Sleep study last night... strange stuff...
Category Everything else
So last night I went in for my sleep study to see what they could find out about my less-than-stellar sleep habits. I already know a fair amount of the story... fat, out of shape, too much caffeine, etc. But getting a baseline with actual observation would be a good place to start, so I got the referral and had the actual study done.
The experience was different, to say the least. I was shown to the room, and it's like a decent hotel room... TV, cabinet for all your stuff, comfy bed, positive ion fan, and best of all... AIR CONDITIONING! I love cold rooms for sleeping... Anyway, after watching a video, they brought in the cart to start hooking me up.
Side note on the video... I think they are using one of perhaps a thousand different versions of the same story. In the one they showed me, the patient was a 48 year old male, software developer, overweight, with glasses... I kid you not...
Anyway... I have a pair of shorts on. Two leads get threaded down the shorts to hook up to the legs for restless leg monitoring. A couple go on the chest. Two elastic straps around the stomach and chest for breathing. She drew all kinds of lines on my head, and must have stuck about 10 contacts in my hair after scrubbing each spot to the point of pain. Then contacts on the jaw (each side), next to the eyes, and two breathing sensors under my nose and over my head. All those wires converged to a pigtail behind my neck, and THEN you get to try and sleep...
Yeah, right...
They film and listen to you all night long. If you have to go to the bathroom, you just talk to the "voice in the sky", she comes in to detach you, and then hooks you back up when you get back in bed. I took an Ambien, read for awhile, and then slept from about 9:45 to 2:30 (the time she told me she came in). Then she asked me to try and sleep on my back as I'm a stomach sleeper. That didn't go well, so I tossed and turned (and finally rolled over) until about 5 when I decided a bathroom break was in order. I tried for another hour of sleep after that, but I don't think I was too successful.
They then came in, removed all the wires, I took a shower to get all the stuff off my head, and packed up and went home to start working. I'll find out the answers and results next week.
I'm glad I took the study, as I'm sure this sleep problem is responsible for a significant degree of my emotional and physical turmoil right now. I know everyone says the CPAP machine, if prescribed, is a really good solution (even thought it looks like the most awkward device ever). I was encouraged that they didn't wake me up mid-study to have me wear one, as that's a sign that you're REALLY suffering from severe apnea. I'm hoping that the wake-up call (sort of no pun intended) will add to my motivation to get in shape...
So last night I went in for my sleep study to see what they could find out about my less-than-stellar sleep habits. I already know a fair amount of the story... fat, out of shape, too much caffeine, etc. But getting a baseline with actual observation would be a good place to start, so I got the referral and had the actual study done.
The experience was different, to say the least. I was shown to the room, and it's like a decent hotel room... TV, cabinet for all your stuff, comfy bed, positive ion fan, and best of all... AIR CONDITIONING! I love cold rooms for sleeping... Anyway, after watching a video, they brought in the cart to start hooking me up.
Side note on the video... I think they are using one of perhaps a thousand different versions of the same story. In the one they showed me, the patient was a 48 year old male, software developer, overweight, with glasses... I kid you not...
Anyway... I have a pair of shorts on. Two leads get threaded down the shorts to hook up to the legs for restless leg monitoring. A couple go on the chest. Two elastic straps around the stomach and chest for breathing. She drew all kinds of lines on my head, and must have stuck about 10 contacts in my hair after scrubbing each spot to the point of pain. Then contacts on the jaw (each side), next to the eyes, and two breathing sensors under my nose and over my head. All those wires converged to a pigtail behind my neck, and THEN you get to try and sleep...
Yeah, right...
They film and listen to you all night long. If you have to go to the bathroom, you just talk to the "voice in the sky", she comes in to detach you, and then hooks you back up when you get back in bed. I took an Ambien, read for awhile, and then slept from about 9:45 to 2:30 (the time she told me she came in). Then she asked me to try and sleep on my back as I'm a stomach sleeper. That didn't go well, so I tossed and turned (and finally rolled over) until about 5 when I decided a bathroom break was in order. I tried for another hour of sleep after that, but I don't think I was too successful.
They then came in, removed all the wires, I took a shower to get all the stuff off my head, and packed up and went home to start working. I'll find out the answers and results next week.
I'm glad I took the study, as I'm sure this sleep problem is responsible for a significant degree of my emotional and physical turmoil right now. I know everyone says the CPAP machine, if prescribed, is a really good solution (even thought it looks like the most awkward device ever). I was encouraged that they didn't wake me up mid-study to have me wear one, as that's a sign that you're REALLY suffering from severe apnea. I'm hoping that the wake-up call (sort of no pun intended) will add to my motivation to get in shape...
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