Original Post
Well, I went last night to the sleep lab to have a sleep study to determine if I have sleep apnea or not. Sleep apnea is a condition where the various muscles of the back of the tongue relax, allowing the airway to collapse in on itself, thereby cutting off airflow. The lack of oxygen chokes the sufferer, jarring them out of deep sleep, though not necessarily completely awake. Genereally only older, hugely obese people have sleep apnea (I''m 21 and only 160lbs at 5''10"), however it is REMOTELY possible, given my family history of sleep disorders and this particular disorder itself, that I may have it.
Basically, the connected a ton of electrodes all over my body, but mostly to my head. There were two on each leg to test for leg twitching while I was asleep (this is called RLS, Restless Limb Syndrome, a minor sleep disorder. The motion tends to jar the sufferer out of deep sleep, making sleep unrestful). Two bands around my chest to monitor breathing. A blood oxygen monitor taped to my right index finger. Two electrodes on my chest for EKG data. Two on either side of my jaw, to test for teeth grinding (same effect as RLS). An electrode under my eye to test for REM (Rapid Eye Movement, an indicator the brain has entered dream state). A microphone on my throat to record any snoring (people with sleep apnea are usually heavy snorers). An electrode on my right temple, one on the back of my head, two on the top of my head, two on either side of my head an inch above each ear, and two directly behind each ear, all setup to measure brainwave activity. So, all well and good, now I have a billion wires hanging off of me and I''m supposed to sleep in an unfamiliar bed with that weird hospital smell and two of the flattest, hardest pillows I''ve ever laid my head on.
I was out in maybe half an hour. Needless to say, constant sleep deprivation allows a person to sleep anywhere at any time, in any position (my father once slept upside down in a military jeep. I once slept at a carnival, despite the loud noise).
I slept from about 9:30pm to 1:30am. I''m pretty certain I woke up at least once in that period of time. I did not dream, which is odd, because I always dream. I laid in the dark for about a half hour until I confirmed that I was wide awake an not going back to sleep, called the nurse and informed her I was done sleeping. Well, as it turned out, 2am was too early to end the test, I needed to go another hour and a half before enough data would be collected. So, I watched TV, British House of Commons, mostly, found it quite entertaining when I was hoping it would put me to sleep (but that''s another topic). At 3:30am, the nurse came and got me, and she disconnected all the electrodes, which was quite an ordeal, considering all of the hair that covers most of my body. The hair on my head is still full of glue, I''ll need to wash that out later. I''m thinking it will dissolve quite well with rubbing alcohol, as the glue itself smelled like alcohol, and I think she used alcohol to remove it.
And now, it''s almost 6am, and I''m wide awake. I only rightly got 4 hours of sleep, but I''m ready to go. When I sleep 6-7 hours my normal nights from about 12am to 7am I feel terrible. Very weird that a shorter amount of time and I feel wide awake.
