Health Archive

Health Insurance Is Cheap. Get Some!

By
Jason
Published: November 23, 2009Posted in: Health
Health Insurance Is Cheap. Get Some!

With all this Health Care stuff going on in the political circus, I got to thinking about how I made $9000 one year working in order to support a lifestyle. It was great. The majority of my early years in Tahoe I would make around $12,000 a year. That was just enough to pay rent, eat, buy a pass, drive to the mountains and pay my monthly high deductible health insurance plan. Ski every day until 4pm, work till 1pm, repeat. Summer came and I’d bike most days. Loving it for sure.

At one point I wanted to ski in the US Freeskiing comps that were around the states. In order to do that, I had to prove that I had insurace. Well at least I had to mark the box that I had it anyhow. I looked into temporary insurance and high deductible plans and found one that worked for me. At the time it was $54 a month with $5000 deductible. I’m not going to the hospital unless I am really screwed up, so that worked perfect for me.

If you don’t have insurance, it would be a good idea to get it. It’s affordable for sure. You just have to make it a priority and budget it into your monthly bills. You will most likely not get seriously hurt, but if you do you’ll be covered and your parents won’t loose their lives paying your medical bills.

  • Adventure Advocates is a not-for-profit organization that provides its members with benefits that encourage, protect and prolong their active lifestyles. Their monthly premiums start at$20 a month!
  • HSA for America offers a few different high deductible, low monthly fee plans through various providers. I originally went with Pacifcare paying my $54 a month bill.
  • PriceDoc – The Priceline of health insurance. Better Price + Better Healthcare.

There are a lot more options out there, those are just two places to start. Do a search for High Deductible Health Insurance Plans and get something figured out. If you cannot pay the entire deductible from you recent double compound hip fracture, don’t fret, the hospital will set up a payment plan for you. It’s cheaper than paying out of pocket for the entire surgery.

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Winter is in the Air

By
Jason
Published: November 9, 2009Posted in: Health
Winter is in the Air

Winter is in the air. I can feel the cold coming into town. The smell of ptex and ski boots fills my senses. The sounds of the lifts and hoots of the riders is clear as Tahoe’s water. I can feel the turns, the air, the steeps under my feet. I know where the goods are today. I know where they would be in this weather. Follow the sun and stay in the shade… Winter is in the air. It’s almost here. I’m living it in my mind at my desk.

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Sleep Less, Ride More – Polyphasic Sleep and Your Radness

By
freeride
Published: October 2, 2009Posted in: Health
Sleep Less, Ride More – Polyphasic Sleep and Your Radness

Ok, so we all have to work in order to play, but we also need to sleep unfortunately. Usually that doesn’t all add up for us since 8 hours of our day is spent out on the mountain and another 8+ is at work, an hour or so in commute and then you have to enjoy some good ole’ 4+ hours of hanging out. That only leaves 3 hours for sleep. Enter Polyphasic Sleep! What is Polyphasic sleep? Glad you asked. Polyphasic sleep is the opposite of  Monophasic Sleep. Monophasic sleep, what you probably do, is when you sleep in one long solid stretch. Say from 10pm to 5am. This is no good if you intend on getting the most out your days. Vote for your style of sleep at the end of the post!

Polyphasic Sleep
“Polyphasic sleep, a term coined by early 20th century psychologist J.S. Szymanski, refers to the practice of sleeping multiple times in a 24-hour period usually, more than two, in contrast to biphasic sleep.” – Wikipedia

“At birth there may be five or six periods of sleep per day alternating with a like number of waking periods….” – Encyclopedia Britanica

Types of Polyphasic Sleep

There are a few different types of Polyphasic sleep. The most extreme being the Uberman and the most mellow being Triphasic or the Latin Siesta. The Uberman consists of 20 minutes of sleep every 4 hours. The idea is that you drop right into Stage 5 REM sleep. Stage 5 REM sleep is the most effective sleep you can get. What?! Only sleeping 2 hours a day? How awesome is that!

However, there is a hitch. You cannot miss your naps. If you do, your done. So out on the mountain you’ll need to stash a sleeping bag in the woods. On the other hand you could catch first chair and take a nap at 10am, again at 2pm then at 6pm and so on… This isn’t really socially acceptable according to some folks. However, you are only gone for 20 minutes at a time. It’s doable without a doubt.

What’s that? The Uberman won’t work for you due to lack of cooperation from your boss or lack of discipline on your side, don’t fret, there are other options. Still to be explored is the Everyman consisting of 3 core hours and 3×20 minute naps during the day and the Biphasic, ie Latin Siesta, consiting of 6 core hours and 1×20 minute nap.

The Everyman polyphasic sleep cycle seems to me to be the most usable. You can most likely find 3 hours at night to sleep and every 7 hours you take a 20 minute nap. So first chair is obtainable and and you can easily grab a snack and nap for 20 minutes somewhere comfy, then head to work and take a nap on your break.

However, the solution I prefer is the Biphasic Latin Siesta. Those folks in Southern America must have studied sleep long ago, because they know how it works best socially. To achieve the Latin Siesta you will need only 6 hours of core sleep with 1 thirty minute nap, say at noon. Now I’ve worked with some great Mexican folks, not from South America, who did this at lunch. They’d eat real quick, then take a 20 minute plus nap. It seemed to work for them.

The long term effects of these different type of sleep cycles are not easy to find. I have only seen some Military reports that suggest you can do these things safely. The polyphasic sleep cycle will take you a week or so to get adjusted to. In that time you will feel weird, tired, and you might even have visions of experiences you will never have. It’s all part of the experience of a something truly life altering. Using the Polyphasic sleep technique you can sleep less and be just as rested ride more and work the same amount.

Polyphasic Sleep Poll

Take the Poll - What type of sleeper are you?

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