Sleep Disorders

So. After a long round of trying to find a place willing to evaluate my sleep for free (it's for an article, not an actual sleep problem), I was thrilled last night when someone called me from a sleep disorder clinic to tell me they had a last-minute opening in their Fremont office. Could I be there in two hours? I immediately agreed.

I'll admit: I've always liked the idea of being hooked up to electrodes. An MRI would have been even better (who cares about claustrophobia when you get to see the inside of your brain!) but for now, the electrodes would have to suffice.

I'm not sure what my point in this post is except to say that as a result of my sleep study, I am really, really tired. First, I was sleeping in a strip mall. There was a mortgage office next door and a Safeway across the parking lot. A Holiday Inn would have had a more relaxing atmosphere. Second, I didn't get hooked up to all the electrodes till just after 11pm, which is almost past my normal bedtime. This wouldn't have been a problem if the technician hadn't bid me good night with the sentence, "I'll wake you up around six." That, combined with the fact that I had electrodes on my head, chest and calves, bands around my chest and ribs, a oxygen monitor on my finger, and two plastic tubes up my nose, made it very difficult to sleep. (Not to mention the fact that I had performance anxiety -- there was a camera in the bedroom so that the technician could monitor my position.)

So when she came back to my room at 5:59 am, on the dot, I was not at my finest. Nor do I feel like I'm at my finest right now, nearly twelve hours after the wakeup call.

But at least I got hooked up to electrodes. I haven't gotten the results of the analysis yet, but suffice it to say, I'm excited.

This is the blog for Salt Magazine.