Night Owl News / Zeo Lust

[rampling]

OK, anyone who knows me much knows I'm a "Night Owl" -- I naturally stay up late (can't get to sleep earlier) and always have low energy when I force myself to climb out of bed (regardless of how much sleep I got). Every day! Years ago I found out about Non-24-Hour Circadian Rhythm Syndrome, and that seems to fit me very well. It feels to me

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[rampling]

I don't feel optimistic about getting the help I need from a sleep study. The understanding I have (based strongly on my sporadic reading of the "Niteowl" Circadian Disorders email list) is that sleep studies are primarily looking for things like sleep apnea, which I know I don't have. People on the Niteowl list routinely complain about sleep studies missing what's really troubling them.

Plus I suspect my sleep difficulties wouldn't show up so much in a single night -- it's all about my sleep patterns over time. And it's even probable that I wouldn't sleep during such a study, since it usually difficult for me to get to sleep in even the best circumstances. One of the things I like about the Zeo is it's a bit like a mini sleep study that I can do myself every night, night after night! Which would hopefully be able to reveal the patterns that affect me.

Hmmm... looking at the Sleep Medicine page on Wikipedia, I see:Polysomnography [also known as a sleep study] is performed in a sleep laboratory while the patient sleeps, preferably at his or her usual sleeping time. The polysomnogram (PSG) objectively records sleep stages and respiratory events. It shows multiple channels of electroencephalogram (EEG), electrooculogram (EOG), electrocardiogram (ECG), nasal and oral airflow, abdominal, chest and leg movements and blood oxygen levels. A single part of a polysomnogram is sometimes measured at home with portable equipment, for example oximetry which records blood oxygen levels throughout the night. Polysomnography is not routinely used in the evaluation of patients with insomnia or circadian rhythm disorders, except as needed to rule out other disorders.
So perhaps they might not even attempt a sleep study on me.

Anyway, I am also considering at least trying to pursue getting a referral to a "real" sleep center (one that knows about more than just sleep apnea), to give it a go and see what they say. I might get lucky and find a good place that can at least diagnose me, and perhaps even help. Maybe checking such a place out before dropping bux on a Zeo is the way to go? Things to think about....