16.8.06

Clive's Sleep Study, Pt. 2

So Clive goes to hospital, and they wire him up from head to toe, and tell him to go to sleep. He's a bit disquieted by the video camera that's mounted on the wall opposite his bed, but to his surprise he dozes off and sleeps surprisingly well.

A few weeks later he returns to the doctor. The results are strange: all night long Clive spent only 3% of his time in REM sleep. Twenty-five percent is considered the norm. Most of the night he spent in either Stage One or Stage Two sleep - what the doctor called "useless sleep." It's no wonder he's been feeling so dragged out.

The doctor says come back for another sleep study, and we'll follow that up with a Multiple Sleep Latency Test. That's when you stay in hospital all day and take 4 or 5 naps.

Clive wishes he could go for the next sleep exam tonight, but the soonest they can get him in is Sept. 12, nearly a month from now. So the story slowly goes on. Meanwhile, Clive says he feels like he's in a fog, sleeping his life away.

No comments: