I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow./ I feel my fate in what I
cannot fear./ I learn by going where I have to go.// We think by
feeling. What is there to know?
-Theodore Roethke, from "The Waking"
I never knew that my understanding of what awake feels like was so
different from most people until I had my first sleep study. I remember
having a very difficult time getting to sleep, which is typical whenever
I'm not in my own bed. My thoughts were racing: I was worried about the
sleep study results and a host of other things. At some point, I heard
the nurse enter my room and opened my eyes, which seemed to startle
her. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you." A tube that measured airflow wasn't working properly and she
had to replace it. When I told her not to worry and that I was
already awake, she seemed perplexed. Later I learned that according to the
EEG, I was technically asleep when she came in to replace the tube. It
seemed strange to me because I felt so strongly awake. Apparently, this is a common occurrence for people with Narcolepsy, this unique experience of sleep and wakefulness.
2 comments:
YES! I know absolutely what that is like. Sometimes I wonder just how often I am asleep and awake at the same time. Sometimes I think all the time. This is a very strange condition.
Oh, wow! I didn't even realize others did this, and I've been talking to people with Narcolepsy forever. I haven't heard anyone else say something like this about their sleep study experience, although, I'm sure others have had them.
When I received my result, it said something around six of seven hours of sleep. I'll have to look at it again to be exactly certain. I thought for sure I had only slept three hours or so!
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