Sleep Study: Part 2

*This was actually written during the sleep study, but have only just now gotten around to and been able to post it*

Sleep studies are annoying. Whilst the idea of getting to sleep all day is awesome, the reality isn’t so fun. For starters, at around 8pm I was fitted with wires on my face, head, chest and legs. All these wires were connected to a central box, plugged into the wall. The wires on my legs were to check for restless leg syndrome. The wires on my face and head were to monitor my brain waves, eye movements and any teeth grinding. 

Then the tubes and straps were added: the tubes stuck up my nose and around my face, while the straps were secured around my chest and stomach. This was to measure my breathing and to make sure I didn’t stop breathing in my sleep (a sign of sleep apnea). 

With around 15-20 wires and tubes and straps secured to me, I was then left to go to sleep. Do you have any idea how hard it is to fall asleep and stay asleep with that many wires attached to you? I’m generally a restless sleeper – constantly tossing and turning. So every time I wanted to roll over, I had to rearrange the wires so I wouldn’t choke myself. This led to an even more disturbed sleep than normal. The upside was I was left to “sleep” until 8am. Considering the fact I generally have to get up at 5.30am, this was a much enjoyed sleep-in. 

Having been allowed to sleep longer than I would normally get to, being told at 9.30am that I would now have to have a nap, was surprisingly stressful. Pressure was on to fall asleep! I fell asleep eventually, only to be woken up a few minutes later. This process was to be repeated 3 more times throughout the day. As I’m typing this, I’m about 35min away from my 4^th nap of the day. So far I’ve fallen asleep in 2 of the 3 naps. 

Spending an entire day with wires attached to my face hasn’t been entirely pleasant. I am so itchy! And I know I’m going to have to leave here and catch public transport home with big, red splodges on my face. Also, being woken up just as you’ve fallen asleep…ANNOYING! Oh and there’s no wi-fi or power points. So my phone is just about dead and could have left my computer at home.