Old Forty Fives.com Home Page Want to be More Creative? Start Keeping More Boring Hours Edna St. Vincent Millay, who wrote that her "candle burns at both ends," epitomized the image of the insomniac artist: a person so consumed with the creative act that she couldn’t be bothered to sleep. No wonder Millay’s friend Dorothy Thompson called her "a whimsical genius, sometimes . . . petulant and imperious . . . sometimes stormy, turbulent, and as unreckonable as the sea." The more overtired we are, the more irritable. Of course, we forgive our artists their petulance and turbulence. It’s no fun to think of Shakespeare or Picasso or even Steve Jobs at their desks from 9 to 5 with a one-hour break for lunch and a 4 p.m. Beaty and his team tested subjects’ levels of creative thinking and behavior. The study found zero creative improvement among individuals with daytime insomnia and very slight, albeit statistically insignificant increases in creative behavior among individuals with nighttime insomnia. "Our study suggests that if you’re awake all night, you might get more done.
Tutorials Queue 15 min HathaDice Iida-Klein | Apr 02 2014 AshtangaRichard Freeman | Apr 02 2014 10 min AshtangaJodi Blumstein | Mar 25 2014 AshtangaMary Taylor | Mar 12 2014 HathaJodi Blumstein | Feb 25 2014 HathaKathryn Budig | Feb 22 2014 20 min HathaTiffany Cruikshank | Jan 29 2014 HathaDarren Rhodes | Jan 28 2014 HathaClaire Missingham | Jan 17 2014 IyengarMarla Apt | Jan 06 2014 IyengarMarla Apt | Jan 04 2014 IyengarMarla Apt | Jan 03 2014 IyengarMarla Apt | Jan 02 2014 IyengarMarla Apt | Jan 01 2014 HathaJodi Blumstein | Dec 31 2013 5 min HathaKathryn Budig | Dec 28 2013 HathaDice Iida-Klein | Dec 25 2013 HathaGiselle Mari | Dec 04 2013 HathaMarc Holzman | Nov 24 2013 HathaKathryn Budig | Nov 02 2013 30 min Vinyasa FlowClaire Missingham | Nov 01 2013 HathaMarc Holzman | Oct 27 2013 HathaMarc Holzman | Sep 29 2013 HathaDarren Rhodes | Sep 10 2013 AshtangaJodi Blumstein | Aug 13 2013 HathaTara Judelle | Aug 01 2013 Firefly - Firefly, a short and to the point practice to work ourselves into Titibhasana (firefly).
40 Ways to Feel More Alive “I don’t believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive.” ~Joseph Campbell As I write this, I am two hours away from my first weekly acting class in Los Angeles. I’ve been here for almost two years now, and though I loved Community Theater as a kid, I never so much as researched acting classes until a couple weeks back. I frequently said I wanted to do it, along with painting classes, which I’m starting next week, but I always made excuses not to start either. I was too busy. The list went on and on, but I realized the last two were the big ones for me. Also, I hesitate to give large amounts of time to hobbies I have no intention of pursuing professionally. I realized last month, however, that I want to prioritize more of the things that make me feel passionate and excited—and not just occasionally, but regularly. I don’t know if these classes are “leading” anywhere. Say Something You’ve Been Meaning to Say 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
sleepyti.me 30 Challenges for 30 Days Did you know that it takes 30 days to form a new habit? The first few days are similar as to how you would imagine the birth of a new river. Full of enthusiasm it gushes forth, only to be met by strong obstacles. The path is not clear yet, and your surroundings don’t agree. Old habits urge you to stay the same. So, take a moment to reflect on the question ‘Who do I want to be in 5 years?’ Check out this short TED talk first to get inspired: Now pick one or more challenges and stick with them! However, be cautioned, picking too many challenges at the same time can easily result in a failure of all of them. #1 Write a I-Like-This-About-You note/text/email each day for someone (Easy) This is the perfect way to let someone else know you care. #2 Talk to one stranger each day (Hard) This is a great one to cure approaching anxiety. #3 Take one picture each day (Hard) This one gets harder nearing the end of the challenge because at one point you will run out of the easy shots. We recommend:
30 Challenges for 30 Days Did you know that it takes 30 days to form a new habit? The first few days are similar as to how you would imagine the birth of a new river. Full of enthusiasm it gushes forth, only to be met by strong obstacles. The path is not clear yet, and your surroundings don’t agree. So, take a moment to reflect on the question ‘Who do I want to be in 5 years?’ Check out this short TED talk first to get inspired: Now pick one or more challenges and stick with them! However, be cautioned, picking too many challenges at the same time can easily result in a failure of all of them. #1 Write a I-Like-This-About-You note/text/email each day for someone (Easy) This is the perfect way to let someone else know you care. #2 Talk to one stranger each day (Hard) This is a great one to cure approaching anxiety. #3 Take one picture each day (Hard) This one gets harder nearing the end of the challenge because at one point you will run out of the easy shots. #5 Take a 30 minute walk each day (Easy) We recommend:
Alternative Sleep Cycles: You Don’t Really Need 6-8 Hours! Most people only think that there is one way to sleep: Go to sleep at night for 6-8 hours, wake up in the morning, stay awake for 16-18 hours and then repeat. Actually, that is called a monophasic sleep cycle, which is only 1 of 5 major sleep cycles that have been used successfully throughout history. The other 4 are considered polyphasic sleep cycles due to the multiple number of naps they require each day. How is this possible? Well the most important of every sleep cycle is the Stage 4 REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, which has been shown to provide the benefits of sleep to the brain above all other stages of sleep. This way, you still get the benefits of 8 hours of sleep without wasting all of the time it takes to get to REM cycles, resulting in a much more efficient sleep cycle. Uberman Cycle: 20 to 30 minute naps every 4 hours, resulting in 6 naps each day. Everyman Cycle: One longer “core” nap that is supplemented with several 20-30 minute naps. Dymaxion Cycle: Biphasic/Siesta Cycle: