Bed Time

Imagine an estimated 20-30 electrodes and wires attached to your body with tape and rubber cement, straps across your chest, and tubes up your nose. Now try to sleep in a room you don't know, in a bed that isn't to your comfort level, with outside noises you're not used to, no clock, and a camera and microphone monitoring everything you do. Well, this was my sleep test experience. Amazingly I did fall asleep pretty quickly, but I woke up repeatedly through the night. I was exhausted when they woke me up around six in the morning and told me I had to stay the rest of the day because they needed to conduct further tests. I sat around the room periodically watching tv, reading, and pacing. Mind you, I had the wires attached to my body and a box around my neck that connected all the wires. Every two hours a nurse would come in and tell me it was time to nap. They would plug the box of wires into a computer and turn off the lights. They did this nap test five times. I actually fell asleep four of the times. At the end of the day, they removed the wires and used acetone on my hair to remove the rubber cement, which took more than four washings to come out. Then the nurse asked if I'd gone outside since it was such a beautiful day. I'm sure I looked thunderous as I exclaimed, "I could have left my room." She thought someone would have told me. I had never been told anything the whole time I was there except when to nap and when to eat. One would have thought with how much pacing I did that someone would have come in and asked if I wanted to go outside for some fresh air or privacy. Though, I would have looked a fright what with the unwashed hair, tape, rubber cement, wires, and box around my neck. Oh well! We'll see what the diagnosis is this week.