Sleep

I’m in favor. It’s one of those insidious things that we don’t appreciate how much we need it until we don’t get it, and when we’re used to not getting it, we really forget how fantastic it is.

In and around my husband’s hear surgery, we both had sleep studies.

He had one at home. It was pretty easy. He wired himself up for two nights in a row, stuffed some sensors in his nose, and went to sleep. The results came back as no surprise to me. “Hey, you have horrifically bad sleep apnea.” We had to dance around with our insurance company for a while but now he has an auto-pap machine, which is like a cpap, but it changes the pressure around a bit as needed. It’s the latest thing.

If you’ve hesitated to have a study done because the machines are such a nuisance, then I really suggest you rethink your choice. Yes, the machine is kind of a nuisance, and I’m sure it will be a pain when we travel. Yes, when he’s wired up my husband looks like a science experiment and frightens the cat. But.

But instead of the nine hours a night he’s needed as long as I’ve known him, he now wakes easily after eight, even on weekends when he could sleep in if he chose. He just doesn’t need more. He’s also more rested and more alert. He’s just more energetic.

And if that doesn’t convince you, I’d like to point out that I am sleeping better than ever. It seems I was waking up a lot at night because he’d stop breathing. And for some reason, that bothered me… It took me about two weeks to adjust to the new noises in the bedroom, the machine, the occasional whistle if the mask gets askew, but now that I’m accustom, I don’t notice anything.

It’s lovely. So if you need one, or your partner says you need one, please get checked out. It could really change your life.

My story coming up next.