The Beginning....and Introduction

Hello world!

My name is Dane Dawson, and I'm a peculiar guy. For more information on how strange and weird I can be you're welcome to peruse my "about me" splurge located somewhere on this page or just continue reading, but to sum it up I am the type of person who likes to do things because they are new, challenging, fun, or exciting...and not always because they are the best or safest decision. In fact, the majority of my decisions are made because they in fact *aren't* what is considered safe, normal or intelligent, much to the dismay of my parents and close friends.

Sooo...you're a "Modern Renaissance Man" huh? Why so cocky?

I want to clarify something up front, I in no way compare myself to the skill and prowess of those in history who have been labeled as renaissance men. Geniuses the likes of da Vinci, Imhotep, Newton, and Jefferson (just to name a few) who have accomplished so much are examples of my greatest role models, not because of their intelligence but in their ability and desire to understand and participate actively in so many different fields of study. Their capacity for new skills and depth of knowledge in all the activities they decided they were interested in is simply...astounding. To be a first-class painter, scientist, mathematician, architect or philosopher is, in itself, something noteworthy and impressive, but to be able to produce literally world changing contributions in a variety of very different skill sets is simply awe-inspiring.  I do not call myself a modern renaissance man as a label for what I am, but rather as a guide for what I'd like to become.

That being said, I created this site to share what I am learning and doing for two reasons.

1. I have a terrible tendency to commit to things only if I make it public and receive positive feedback about it.
2. I truly believe everyone is capable of amazing things if they only give themselves the chance to try and maybe, just maybe, watching my growth with inspire someone else to attempt the same.

I have been attempting this lifestyle for quite sometime and have a fairly odd assortment of random skills I've picked up over the years, and I feel like I should introduce my skill set at least slightly so you can understand that I'm not just saying I want to do everything...I actually try to do everything. That being said...I can't think of a way to list of things that I've done that doesn't sound tacky or like I'm just bragging so as soon as I get a way to do that I'll let you know. But to tide you over until then I will introduce you to my newest project I am attempting, which is:

Polyphasic sleep cycles!!

If you need more information on some types of polyphasic sleep cycles and what they are click on this link here and brush up a bit...but basically the thought process is that when you sleep your brain only really gets rest during REM sleep cycles (which pretty much all science agrees with). What most people don't know is that when you sleep during the night your brain actually shifts through multiple "levels" of sleep, only getting REM sleep during the deepest cycle of sleep usually happening 4-6 times a night. Each REM sleep cycle actually only lasts approximately 20-30 minutes each time, meaning that when you sleep your brain only actually rests for about 2-4 hours while you sleep!

The theory behind polyphasic sleep cycles is to shift your bodies habits to minimize the amount of sleep you receive so that you will fall immediately into the true resting REM sleep cycles when you close your eyes. It sounds dangerous and harmful, but numerous studies have been done to show that, when properly attempted with a healthy diet and enough activities to keep you occupied, there is little to no health problems, physically or mentally!  In fact, many famous scientists and inventors throughout history have lived on polyphasic sleep cycles to allow themselves the time to create and do what they'd like, including Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. In fact, Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison actually used to frequently brag to each other about just how *little* sleep they got the night prior.

Most people say that when shifting to a polyphasic sleep cycle you can expect a "zombie" like state for the first week to three weeks (depending on how quickly your body adapts to the new system), which has always been a limiting factor to my attempting the shift, but a recent vacation to florida has opened up my next week and a half, allowing me a golden period to give it a try! I am going to be attempting to shift over to what is commonly called the Everyman sleep cycle, which is defined (as I slightly paraphrase) as:

One longer “core” nap that is supplemented with several 20-30 minute naps. The most successful variations are either one 3 hour nap and three 20-minute naps or one 1.5 hour nap with 4-5 20 minute naps, all of which have equal amounts of time in between each nap.

To keep with a potential work schedule at my real job this will be my sleep schedule (the times I list are the times I will be asleep)

Core nap:     3:50AM-6:50AM

First nap:       12:00-12:20PM

Second nap:  5:40-6:00 PM

Third nap:     10:20-10:40 PM

This puts approximately 4-6 hours between each nap and allows me to leave for work by 7 (I get up and at'em very efficiently in the morning). This schedule may be tweaked a bit more, especially since it would only allow me to work half days as is, but I want to try getting into the habit. I am starting my new schedule tonight by staying up and only sleeping from 3:50-6:50, and I will be letting all my friends in Florida know what's going on. I will attempt to update my progress into sleep deprivation with blog posts and *maybe* small video posts from my phone. Wish me luck and expect some fairly peculiar updates.

As I always hate long posts, I am going to put this one to an end as I feel I have fairly adequately introduced myself and my newest idea. Please feel free to comment below, I have always loved attention and certainly would mind more of it. Until next time (which should be tomorrow night perhaps), take care and I look forward to my next posting!

-Dane Dawson