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View Poll Results: Which Schedule Is Safer (see post before voting)?
micro-sleeping (e.g. 20 minute naps) 17 73.91%
normal sleeping (e.g. 7-8 hours) 6 26.09%
Voters: 23. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 24-07-2017, 08:03   #16
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Re: Singlehanded Sleep Schedule

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Originally Posted by conachair View Post
I've yet to test it in anger way offshore but the Opencpn watchdog plugin has some excellent features, set an off course alarm, high windspeed or landfall etc.
You be very careful with that!

I tried it last week crossing the English channel and it was HIGHLY problematic.
Either that or the co-op Open Draw.
Maybe either or both wasn't the latest version to work with the be ew OpenCpn...
But I could not set it so I *knew* it would sound the alarm as I had intended. That, in my book, makes it bloody useless. More than useless, dangerous.

So I will download new versions of all and give it a good try... But crikey, it's not intuitive and the f'ing instructions are huge and 2 apps have to play together and then work together on one bigger program. I doubt I'll ever use it for real.
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Old 24-07-2017, 08:03   #17
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Re: Singlehanded Sleep Schedule

One thing which can be really helpful, & there are whole fields of medicine & science devoted to it. Is to figure out how long it takes you (personally) to complete a full sleep cycle. Like in my case it's about 2hrs. And if I/you add or subtract say 20min. to either side of this block of sleep, I wake up a lot more slowly, due to my brain wave patterns needing to be forcibly reset (by will & coffee). Where as at the 2hr mark, I may be tired if you wake me, but not nearly as much.

So for my longer sleep periods underway, crewed, or alone, I try & set things up so that I can get one or more of these sized blocks of sleep per day. Or a multiple of them stacked together. Preferably in the daytime, since at night is when things tend to go sideways more often. Knock on wood.

You can also figure out during what points in the day sleeping yields you more rest, regardless of how long you're asleep. AKA sleep quality. As well as how food affects your sleep quality. Meaning both what you eat, & when, in relation to taking a nap. As blood sugar has big influences on sleep as well.

And at times, when contemplating a long passage, I'll try to get into a sleep pattern which mimics that which I'll be doing underway. Kind of like resetting your circadian rythyms before, & or, after taking a flight where you'll cross a lot of time zones.


EDIT: I didn't mention it earlier, as it's a common sense thing (mostly). But ensure that your clothing system, & foulies, are up to the task of keeping you warm & dry when you're bunking on deck. And it sometimes helps to have a sleeping bag dedicated to deck use, even if just for a watch stander to wrap around themselves while tucked in under the dodger, when tracking traffic.
Just be sure to attach it to the boat with a tether. Or the wind may donate it to Neptune.
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Old 24-07-2017, 08:12   #18
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Re: Singlehanded Sleep Schedule

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Originally Posted by MarkJ View Post
You be very careful with that!

I tried it last week crossing the English channel and it was HIGHLY problematic.
Either that or the co-op Open Draw.
Maybe either or both wasn't the latest version to work with the be ew OpenCpn...
But I could not set it so I *knew* it would sound the alarm as I had intended. That, in my book, makes it bloody useless. More than useless, dangerous.

So I will download new versions of all and give it a good try... But crikey, it's not intuitive and the f'ing instructions are huge and 2 apps have to play together and then work together on one bigger program. I doubt I'll ever use it for real.
I'd never risk any alarm for landfall and haven't really played with any positional alarms so can't comment really, but played around with watchdog for off course and it seemed to work OK. Then again offshore off course is a vague concept, better imho to let the windvane keep the boat course to wind then if you wake up and are pointing at Iceland, well no big deal really high wind alarm might be nice, even if the watchdog struggles with that it's not that hard to program something in with openplotter or node red. If you want it, I usually wake up when the boat is getting g grumpy anyway.
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Old 24-07-2017, 08:19   #19
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Re: Singlehanded Sleep Schedule

when you sleep 20 minutes... you wake... check your position, mark it on the charts if you are using paper... make a log entry of conditions... have a look about... maybe use the head, drink some water and go back to sleep... awake for a few minutes.

It's INTERRUPTED sleep no sleeping for 20 minutes.
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Old 24-07-2017, 08:24   #20
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Re: Singlehanded Sleep Schedule

My longest singlehanded passage was seven days. I had my alarm set for 15 minutes based on the time it takes for a ship to go from horizon to on top of me.

I won't do it again. Too easy to take on crew.
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Old 24-07-2017, 09:47   #21
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Re: Singlehanded Sleep Schedule

A good candidate for polyphasic sleep?

See Steve Pavlina's information gathering and first hand experiences.
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Old 24-07-2017, 12:12   #22
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Re: Singlehanded Sleep Schedule

Thanks for the input everyone

I'm a little surprised that so few people voted for normal sleep...

Do the micro-sleep advocates really keep that up for long passages?

E.G. On an ~30 day Atlantic crossing?

I'm fairly sure I'd be barking at the moon after a week or so.
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Old 24-07-2017, 12:40   #23
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Re: Singlehanded Sleep Schedule

I've done quite a few solos from Falmouth-Baiona.. St Martin-UK and USA-Azores-UK..
I get my head down when tired and get up for a look around when I need a pee.
Can understand the paranoia displayed by many but.. I've always been kinda laid back..
Don't wear the leathers so many deem essentail for motorbikes either.. 😄
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Old 24-07-2017, 13:08   #24
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Re: Singlehanded Sleep Schedule

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Originally Posted by KISS View Post
Do the micro-sleep advocates really keep that up for long passages?

E.G. On an ~30 day Atlantic crossing?

.
Well, of course, I have.

And you haven't done it so it's pretty dim-witted to think you can't without trying.
The body and mind is marvelous at doing what we consider impossible. Just give it a go.

Now, if we had an actuary here he/she/it could make a comment on the chance (as in mathematical probability, not Internet BS) about the likelihood of being squashed by a ship big enough to kill who wasn't watching his RADAR and AIS AND had both alarms turned off, AND is more than 100 from the nearest land, Whilst me is sleepy-byes.

I reckon the actuary and me would come up with the same probabity: Sweet Bugger All.

I like those odds, no matter if I am asleep or awake ☺️☺️
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Old 24-07-2017, 13:34   #25
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Re: Singlehanded Sleep Schedule

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Originally Posted by KISS View Post
Thanks for the input everyone

I'm a little surprised that so few people voted for normal sleep...

Do the micro-sleep advocates really keep that up for long passages?

E.G. On an ~30 day Atlantic crossing?

I'm fairly sure I'd be barking at the moon after a week or so.
well if the micro sleeps stop working eventually you past out and sleep longer
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Old 24-07-2017, 13:52   #26
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Re: Singlehanded Sleep Schedule

To a large degree, if you spend a good bit of time at sea you get "aclimatized" to it (crazy sleep patterns). Though, yes, there certainly are times when you're a zombie.
But it's one of those things where you kinda' have to throw your preconceptions about sleep out of the window, & you begin to learn better how to monitor your energy level & reserves.

Think of it as a battery, or a bank account. You spend it/your energy reasonably, but husband some of it in case of emergencies, for lengthy periods of bad weather, & for when making landfall/sailing through areas with high traffic volume.

I've been sailing since I was a little kid, & by the time I was an older teen, I could skip a night's sleep & not notice much performance degradation. And that's still true. But I also have a good feel for where my "normal" limits are, & also the extreme ones. Such as getting by on 2hrs a day or less for a month or more. It's doable, though not exactly a vacation.

The only way to know/learn it, is by doing. And in conjunction with when you sleep, & for how long, learning what else you need to do to best keep your energy at a fairly even level. This along with the warning signs that you need to make some space for a time out. As you're getting tired enough that you're doing stupid things, can't problem solve, & your efficacy in general has taken a steep nosedive.

Though if you really want it, & have the money, you can work with sleep labs, & even performance athletic sleep labs, to learn how best to keep your self adequately charged, along with saving a bit for a rainy day.
This kind of thing is commonly done with single-handers at the top of the sport, or astronauts, etc.

And when it comes to pushing yourself, think about what it's like for SEALs on missions. Where not sleeping for 2 days, while hiking 50 miles, carrying stupidly heavy loads is just their "commute". Then the mission gets excecuted. After which, the "fun" starts. An exfil similar to how you got there, but perhaps with some very angry hombres chasing you.
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Old 24-07-2017, 13:55   #27
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Re: Singlehanded Sleep Schedule

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And you haven't done it so it's pretty dim-witted to think you can't without trying.
I've had a fair bit of experience with sleep deprivation, including with something akin to micro-sleeping for a period of about 3 days (not on a boat, mind you). I know my quality of work dropped off pretty badly after about a day - not much different than if I hadn't slept at all. There's no denying that micro-sleeping causes serious impairment (for everyone, being used to it just means you don't notice your impairment); the only question is whether the trade-off is worth it: to be at 100% for 16 hrs a day or 20% for 24 hrs a day...

Quote:
Now, if we had an actuary here he/she/it could make a comment on the chance (as in mathematical probability, not Internet BS) about the likelihood of being squashed by a ship big enough to kill who wasn't watching his RADAR and AIS AND had both alarms turned off, AND is more than 100 from the nearest land, Whilst me is sleepy-byes.

I reckon the actuary and me would come up with the same probabity: Sweet Bugger All.

I like those odds, no matter if I am asleep or awake ☺️☺️
Exactly
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Old 24-07-2017, 14:04   #28
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Re: Singlehanded Sleep Schedule

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I've had a fair bit of experience with sleep deprivation, including with something akin to micro-sleeping for a period of about 3 days (not on a boat, mind you). I know my quality of work dropped off pretty badly after about a day - not much different than if I hadn't slept at all. There's no denying that micro-sleeping causes serious impairment; the only question is whether the trade-off is worth it: to be at 100% for 16 hrs a day or 20% for 24 hrs a day...

Exactly
I don't know the circumstances of said 3 day period. But honestly, if you' spend enough time at sea, you'll have circumstances where being awake for 3 days is kind of mandatory.

When I was Navy, it was a given that you wouldn't get any sleep for 2-3 days prior to making port. And when you got in, if you weren't on duty, off you went to enjoy your liberty ashore.

Or think about the amount & (poor) quality of sleep that parents of babies & toddlers sometimes get/deal with, for months on end ,due to the little ones having trouble sleeping, & needing their parents attention. You find a way.
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Old 24-07-2017, 14:09   #29
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Re: Singlehanded Sleep Schedule

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I've had a fair bit of experience with sleep deprivation,
No! No! ☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️

Ffs NO!

Not sleep deprivation at all. The CIA uses that as a torture.

Why does a 20 minute sleep time = sleep deprivation?
Its NOT 20 minutes per Day!

You get you full 8 hours or 12 hours, whatever you want /need but just not in one solitary blob.

8 hours = 24 x 20 mins asleep. Not awake, but asleep. Spread over 24 hours. 1 full day.

Get it?

No sleep deprivation. No staying up 24 hours. Sleeping your normal sleep time just segmented.

☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️
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Old 24-07-2017, 14:12   #30
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Re: Singlehanded Sleep Schedule

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Sleeping your normal sleep time just segmented.
It doesn't work that way.

REM Sleep

As others have mentioned, this has been extensively studied. There are ways to minimize the damage from odd sleep schedules, but there is always damage.
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