Sleep Sheep

One of the reasons that I had to take a break from walking this year was due to an ongoing struggle with insomnia. I have spent entire nights laying in bed, just waiting for my sleep sheep to come, to no avail. Other times I fall asleep, only to wake up between 1:30 and 3:30 AM and not be able to get back to sleep. I am simply exhausted all through out the day as I've struggled to get sleep over the past several months. The sleep sheep seem to have taking to partying in the middle of the night.

OTC and Prescription sleep medicine aren't working to keep me asleep, so my nurse practitioner referred me to a sleep study. What an experience that was. You basically get covered in electrodes and are wired up...then expected to try to sleep that way so they can monitor you. Oh my heavens, I got so tangled up the first sleep study, the tech had to put in overtime just to untangle the wires after the study was over!

I was called back for a second sleep study where it was determined I am showing signs of sleep apnea and need to sleep with a CPAP mask. Basically, the mask forces air down and opens up your breathing passages. Which means you have to force air out against the flow of the air coming at you. It's practically claustrophobic. I don't think that sleep apnea is my only issue going on. It doesn't explain how I get so wired and can't fall asleep at times. But I will sleep with that mask if it means I go back to getting regular sleep at night. I'm walking around like a zombie these days! And with this picture that I took while I was getting hooked up for my first sleep study, I look like one, too!