Friday, September 29, 2006

before and after

So I've been doing this sleep study at a nearby university, I think something to do with the ways in which insomnia is diagnosed and subsequently catagorized by doctors. Anyway, it hadn't involved much except filling out sleep journals every morning (which ask me in one question how much anxiety I felt the night before and in the next question ask me about how much worry I felt. I spend a larger-than-I-should amount of time wondering about the fine distinction between worry and anxiety when I'm trying to fall asleep at night.) and wearing a motion sensor watch for about a week. But last night I had to sleep there, and I will again tonight.
I wrote this angsty blog entry yesterday that wouldn't publish about how I was nervous and I didn't want to go and blah blah blah. But it was okay. I went there after rehearsal, around 7:30, and sat in what looked like a slightly medicalized hotel room until about 11:30 writing letters and reading a book. At that point a technician came in and fixed electrodes all over me, mostly on my head (the back, sides, my chin, forehead, up my nose...), with goo. Then I laid down, she turned out the lights, and I attempted to sleep.
As she was fixing all the stuff on me, I said "Wow, I bet all this stuff makes it hard to sleep." Duh. And she laughed and said that everybody says that and then they fall asleep in five minutes. WRONG! I feel like I was up all night, trying to turn over without ripping half my skin off or choking myself on a cord. Whatever. Maybe I'll sleep better tonight.

1 comment:

lauren said...

Dang, that sounds ridiculous! I know what goo you're talking about, I once did a study at the UofA with those electrodes glued to my head. It was an undergrad study on people with good relative pitch; I hope it was useful. Sleeping in it though? No way! I hope you're getting paid a lot. And, more importantly, I hope the second night was better than the first!