SCIENCE!

[llcoolvad]

Or at least really good technology! I got two nifty things from P for my birthday: a Fitbit, which tracks all kinds of fitness and health stuff (it's an elaborate pedometer, really), and an iPad. I was motivated by the Fitbit's ability to track how you sleep to finally explore what kind of recording apps I could find for the iPad that would record me while I sleep. I really wanted to know how my apnea is doing, as I've felt better, lately. I found one called DreamPro that has a sound-activated thingie that kicks in when there's sound in the room. Turned it on last night, strapped on the Fitbit, went to sleep. Woke up, saw that there were 55 recordings. There's an "auto play" function, so I hit it, and listened to a couple of trucks going by my window. A few sighs. A cough. Another cough. A little mutter. Sounds of turning over in sleep. Sheet rustling. NO SNORING AT ALL!

Ok, certainly this is not conclusive. My Fitbit shows that I got 5.5 hours of sleep at 93% efficiency. Clearly I need to go to bed earlier. But OMG!

I will continue to experiment. And I'm clearly gonna have to go to bed earlier. But OMG, no snoring.

Posted via LiveJournal app for iPad.

Comments

[rolandgsl.livejournal.com]

Clearly I need to go to bed earlier.

My sleep doc calls this "sleep hygiene", basically just following good sleep practices.

[llcoolvad.livejournal.com]

My own sleep doc wasn't very helpful, but I was also very resistant to the whole process. If my non-scientific tracking keeps showing the non-snoring thing, I will have to probably schedule another sleep study to see if I no longer stop breathing. That part would be pretty helpful to know! I have no idea of apnea is something you can get over. I know plenty of skinny people with apnea, so it seems weird that the weight loss would have this effect.

I am going to try to get into bed earlier every night, giving myself enough time to sleep. I've never had problems falling asleep, but I have problems putting myself to bed. Too many things to read, too much to do!

[rolandgsl.livejournal.com]

I can't find the list for the moment, but there were about a dozen suggestions for more consistent sleep. Basic idea is "don't sabotage yourself."

If putting on weight is a risk factor that can cause or aggravate a sleep condition, I see no reason why losing weight could not improve or eliminate one for some people. In fact, I think it's even one of the recommended approaches for dealing with sleep issues.

A coworker was having issues with his machine, so they set him up for a new sleep study...but instead of being in a strange bed hooked up to wires for eeg/ekg, cameras, and remotely controlled machine and all that, they gave him a home monitoring kit that amounted to either a flow mask or a pair of flow meters for his nostrils (I forget which), and downloaded the info online. He had his results in a few days as opposed to months, and ended up with a different machine and settings that work much better for him. Less hassle, better results. Best of all, no sticky electrode goo in the hair.

Sleep studies have evolved, so ask what's involved now before you tense up about the process.

[p-j-cleary.livejournal.com]

Hey! Finally found this entry! (A lot of people were very active on LJ in the past few days.) You told me all this at lunch today, but I'm so happy! Nothing was scarier than knowing you weren't breathing when you slept, so it's a big relief that you seem to be over that.

Plus, you're off a bunch of meds and you look fabulous!!!

[llcoolvad.livejournal.com]

It is pretty damn cool, I haveta say!