|


|
October 1, 2008
Posted: 01:11 PM ET
By Georgiann Caruso Many of us wake up in the middle of the night making mental to-do lists. Sound familiar? I am guilty of this. A recent visit to my doctor ended with the diagnosis: anxiety. After trying an assortment of medications, I sometimes still wake up only to realize it’s 4 a.m. Dr. David Schulman, director of Emory’s sleep lab center, says a third of Americans have insomnia, including trouble falling asleep as well as trouble staying asleep, a reflection of our high-stress society. My doctor prescribed a sleep study, and today’s the day. My mind is full of racing thoughts. What if I can’t sleep to give them something to study? What exactly IS a sleep study, anyway? Here’s how it went: Studies such as mine look at everything from stages of sleep to blood oxygen levels and the amount a person snores, says the National Sleep Foundation. Attaching electrodes to my body — my legs, nose, temples and jaw area — took about 45 minutes. I had less trouble sleeping than I anticipated. The technician showed me a bit about how she could tell when I was asleep by watching my brain activity waves. A small video camera in the corner of the room allowed her to monitor me constantly. A two-way speaker system allowed me communicate with her. When I had to get up to use the restroom in the middle of the night, the technician easily unhooked and reconnected me. Now, I have to wait a couple of weeks for the results. Sleeping while wired up was not nearly that bad in hopes of a real solution to a real problem. Have you experienced problems sleeping? What did you do? Editor’s Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation. Posted by: Georgiann Caruso - CNN Medical Associate Producer |
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends -- info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love. Editor's Note
Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation. @sanjayguptacnn: this is what i've been working on the past several days: http://tr.im/scjf - watch for more this week #cnn #truth
Updated: Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:21:25 +0000 @sanjayguptacnn: http://twitpic.com/a8gl5 - there are some remarkably beautiful areas of haiti. ocean and mountains of port au prince. more this week.
Updated: Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:29:20 +0000 @sanjayguptacnn: saw this in july's fortune magazine:
"don't eat anything that's not worth eating". think abt that b4 every meal. #1023
Updated: Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:04:18 +0000 @sanjayguptacnn: http://twitpic.com/a4awr - on the road in haiti. half a mile of stairs. carrying the tripod to add more exercise #1023
Updated: Sun, 12 Jul 2009 14:02:24 +0000 @sanjayguptacnn: http://twitpic.com/a41ck - 5a.slums of port au prince. no water supply system here, these kids are it. 5 gallon tubs, over 40#, 10 times ...
Updated: Sun, 12 Jul 2009 11:13:04 +0000 Recent Posts
Categories
Archive
|
|
CNN Comment Policy: CNN encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. You may not post any unlawful, threatening, defamatory, obscene, pornographic or other material that would violate the law. All comments should be relevant to the topic and remain respectful of other authors and commenters. You are solely responsible for your own comments, the consequences of posting those comments, and the consequences of any reliance by you on the comments of others. By submitting your comment, you hereby give CNN the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, cablecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comment(s) and accompanying personal identifying and other information you provide via all forms of media now known or hereafter devised, worldwide, in perpetuity. CNN Privacy Statement.
|
|