One of the many books I received this Christmas was Take the Cannoli, by Sarah Vowell. If you know me, you know I’m a huge fan of This American Life and I enjoy Vowell’s writing style and humor. Not to mention, I’m really glad to be able to read something for pure enjoyment for a change! It’s a pretty short, quick read, but I shocked even myself with how fast it went. Of course, it was written by a writer not a judge, lawyer or law clerk, which I’m sure has something to do with it.
Anyway, in the Essay “Dark Circles” which is about insomnia, I had to laugh out loud at a line about sleep apnea and the “machine” people use to treat it… “Congratulations, you’re a cyborg!” It’s been over a year since I got my CPAP (as they are called in the lingo) and I have never slept better!! This was reinforced by a few nights away from the machine while we were visiting family over the holidays. I didn’t get a single good night of sleep in until we came back home and I could strap on the mask at bedtime.
It did get me curious, though. I’ve used it everyday since I got it, with the exception of when I travel (which over the last year has been about 2 months). The machine keeps track of the hours it’s been used, so I sat down and did some calculations. It turns out, that I only sleep about 5.5 hours each night, even using the CPAP, but I still feel really rested when I wake up, in fact, I’ve never slept better. Go figure.