Dropping off to sleep normally comes easy for me. I put my TV on 60 minutes of sleep mode and fall asleep within 15 of those minutes. Even if it's a favorite show, I'm gone before the halfway point. Trying to fall asleep in a strange room on a strange and overly firm mattress with wires all over me and tethered to the wall, that was a different matter. I opted for a fan for circulation in this closed up, sound-proofed room because I dislike air conditioners in general (a wrong choice, as I found out later). The fan competed with the TV as far as background noise, so the TV went off early. I tossed and turned a bit trying to find a more comfortable spot on the mattress, which was wholly impossible. Eventually, I gave up and fell asleep 38 minutes later.
Now, don't misunderstand. There was no clock in the room and putting the TV on was frowned upon; you're not supposed to clock watch and the TV might wake your fellow poor sleepers if it's too loud. I only know from reading the report later that my snoozing started 38 minutes after parking my tired self for the night. Some might consider that an acceptable amount of time (I think they did), but for me, that was a little slow.
I don't remember waking again until some point in the future when my bladder insisted on being emptied (normal for me). I'm not sure that it was entirely nature calling that woke me, though. The room was overly warm and stuffy, the result of the door being closed, the window being sealed and the fan only circulating the enclosed air around. I called out to Amy, who responded within a few seconds as I had already warned her about needing to get up at some point during the night. She immediately recognized the stuffiness of the room as well and suggested, as she had at the beginning of the night, that air conditioning might be better. Live and learn. The A/C went on.
She did the quick disconnect of wired box to wired box and took the monitor off my finger. I was free! Free to wander into the bathroom with my electronic friend now dangling like a pendant from my neck. A pendant on a really long cord. Figuring out how to deal with the box and the need for toilet paper use had me giggling at the absurdity of it. Wasn't easy, but I managed.
I got back into bed, found my spot on the slab and drifted back to sleep. I woke sometime later and for some reason, I felt as though the monitor on my finger had disconnected. I called out to alert the tech, which was silly because she would know it before I did and she wasn't there plugging it back in. Clearly, I wasn't as awake as I thought, but I did quickly realize my error and apologized so that she wouldn't have to come in. She told me that there wasn't too much time left to the test, which thrilled me. I found out later that it was close to 6 AM, so I wouldn't have been able to get back to sleep if I tried because we were past my normal waking time and my body's wake/sleep rhythm wouldn't have let me.
Just before the end was called, Amy had me go through the pre-sleep test movements again. Stare at the ceiling, chew, deep breathe, and so on. My legs felt a bit heavy and my back was screaming to get up, but I did everything asked of me. While I waited for her to come in, I sat on the side of the bed and just stretched to get the kinks out. Lots of kinks. They only offered a complimentary breakfast in the hospital cafeteria, but I really wanted somebody gorgeous and named Sven to come in and offer me a morning massage. So much for that fantasy. It was only Amy with a clipboard and another questionnaire about how I felt I slept for the night as compared to my normal. I wrote that I felt I didn't sleep as well and complained about the mattress. I then got dressed, stuffed my pillow back in the bag, told the bed I wasn't going to miss it and exited. I said goodbye to my vigilant sleep tech and wandered out into the sunrise to head home.
What did I get for my night on the orthopedic stone? A detailed report as to what's happening while I sleep and don't sleep. Fascinatin' readin', it was, with its breakdown of what my oxygen levels were during the night, what my brain was doing during REM and non-REM sleep, etc. One of the most interesting things I found out was that, even though I said I woke four times on the post-study form (I can only remember three now), I actually woke many times during the night. No wonder I yawned during the day! I also know why I woke and it wasn't because of sleep apnea. I don't stop breathing during sleep, which is what I thought might be happening to the overweight woman that is me. Very happy about that, too.
What was it? Oh, sorry, this is one of those 'live without knowing' moments. I'll tell you about the adventure to get there, but not about the treasure found in the final crypt. That level of health information stays with me, my doctor, and the papers the report came on. It was a surprise, though, and maybe someday, I'll write a health article on the subject. I'll also say that it wasn't a bad experience, save for the mattress, and that I highly recommend it for those who don't sleep well, want to know why and want to correct the problem. I missed the good snooze and now I'll get to find it again.
Sleep well, everyone, and happy dreaming.
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