talked a few times already about how I’ve noticed I can have as much energy, focus as I choose to, or that I can motivate myself to have. It has been one of the best mental exercises and experiences. The only thing that I could relate it to would possibly be living in a different country to learn a language. Being completely immersed in it. The choice is yours, to either focus on not being able to understand, or to use all your resources to go for it.
Get busy living, or get busy dying.
On a much more fun note, I took the diet to heart today. Dean Karnazes talks about his diet playing a big role in his performance, endurance and ability to sleep less. Now, I already have the diet of a Buddhist monk myself. So today an opportunity came up for sea urchin, where me and my adventurous nature had to have it. I used to hate sea urchin until Matt showed me 
the ways of a true sushi master, last year living on Maui. Thanks bra!
We even harvested our very own sea urchin from a beautiful beach on Maui the same day that I moved back to CO. Yes, we ate it! And yes, it was wretched. Fortunately, this one today was delectable
Fun facts about sea urchins
- The part you eat, is the gonads
- Yes, you eat it raw
- It tastes like a creamy custard
- Traditionally considered an aphrodisiac, sea urchin “roe” has been found to contain the cannabinoid anandamide
- They can poke you and sting for days (Matt can tell you)
4 Hour Sleep Training – Test 1
February 10, 2007 by Ryan Merlin · Leave a Comment
Drumroll please….
Results are in and ended up sleeping right around 6:45, which is so incredible to me. Even though it’s a little more than the 6 hrs I was hoping for, this is still coming down from being an 8 hr a night sleeper, then going on low sleep through the last week and still ending up with this makes me really excited. Keep in mind this was au natural, no alarm, just pure, uninterrupted, restful, deep sleep. I woke up feeling like a Million Bucks! Quality over quantity for sure.
It’s truly amazing the ability of the human body and mind to adapt when given a direction, purpose and mission. With 3 weeks to go, I’m hoping that I can continue to make progress.
About my 4 Hour Sleep Project
40 Facts About Sleep You Didn’t Know
February 9, 2007 by Ryan Merlin · Leave a Comment
-The record for the longest period without sleep is 18 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes during a rocking chair marathon. The record holder reported hallucinations, paranoia, blurred vision, slurred speech and memory and concentration lapses.
- It’s impossible to tell if someone is really awake without close medical supervision. People can take cat naps with their eyes open without even being aware of it.
- Anything less than five minutes to fall asleep at night means you’re sleep deprived. The ideal is between 10 and 15 minutes, meaning you’re still tired enough to sleep deeply, but not so exhausted you feel sleepy by day.
- A new baby typically results in 400-750 hours lost sleep for parents in the first year
- One of the best predictors of insomnia later in life is the development of bad habits from having sleep disturbed by young children.
- The continuous brain recordings that led to the discovery of REM (rapid eye-movement) sleep were not done until 1953, partly because the scientists involved were concerned about wasting paper.
- REM sleep occurs in bursts totalling about 2 hours a night, usually beginning about 90 minutes after falling asleep.
- Dreams, once thought to occur only during REM sleep, also occur (but to a lesser extent) in non-REM sleep phases. It’s possible there may not be a single moment of our sleep when we are actually dreamless.
- REM dreams are characterised by bizarre plots, but non-REM dreams are repetitive and thought-like, with little imagery – obsessively returning to a suspicion you left your mobile phone somewhere, for example.
- Certain types of eye movements during REM sleep correspond to specific movements in dreams, suggesting at least part of the dreaming process is analagous to watching a film
- No-one knows for sure if other species dream but some do have sleep cycles similar to humans.
- Elephants sleep standing up during non-REM sleep, but lie down for REM sleep.
- Some scientists believe we dream to fix experiences in long-term memory, that is, we dream about things worth remembering. Others reckon we dream about things worth forgetting – to eliminate overlapping memories that would otherwise clog up our brains.
- Dreams may not serve any purpose at all but be merely a meaningless byproduct of two evolutionary adaptations – sleep and consciousness.
- REM sleep may help developing brains mature. Premature babies have 75 per cent REM sleep, 10 per cent more than full-term bubs. Similarly, a newborn kitten puppy rat or hampster experiences only REM sleep, while a newborn guinea pig (which is much more developed at birth) has almost no REM sleep at all.
- Scientists have not been able to explain a 1998 study showing a bright light shone on the backs of human knees can reset the brain’s sleep-wake clock.
- British Ministry of Defence researchers have been able to reset soldiers’ body clocks so they can go without sleep for up to 36 hrs. Tiny optical fibres embedded in special spectacles project a ring of bright white light (with a spectrum identical to a sunrise) around the edge of soldiers’ retinas, fooling them into thinking they have just woken up. The system was first used on US pilots during the bombing of Kosovo.
- Seventeen hours of sustained wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol-level of 0.05%.
– The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska, the Challenger space shuttle disaster and the Chernobyl nuclear accident have all been attributed to human errors in which sleep-deprivation played a role.
- The NRMA estimates fatigue is involved in one in 6 fatal road accidents.
- Exposure to noise at night can suppress immune function even if the sleeper doesn’t wake. Unfamiliar noise, and noise during the first and last two hours of sleep, has the greatest disruptive effect on the sleep cycle.
- The “natural alarm clock” which enables some people to wake up more or less when they want to is caused by a burst of the stress hormone adrenocorticotropin. Researchers say this reflects an unconscious anticipation of the stress of waking up.
- Some sleeping tablets, such as barbiturates suppress REM sleep, which can be harmful over a long period.
- In insomnia following bereavement, sleeping pills can disrupt grieving.
- Tiny luminous rays from a digital alarm clock can be enough to disrupt the sleep cycle even if you do not fully wake. The light turns off a “neural switch” in the brain, causing levels of a key sleep chemical to decline within minutes.
- To drop off we must cool off; body temperature and the brain’s sleep-wake cycle are closely linked. That’s why hot summer nights can cause a restless sleep. The blood flow mechanism that transfers core body heat to the skin works best between 18 and 30 degrees. But later in life, the comfort zone shrinks to between 23 and 25 degrees – one reason why older people have more sleep disorders.
- A night on the grog will help you get to sleep but it will be a light slumber and you won’t dream much.
- After five nights of partial sleep deprivation, three drinks will have the same effect on your body as six would when you’ve slept enough.
- Humans sleep on average around three hours less than other primates like chimps, rhesus monkeys, squirrel monkeys and baboons, all of whom sleep for 10 hours.
- Ducks at risk of attack by predators are able to balance the need for sleep and survival, keeping one half of the brain awake while the other slips into sleep mode.
- Ten per cent of snorers have sleep apnoea, a disorder which causes sufferers to stop breathing up to 300 times a night and significantly increases the risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke.
- Snoring occurs only in non-REM sleep
- Teenagers need as much sleep as small children (about 10 hrs) while those over 65 need the least of all (about six hours). For the average adult aged 25-55, eight hours is considered optimal
- Some studies suggest women need up to an hour’s extra sleep a night compared to men, and not getting it may be one reason women are much more susceptible to depression than men.
- Feeling tired can feel normal after a short time. Those deliberately deprived of sleep for research initially noticed greatly the effects on their alertness, mood and physical performance, but the awareness dropped off after the first few days.
- Diaries from the pre-electric-light-globe Victorian era show adults slept nine to 10 hours a night with periods of rest changing with the seasons in line with sunrise and sunsets.
- Most of what we know about sleep we’ve learned in the past 25 years.
- As a group, 18 to 24 year-olds deprived of sleep suffer more from impaired performance than older adults.
- Experts say one of the most alluring sleep distractions is the 24-hour accessibility of the internet.
- The extra-hour of sleep received when clocks are put back at the start of daylight in Canada has been found to coincide with a fall in the number of road accidents.
From National Sleep Research Project
About the 4 Hour Sleep Project