Recently, I went for a sleep study test. I sleep well at night, but my husband doesn’t–because my snoring keeps him awake. I hate having to admit that I snore because I hate that I snore. What is more annoying or offensive than snoring after all? But there it is, I snore. I didn’t always. In fact, I used to be so quiet that once my husband checked on me because he thought I was too quiet and was worried I’d stopped breathing. But that was years ago and it’s been a few years since I started snoring, although I think it’s only gotten really bad in the last year or so.
And then, my husband suddenly thought about something we hadn’t considered before: that maybe I have sleep apnea. I thought the idea was a long shot. Plenty of people snore without having sleep apnea after all. But I booked in for a sleep study because there wasn’t any good reason not to go for the study.
Symptoms of Sleep Apnea
While I was waiting to go for the study, I did a little research on sleep apnea. I learned that sleep apnea is when you stop breathing and start breathing during sleep. Like, you actually stop breathing. Which is scary! One of the symptoms is loud snoring, but as I dug a little deeper, I discovered that maybe I had more symptoms other than just loud snoring.
Symptoms include:
- daytime sleepiness or fatigue
- morning headaches
- dry mouth/sore throat
- episodes at night where you gasp or choke
- high blood pressure
- trouble focusing during the day
- moodiness
- insomnia
- unusual breathing patterns while asleep
- restless sleeper
- nightmares/disturbing dreams
- problems with memory, trouble concentrating
- waking up tired
Mind you, some of these symptoms can only really be observed by others as if you are asleep you can’t know if you gasp or choke or breathe in a strange pattern. Of these symptoms, I have about five of them. I have always felt tired during the day. I have also always attributed this fatigue to a couple of different things: my stressful job, and the fact that I suffer from hypothyroidism. I also suffer from anxiety, so you can see how some of the symptoms can overlap with other health issues. But, having researched this now, I’m eager to get the results back because maybe I can improve my quality of life if I do suffer from this condition.
What You’ll Need for the Study
For my sleep study, I was told to arrive for 8:30 at night and the study ended at 6am. The clinic I went to provided me with a FAQ sheet, a video (which I never watched because I didn’t see the link in my email) and what to bring for the night of the test.
Essentially, I was told to bring snacks, a water bottle and comfortable sleep wear and a book to read. I was asked not to bring any personal pillows or blankets, and to keep valuables at home.
All of this was pretty sleep explanatory and for someone like me who goes to bed at around 10:30pm, no big deal.
The Study Set Up
Once I was in the lab, I was met by a female tech and she went over some basic things with me before we set up for the night. I hadn’t realized, but I would be filmed all night not just monitored. This was for my safety, and the safety of the tech. I also observed that the men had the male tech and the women had the female tech, so you can see where all of this is going and I was very glad that the lab took safety so seriously. I signed some consent forms, filled out a questionnaire and then I practiced my knitting (I’m learning) until the tech came back to set me for the test.
This was the annoying part. It took what seems like forever to get all the wires hooked on me.
First, she cleaned each spot on my head a wire was going with some special cleaning product. There was three or four on my forehead, then two on my cheeks, one on my chin and then three on my scalp. Once that was done, she attached all the electro things to me. I hadn’t realized they needed to use a special conductive cream to do that, and so it wasn’t just a matter of taping them in place. So this whole process (cleaning and attaching) took about thirty minutes. We also had to put in a nose sensor and a second sensor that went right under my nose but kinda sat on my mouth.
So it was intense. Plus, there was a sensor around my chest and belly and a couple on each leg. Once I had all of this one, I could go to sleep. Mine you, I was hooked up to a kazillion wires, but otherwise it was time to sleep.
Did I Sleep?
How did I sleep with all of those wires all over my face? Well, it wasn’t as bad as I expected. I didn’t sleep as soundly, and it took me longer to fall asleep, but I did sleep. The tech had to wake me up twice because the sensor in nose wasn’t working properly at some point in the night, so she tried to fix it, then just swapped it for a new sensor. But, I slept. Which was something of a relief because I wanted and needed to sleep.
I was awakened at 5:30. I left very shortly after using the washroom and washing some of the residue of the conductive cream off my face and was home while it was still dark out.
I felt awful the entire day because I was so sleep deprived. I should clarify this by adding that sleep is very important to me. I need to have 8-10 hours to really feel properly rested and even then, sometimes I don’t always feel energized or well rested, especially in the winter months.
In Conclusion
The sleep study wasn’t overly uncomfortable, and while I didn’t get the greatest sleep of my life, it was far less disturbed than some nights where I’ve had to sleep in a hospital. The bed was more comfortable, I had two good pillows, the room was dark and those are three improvements on having to stay in the hospital. I didn’t find the wires too cumbersome or uncomfortable while sleeping and while the next day I was exhausted, it wasn’t too bad overall. I don’t have the results back yet, but at this point, I would not be surprised to be told I have some form of sleep apnea. I’ll have to wait and see.
If you think you might have sleep apnea, talk to your doctor. From what I’ve learned, this condition could really affect your health long term and it’s worth getting it looked into, especially if a bed partner is expressing concern or frustrations around your sleep.
Ever done a sleep study? Tell me about your experience in the comments.