Sleep Study - Part 2

...If anyone is actually interested. Ok, whatever.

So I close my eyes - I'm lying flat on my back, covered with wires like a cheap stereo. My arms are to my sides, palms down on the bed. I'm a bit afraid to move, although she said I was free to turn over whenever I liked.

Due to the early hour, plus being a little intimidated as to what the night would be like I didn't fall asleep right away. After about a half hour, I did.

The night passed surprisingly well, and quickly. I woke once out of an intense dream, blinked, and wondered where I was briefly. I also wondered whether they were recording that particular dream...of course, I knew that was impossible but...I hoped not anyway. *ahem*

Back to sleep a minute or so later. The passage of time was difficult to see, since there wasn't a clock in the room and no light through the curtains in the window. I woke a couple of times coughing, still shaking the vestiges of my cold, and noted that I was breathing clearly.

Finally I woke out of another fairly intense dream that had to do with me driving a school bus full of UT Band students on the way to a football game, stopping at my son's former day care for a visit (?), realizing there was a child inside who had died and was wrapped up in a blanket on the floor (teachers response: "Oh well, these things happen..") and then I was trying to back the bus out of a parking place and ended smashing into a couple of cars. I woke, blinked my eyes a few times then saw the bright light of the hallway as my tech came into the room to wake me.

It was 7am, and she had to wait until I was out of my dream state before she could wake me - which meant they were tracking my brain states as I dreamed.

She had a piece of advice for me: don't sleep on my back, and I'l sleep better - thanks, I kind of already guessed that - but interestingly I felt as if I'd slept pretty well.

I got up and sat in a chair while she removed all the hookups. After changing clothes and filling out a post-sleep survey, I was on my way. Of course, I'm still picking bits of adhesive out of my hair...

I'll have to go back this week for the next phase, where I'm fairly certain I'll have to wear what's called a CPAP - a device worn on the face that's used to open the nasal airways while sleeping - and if there's any interest I can write about it, too.