Today is the day it all begins. Or ends. No more bed for a week. I have just got up from a very relaxing 8 hour sleep. I feel fully rested, but a little fuzzy in the head. I haven’t had a full 8 hours for a few days.
Alertness rating: 7
I shall be taking my naps at 11am, 3pm, 7pm and 11pm as scheduled.
10:00am: Testing
Cognitive tests:
I shall be taking three different types of cognitive tests every day. These are:
- Typing test: The score is words per minute adjusted for errors over a two minute test. Test here.
- Simon game: Test memory of colours and sounds. The score is the number of consecutive colours I can recall. Test here.
- Reactions: The score is a weighted speed. Test here.
- Typing: 56 WPM
- Simon: 10
- Reactions: 71.47
Physical tests:
I shall be taking three physical measurements every day as well. These are:
- Weight (kilograms)
- Blood pressure
- Heart rate (beats per minute)
- Weight: 63.8 kg
- Blood pressure: 112/56
- Heart rate: 60 BPM
11am: Nap time!
Well, not surprisingly I didn’t sleep, but I did get two interruptions. Someone rang the door bell about 8 minutes in (no one ever rings the door bell here), and the National Blood Service sent me a text message asking me to give blood (which I can’t do for medical reasons). So never mind, I wasn’t expecting to sleep anyway. I feel slightly groggy from lying down in the dark for 20 minutes, but otherwise fine.
Alertness rating: 6.5
12:15pm: I Lost A Bed!
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| Before |
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| After! |
15:00: Afternoon Kip
Half an hour before hand: feeling pretty tired. There is no reason for that. I slept a full night last night, but my head feels like cotton wool. Quite looking forward to a little lie down.
Alertness rating: 5
Had a little pseudo-sleep. Not sure if I was entirely under or not, but there were what I can only describe as para-dreams. Now rather foggy in my head.
Alertness rating: 5
19:00: Evening doze
I’m definitely resting more and more as the day goes on. No para-dreaming, but a heavier 20 winks.
Alertness rating: 4.5
Bleurgh. I’m tired and cold. And this is day 1? I shouldn’t even be sleep deprived yet! I feel as you feel when you have overslept perhaps. The next sleep will be the test: I normally go to bed around 11pm, so my body will be expecting something good, something like 8 hours. It’s gonna be in for a surprise.
23:00: Night nap
Well I survived. I didn’t sleep, just some imaginative drifting. Now I am tired, properly tired like you are after a long day’s travelling just before you sink into bed. I’m not going to bed for another 30 days. At least I’ve tidied up my desk.
Alertness rating: 4
23:59pm: Testing
Cognitive tests:
- Typing: 60 WPM
- Simon: 13
- Reactions: 76.69
So I improved in all areas of mental acuity. I can only conclude that my performance hasn’t been affected by being awake for 17 hours straight. I can believe that. I guess the improvement is simply down to being used to the exercises and standard variation in performance.
Physical tests:
- Weight: 65.1kg
- Blood pressure: 123/68
- Heart rate: 48 BPM
Everything pretty normal here still. The blood pressure is raised, but still within my normal daily range. The weight is higher, as you would expect after a meal and full hydration.
Alertness rating: 6
Actually I’m feeling alright! I wonder if doing the cognitive tests woke me up a bit.