As I'm sitting here looking at the clock, I'm relieved to remind myself that I don't have to go to work tomorrow. Funny that you start appreciating the little things as you get older like sleeping late! I used to be able to stay up all night long. Not anymore! Taking a nap is something I look forward to. Maybe it's the sleep apena, but I take my sleep seriously these days.
One of the complications of having sleep apnea is that your nasal passages must be clear in order for you to use the CPAP machine. I've met two other people with sleep apnea, and we all have the same addiction to nasal sprays. I was able to be weaned off the spray sometime last year ... until I caught a cold. Then it was back to square one.
Oh sure, I could try to sleep breathing through my mouth. However, when you have sleep apnea, you tend to stop breathing, forcing your brain to wake up and kick start you back to breathing again. After a couple of those kind of nights, I would be a danger on the road. I can sleep sitting up, and sleep deprivation sneaks up on you without warning. I couldn't tell you how many times I've nodded off while sitting at my computer or watching television.
I've had some people tell me that they couldn't sleep sitting up, that they'd have to be lying down. My only response to that would be, "If you're tired enough, you'll sleep anywhere and in any position." For example, I watched "Breakpoint" on FoxNews this evening. It was one cameraman's story about his assignment as an embed with our troops invading Iraq. I listened to his story and watched the videos of our troops in action: on the job, during their breaks, and while they slept. The cameraman spoke of sleep deprivation and the toll it took on the soldiers and on themselves. One soldier was dead asleep on the hard ground in the middle of a violent sand storm. You can bet that soldier was exhausted.
From experience, I know that if I'm sleepy enough, I'll conk out anywhere. For example, I used to dread staying in a motel because their beds would be too hard for me. I'd be very uncomfortable laying on those beds, but if I was sleepy enough, I'd fall asleep. However, I usually got just enough sleep to keep from being totally exhausted. I'd wake up a couple of hours later with my back hurting from the hard bed. My mother suggested I take an air mattress with me to place on top of the mattress at the hotel. Oh man! Big difference!!! I wish I had known this before! Now when I travel, sleep comes easier for me. Of course, if I'm really desperate for sleep while traveling, I can sleep sitting up in a lounge chair, sofa, or even my vehicle if necessary. To me, they are more comfortable than a hard bed.
Before I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, I was visiting Soul Sister and her husband one weekend. It was one of those hot hazy summer afternoons, and I felt like laying in front of a fan and taking a nap. Soul Sister and her husband were drowsy themselves and dozed off on the couch in the living room. I went to my room, turned on the fan, and layed down on the air mattress atop the bed.
Next thing I know, I'm laying on my stomach on the floor looking at Soul Sister's feet as she's asking me if I'm okay. Apparently, I got too close to the edge of the mattress, the side collapsed, and I fell off the bed. The thing that still perplexes me is that I didn't wake up immediately after I hit the floor. The bed and mattress combined measured a height of 2 1/2 feet. Soul Sister and her husband heard a thud and went to investigate. She found me laying on the floor not moving. I didn't hurt myself ... well ... I did bang my right hand on the dresser as I rolled off the bed and hit the floor. I think about that incident and still can't believe it happened, but it did.
Shortly before my diagnosis, I started researching the effects of sleep deprivation. Some of the results are: memory loss, inability to concentrate, fatigue, irritability, headaches, etc. What I also discovered is that the human body will only take so much deprivation before it overrides the human will to stay awake. It could be as small as a microsleep (a period of a few seconds in which the brain goes into sleep mode despite the person's physical activity) or as serious as a sleep seizure (a longer period of time in which a person goes to sleep without warning). In other words, it will force sleep out of you if you neglect getting enough rest.
I see it's getting late, so I'll close for now. Nite! Nite!
1 comment:
I totally know what you're saying about some one with apnea being able to sleep anywhere, anyhow. Before my husband was finally put on medical leave indefinately by his doctor (we didn't even know we were looking at sleep apnea at the time), he would find himself falling asleep while standing up, in mid-sentence while talking, at the computer at work and, most alarmingly, at the wheel. He simply couldn't keep himself awake.
The irony of this is that even though he'd be asleep before his head hit the pillow, because of the apnea, he was actually sleep deprived. Unless they've gone through it or seen it, I don't think a person can truly understand how severe apnea's effects can be.
I'm glad you've got your CPAP. What an amazing difference in quality of life those machines make!
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