A few weeks ago, I had a sleep study. They wire you up with a bazillion wires and tubes, put you in a sterile room on an uncomfortable bed, and then say “sleep normally”. The reason for the study is that sometimes lack of sleep, especially because of apnea, is sometimes related to sensitivity to pain.
Today, I got the results. Highlights include
- It took me only 14 minutes to fall asleep, but over 180 minutes to first get to REM sleep, and I didn’t get very much REM sleep over the course of the night
- I experienced “arousal” (not sexual arousal, they just mean I wasn’t properly asleep any more an average of 38 times per hour
- The “arousals” were closely correlated to snoring and some apnea, and are the probable reason for the lack of REM sleep
Upshot is that I’m going to get a “CPAP” machine for a few weeks to see if it helps.
My gf had the tests and has the machine. They diagnosed severe apnea. I could have told them that! Now she sleeps soundly and quietly. Blood oxygen levels are back to norm. Cannot comment on the pain issue, but I guess anything new is worth trying. good luck.
I thought I had sleep apnea because I’m always tired. I did the sleep study; turns out I go immediately into REM sleep, and therefore I have narcolepsy, even though I have almost none of the other symptoms.
Thankfully modafinil (AKA Provigil®) works great.