I have a lot of trouble waking up in the morning, and tend to be low-energy throughout the day. I attribute it to being heavy but they have said the test may be worth it anyway.
I’m going in for an overnight study next month and wonder about others’ experiences.
Did you have hard time falling asleep in the environment, and with the electrodes hooked up?
Do you have to sit there topless when they attached the electrodes and the strap around your chest (esp. ladies)?
Has resulting treatment changed things appreciably for you?
I had one a few years ago. The setting wasn’t that bad. The sleep study area was set up like a cheap motel room and each patient had their own room.
They hook you up to a LOT of wires as in an almost absurb amount. It takes over half an hour just to get them on. They made me where a CPAP machine and I felt like I suffocating so they hooked me up to a nasal tube version. They film you as soon as you lay down and watch you on monitors which seems a little odd.
I didn’t think I slept at all but they said I did and they got planty of info. They woke me up and kicked me out at 6 am which I hear is typical.
I found out I had sleep apnea in a few days but that was no suprise. My nose and throat had a family design flaw. I opted for the radical surgery option which included uvulaplasty, tonsils and adenoids removed, and a deviated septum corrected. It was supposed to be horrible surgery and recovery but I didn’t think it was that bad although I did have to stay home for 2 weeks.
The surgery worked for the most part and although my sleep still isn’t perfect, it is much better and closer to normal.
I participated in a number of sleep studies 15 years ago as a normal control (it paid well and I was poor). Yes, there are a bunch of wires. I was hooked up for EEG, EKG, and in one study a band around my penis (don’t ask). Nevertheless, I slept well. The temperature was perfect. The bed was comfy. A white noise generator hummed in the background.
The morning after a study was the biggest PITA. Each of the electrodes that was glued on has to be removed. This leaves pieces of crud behind on your scalp. I am a guy, and the topless part was not a problem.
Yay! A question I can answer with my own life experience!
I was in an experimental sleep study a few months ago (there’s nothing wrong with my sleep, I did it for money and science) that took place over two nights. The test measured my breathing and brain function while asleep and my mood and cognitive ability after I woke up.
I didn’t have to take my clothes all the way off, I removed my bra and they reached inside my shirt to put the electrodes on. It was a male technician but they said they could get a woman if I was more comfortable with that, so if you want you can probably get one. The strap went on over my clothes, I wore a tee shirt to sleep in so it probably didn’t make much of a difference whether it was inside or outside. The most uncomfortable part was the head electrodes since they had to put this gel on my head so they would stick The whole process (body and head) took about 45 minutes. After the electrodes and strap were on I had to spend another fifteen minutes calibrating the EEG machine (at least I think it was that?) by taking a deep breath and speaking and doing other things that would make the little seismograph reader jump. The head electrodes were hooked up to something that looked like a battery pack and which was then hooked up to a machine next to the bed. There was a second machine in the day room where I spent most of the second day that I had to be hooked up to. There was also a nose tube, which I only had to wear while asleep.
It was a lot harder to sleep, not only because of the electrodes but also because I was not in my own bed and environment. I have to get up during the night to go to the bathroom most nights, so a technician had to come in and unhook my electrodes from the machine, which was uncomfortable and made me feel bad because I had to make someone else do this incredibly simple task. I wish they would have just had a bedpan since the process of unhooking/rehooking took around ten minutes altogether. The battery pack thing was heavy and yanked at my head whenever I moved in the night, which woke me up once or twice I think. (I’m a light sleeper, not terribly so since they wouldn’t have used me for the study if I was, but I woke up more during the study than I do under normal conditions). I think I lost a few chunks of hair when they took the head electrodes off, which was not cool.
During the day I had to perform a series of cognitive tasks and mood surveys; I don’t know if you’ll have to do that or if it was specific to my study. They were not difficult at all, but I am an old hand at these kinds of tests, I spent all of last summer selling my body and mind to science. I also had to try to nap during the day which didn’t work since I am not much of a napper.
So yeah, I’d bring a book along for the long stretch when they put the electrodes on you, as well as several for the following day if you have to do other tests like I did. There was no television in the room and the whole thing was actually rather boring. Also be prepared to have more trouble falling asleep there than you do at home, even if the bed is comfortable it is not your own bed. Also I couldn’t use caffeine, cigarettes, alcohol, or any type of pills not even Tylenol for 24 hours before the study, so make sure you follow those rules.
Thanks for the info! I was surprised when the doc told me I could take Tylenol PM to help fall asleep if needed. But yep, they said don’t use caffeine during the day of the study.
They said if they think it’s apnea they may have me back for another night to try the mask and see the difference. It would be cool if they could do it with and without in one night.
I am hoping also whether they can tell me it’s because of my weight because it may be enough to try to eat better to avoid the mask and surgery. It’s definitely harder as I’m heavier but I don’t remember ever liking to have to get up!
