320: 28-Hour Day

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
Revision as of 09:22, 15 June 2013 by Irino. (talk | contribs) (Category)
Jump to: navigation, search
28-Hour Day
Small print: this schedule will eventually drive one stark raving mad.
Title text: Small print: this schedule will eventually drive one stark raving mad.

Explanation

Ambox notice.png This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect:
Please include the reason why this explanation is incomplete, like this: {{incomplete|reason}}

If you can address this issue, please edit the page! Thanks.

The 28-Hour Day is a modified sleep schedule proposed to accommodate the discrepancy between the earth's day-night cycle and certain people's preferred sleep schedules. It discards the traditional notion of sleeping at night and replaces it with sleeping when it is more convenient for weekend parties and mid-week insomnia.

The second person shows little interest in this idea, and instead resorts to low-quality "your mom" jokes. The first person successfully slays this with his last line.

The title-text uses "Small print" to mean "Disclaimer" and relieves the idea's creator of any responsibility in the case that it is tried and the tester finds the schedule to be a really bad idea.

Schedule
Wake Sleep
Sunday 10 AM
6 PM 2 PM
10 PM 6 PM
2 AM 10 AM
6 AM 2 AM
10 PM 6 AM
2 PM Saturday

Transcript

[There is a diagram which shows the hours in a week. It has sections labeled "bed" and below has sections labeled "night." They do not line up.]
[Two men are talking together.]
First man: You have trouble sleeping right?
Second man: Only when your mom is over.
[First man is now pointing to a chart.]
First man: Since your work is flexible-
Second Man: -Like your mom-
First Man: -you should try the 28-hour day - 20 awake, 8 asleep (or 19/9 if you prefer).
Second Man: I prefer your mom.
First Man: It synchs up with the week - you spend weekdays awake normally, then on weekends you can go out all night.
Second Man: Just like your mom.
First Man: It means four extra hours daily. You can stay up until you're exhausted every day and then spend a full 9 hours asleep each night!
Second Man: But how much time can I spend doing your mom?
First Man: You? I'm guessing three or four minutes, tops.
Second Man: ...Well played.


comment.png add a comment! ⋅ comment.png add a topic (use sparingly)! ⋅ Icons-mini-action refresh blue.gif refresh comments!

Discussion

Some time ago I've written a tool to set your personal 28h day schedule: http://28h.t-animal.de Give it a try :) 131.188.30.76 00:19, 21 August 2013 (UTC)

Can the tool be used on your mom? 69.211.56.17 23:40, 10 October 2013 (UTC)
Pretty neat tool, nice job! :) --Waldir (talk) 16:17, 23 November 2013 (UTC)

Uncanny, I've actually been up since 3am, today (Wednesday... at least I think it's Wednesday), which closely matches this comic that I've just coincidentally passed through while browsing. Of course the reasons for this are different (it's too hot, and my seasonal hay-fever isn't helping me sleep either, and it's just crept over 17 hours of daylight, at this latitude).

And I can additionally attest from some (also unrelated) experiments in personal day-lengthening, several years back, that doing this long-term can cause noticable problems, even when planning several days ahead to ensure you synch up (or at least mesh compatibly) with various forthcoming appointments and commitments. 178.98.31.27 16:47, 19 June 2013 (UTC)

Problems with appointments or problems with health? I don't want to try this and end up going stark raving mad. 108.162.219.36 11:11, 12 June 2014 (UTC)

I removed the Incomplete tag. I don't really see how this explanation could go much further, apart from citing some semi-reputable sources confirming that the 28-hour day is not just one of Randall's thought experiments. It is notable enough for many things, but unfortunately not its own Wikipedia article, so background checks need to be done. Maybe I should put that Incomplete tag back, in retrospect... --Quicksilver (talk) 20:01, 21 August 2013 (UTC)

So then please add a trivia explaining the people from JPL working for MSL. If you do not understand you can ask me. --Dgbrt (talk) 22:02, 21 August 2013 (UTC)


I think an important aspect of day-lengthening deserves highlighting: that you get more waking hours per week, but can still sleep a full 8 hours at a time. 108.162.241.11 17:46, 23 December 2013 (UTC)

Hello. I found this article looking for "28 hour day" because I live in this way although I sometimes stay awake longer than 20 hours. I am 47 and have been like this for about 20 years. I work my own hours and do not have children, therefore never had to abide by any 24hr schedule. I never had a body clock and I prefer to sleep during daylight hours although the day / night schedule does not affect my sleep pattern. The numbers of hours I sleep ranges from 5 to 8. I sleep less if I eat too many processed carbs (ie.sugar) or when it's hot in summer. I sleep more when it's cold. Exercise has no effect. I live in Ibiza, Spain. Thanks

I just tried the sleep schedule for one week. If you are interested in it, I shared my experiences and tips in the following blog post: https://return2.net/field-report-testing-28-hour-day-sleep-model/ -- 22:50, 27. April 2021 (UTC)

I've tried this and it did indeed make me stark raving mad. Even if you get enough total sleep you still behave as if you're tired for a large portion of the day, typically around when you would have been waking up with your normal schedule. Coffe can work sometimes, but drinking coffee is dangerous because it can mess with your sleep schedule and this sleep schedule is pretty brittle. Would not recommend unless people around you won't notice you speaking oddly in the mornings. 172.68.57.177 10:10, 16 May 2021 (UTC)

I have also tried this since I seem to gravitate towards it anyway. In my case though, I loved it! Better rested, more alert, etc. 172.70.134.41 13:39, 4 March 2024 (UTC)