Sleep Study

I thought I would sit down and document my recent sleep study experience. I admit that I went into it hoping to get some sleep and maybe some answers to some of my sleep issues. I asked for prayer and prayed myself quite a bit, wanting this to be successful and an accurate test of my normal sleep patterns.

Well, as soon as I showed up, I began to wonder... I knew I would have wires on me, but had no idea of the extent. I wish I could have taken a picture! It took about half an hour to wire me up. In the end, I had five electrodes pasted and taped to my face (2 on my chin, one next to each eye, one on my forehead). Four were pasted into my hair, onto my scalp. I had one electrode pasted and taped under each ear. Then there were several on my body, including my tummy, chest, and both legs. I also had a belt around my waist and one around my chest to help check my breathing. To top it all off, I had a tube poking into both nostrils of my nose and a clip on my finger. I was on video with the room microphoned from 8:00 pm to 3:00 the next afternoon. Just the ticket for a restful night of sleep, don't you think?

Needless to say, being a person who often does not sleep well even under the best of circumstances, I didn't sleep! On top of it all, the room was hot and I learned in the morning how to keep the fan running all night. As I lay there hour after hour, completely aware that I was being watched and monitored, I prayed and wondered why God wasn't helping me sleep better. Hadn't I prayed so hard? First lesson in faith, Erin: God does what HE wants and it's your job to trust and follow. Prayer isn't about getting desired results; it's about casting your cares on Him and seeing what He wants to accomplish.

I finally fell asleep around 3:30-4:00 and woke up at 6 am. Then began my daytime sleep study. Thankfully, they removed much of the body electrodes and the lovely nose tube and finger clip. All of the ones on my head remained. Beginning at 8 and continuing at 10, 12, and 2, I took 20-30 minute naps. The nap at 12 was the most successful, probably because that's close to when I nap regularly. I was able to nap a little during the others, though - no doubt due to the fact that I had only had 2 hours of sleep the night before. At 2:30 I was done! I got to shower and vigorously scrub the paste out of my hair, hallelujah!

That's about it! I came home completely exhausted from my sleep study and couldn't wait to get into my own bed with no wires stuck to me. I'm so thankful for modern science and for the chance to improve my health. I had a different idea of how this would go, but I'm encouraged by the knowledge that God had this planned all along. He will accomplish His purpose and I might as well praise Him through it all. I was not given any indication of the results, as the people were just sleep technicians and it will take several weeks for the study to be evaluated. I have an appointment in a couple of weeks and will hopefully get some answers then. I will certainly post the result when I know something! Praise God for His goodness and faithfulness!