polyphasic sleep, epilepsy, and health

all my friends must be starting to think that i’m crazy over sending them so many steve pavlina links recently. i’ve always been interested in self-development, and i read a lot of books of that nature, so naturally i love free content that appeals to my sense of self-actualization.

most recently, i’ve been particularly interested by his blog posts on polyphasic sleep, which he is experimenting with. i’ve always had trouble with oversleeping and i would love to try something like this. i do, however, have specific sleep recommendations from my doctor. these are due to epileptic seizures i used to have in my late teens and early twenties, which i am still on medication for. so it might not be the right time to try something like this – but then again, maybe it is. i’m not planning on rushing out and doing this right now, though.

i’ve always felt like doctors are rather conservative in their diagnoses of patients. for me, it’s natural to give credence to studies that discuss the possible benefits of meditation, yoga, or other disciplines of the sort. i’ve never really doubted their validity when they say that, for example, regular meditation can decrease the chance of seizures. after all, regular meditation means less stress, and less stress means greater blood flow to the brain and nervous system. i have never felt like it’s a matter of spirituality, energy fields, or what have you. to me, it’s science; science is the study of reality and, in this case, it’s just reality that people are only beginning to explore.

of course, all this is just talk right now, and i’m far from the first to jump on the bandwagon by experimenting with flushing my meds and becoming an ascetic. if you have had seizures, you know how scary they are, and how that fear can hinder you in your decisions. i really hope to get through that over time and become free of anything that fucks with my brain, but it’s going to take a while.

you know, i have been delaying getting a blood test recently. i’ll make sure to get to that by the end of the week.