August 26, 2005
Cooking for the Pregnant?
OK, so Cooking for the Rushed seemed to work well enough under normal conditions. But now that Steph is that way, we can't seem to put a decent meal on the table... help! Does anyone have a Cooking for the Pregnant cookbook? There's only so much Burgerville take-out a person can handle...
August 11, 2005
Strip for Better Sleep?
For the last few years now, I've often wondered if I have a sleep disorder (possibly sleep apnea). I don't wake up feeling rested at all, and my wife tells me I snore... often quite loudly... with abrupt interuptions... and I often wake up in coughing fits. I am usually feeling exhausted and lethargic by 4:00 in the afternoon, and I just don't feel like doing anything.
My brother, JD, has gone through a sleep clinic and was diagnosed with sleep apnea. He is now using a C-PAP machine to help him get the oxygen he needs to get restful sleep. The last I heard, he wasn't waking up during the night anymore, but he also wasn't noticing huge difference in how 'rested' he felt... that may have changed by now, though.
My health insurance is not as good as JD's, so I really don't have the sleep clinic/C-PAP option available to me right now; but I did think of another way I could possibly get a better flow of oxygen through my nose...
I really didn't expect the Breathe Right strips to solve my sleeping issues overnight, but I was hoping for some improvement. I noticed an air-flow improvement imediately apon application of the first strip. The first night with the strip in place seemed very short, as I didn't wake up during the night... and had some vivid dreams... still, I didn't wake up feeling 'rested'. Steph didn't recall hearing me snore.
The next night went about like the first... and the third night like the second... I felt I was sleeping better, but waking up was still a bear. I was also still getting sleepy in the afternoon.
So, I decided to add one more modification to my sleep schedule... I have been setting my alarm a half-hour early for years now, mainly so I can subconciously hit the snooze repeatedly (for a half-hour) before I actually realize that it's time to get up (and I have to get out of bed to hit the snooze). I noticed that the alarm was often waking up some of my most vivid dreams, and interrupting some of my deepest sleep. So what did I do? I set my alarm a half hour later. The last two mornings it has been set to go off when I had actually been getting out of bed, and both mornings I have awaken before the alarm went off, and shut it off without it ever sounding. This was never possible before...
I did take about a ten minute nap yesterday afternoon, but I felt rejuvenated after doing so. Not like before when not even a power nap could revive me. I used to just want to go home after work, and felt like I could lay down at 4:00 in the afternoon and sleep the rest of the evening.
Not anymore - yesterday afternoon I went to get my oil changed, and went to the car wash. Then I came home and did laundry and a few other things around the house. I did take that little snooze at around 6:00, but I was immediately up and doing more household chores.
It is a little early to tell if the nasal strips and the new alarm routine will actually make a big improvement in my long-term sleeping (and waking) patterns, but I sure hope they will...