Before I begin, I'm warning you that this doesn't work for everyone and isn't recommended for most people. I've done it before, without wanting to, so I know what I'm doing in my case only.

Since I moved to the Philippines in April of 2006, I've been sleeping during some odd hours. I was going to bed between 4 and 6 am on a regular basis, although it has nothing to do with insomnia or any other kinds of sleep disorders. On one occasion, it paid off when I foiled a burglar that was attempting to get into my house.

I was once asked by Corey Thompson if I ever slept because I answered his email and comments at all hours of the day and night. Well, when you sleep odd hours, people tend not to know when you're not available. I have been fooling myself for too long. The reason I was sleeping at those hours was because I never adapted completely to this time zone.

While I was in the military, my body (not necessarily my mind) learned to cope with 4-6 hours of sleep on a regular basis. This was despite the fact that I probably needed more due to the amount of physical activity I was always involved in. Since retiring, I saw no need to extend that amount because my level of physical activity dropped dramatically. I purposely tapered off on physical activity the last two years of my military service because, statistically, most US Marines ended up dying within 10 years of retirement. I did not want to be a statistic. September of 2008 will be the 10-year mark for me.

After I became ill and injured on June 10th, I have forced myself to sleep longer than normal. Healing doesn't work too well when you're up and moving around a lot. Even sitting at a computer, rarely moving anything but my hands, didn't help to get through the process. This past Monday, I was up on my feet for more than 10 hours. I was jumping my car (dead battery), driving around and walking at places where I couldn't do it any other way. It took a huge toll on me that I just barely recuperated from. Yesterday I ate a meal, slept for four hours, ate another meal, slept for another four hours, ate another meal, and slept for another two hours. Eating triggered my need for sleep. The injury isn't quite healed yet — I expect it to be completely healed within a week. I'm up and at the computer now. (Note: I had the laptop moved to a chair next to the bed so that I could read when I wasn't sleeping and moved it back after the final sleep period.)

In the past, both in and out of the military, the only real way to "normalize" my sleep cycle would be to skip my former cycle and execute the new cycle. I have found it difficult to do this since I've been living in the Philippines. I think the primary cause is that I no longer have to be anywhere at any specific time, except for that once a month period where I get my pay from the bank, pay my bills, and buy groceries.

This is what I'm doing now: I'm delaying my sleep cycle this time until 9 pm local time. I'm talking about a delay of more than 12 hours. I should be physically and mentally exhausted by that time and sleep should come easily. There are no guarantees, however, because something ridiculous (which seems more of the norm nowadays) may come up to interfere with my plans.

Although I will be receiving less traffic than usual (which already started this past weekend) due to tomorrow's American Independence Day holiday, I plan to write more to keep my mind as active as possible. A lot of comments on my articles will also help, since I like to read each and every one (responding when warranted). I realize that traffic will not return to normal until next Monday because of different holiday routines for different people (I don't know how else to say that). This will not deter me from trying to write as I normally would.

Regardless of all things considered, I hope you enjoy what I'm going to be writing about in the next few days.

• Sleep of the Dead
• It's Time for Ear Plugs
• What is 'fasting' and why should you care?
• Treating My Wife's Myoma with Progesterone
• My Wife's Continuing Health Problems