A tale of sleep apnea, in pictures

After I saw this one morning, I wondered why am I not sleeping? I had just arisen from a cozy 4-post bed in a little cabin by the cove I rented each year in Lubec Maine. Why are the covers tortured, twisted, and evidence war on sleep, not peace? I thought, why do I not sleep, even on vacation?

A few years later a doctor recommended a sleep apnea test. I wrote before that I had gone through the paces and the docs found I wake up 30 times an hour and hold my breath up to a minute and a half. I am in the highest category for those who "don't wake up." Oh. So the mask forces oxygen into my nose and lungs even if I stop breathing. It keeps an even circulation at night so my brain doesn't deplete and I wake up even more tired than when I went to bed, an ever-devolving cycle that leads to eventual breakdown.

And now I sleep like a baby! In the morning I simply throw the covers back like this to get up, and to make the bed only have to flip them up again. It looks like no one even slept in it! I sleep deeply, don't wake up constantly, and awake refreshed. Life is good.