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| Now that's a good sleep! But he shouldn't be on his back. Is he dead? |
Sleep apnea: when your airway collapse and you aren't able to get air in and out of you when you sleep.
I used to have an episode on average of every 44 seconds, often stopping breathing for up to 20 seconds at a time. I have no idea how I was able to function. If I even did.
In fact, I know I killed brain cells. It was so bad, that I was afraid to go to sleep for fear of dying. My body used to sweat adrenaline - a sour milk sweat on the sheets - as my brain would panic... essentially screaming at my body to take a freaking gasp of breath. Basically, with an episode every 44 seconds, my brain would get less than that of sleep at a time before being called back in to action to make me breathe.
I didn't really get a decent sleep - never really achieved REM - in years.
I still have it... but it is perfectly controlled by a C-PAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine. I wear a face mask at night and have air go into my mouth to help keep the airwaves open.
And so... let me introduce to you, a new invention from Japan called the Jukusui-kun (Deep Sleep) robotic pillow-device that comes in the form of a polar bear.
According to a story, I found, there are over 2-million sleep apnea suffers in Japan.
Doctor Kabe is the creator of the Jukusui-kun.
Basically, the sleeper is supposed to wear a cute-looking oxygen monitor device attached to the hand. This device sends readings of the amount of oxygen in the blood (I was getting 64% oxygen, when a normal sleeper should be getting around 94%!) to a computer terminal (of a sorts) that runs a software program monitoring the sleepers vital statistics already programmed in.
Wireless, to help foster a good night's sleep for the sleeper to not have them worry about pulling anything out, Doctor Kabe uses the natural conductive powers of a human body in conjunction with a conductive metal sheet under the bed's sheet over.
In the polar bear pillow, there is a microphone that measures the decibel level of the snoring (a very common side effect of the sleep apnea victim... or just the heavy snorer.
Should the monitors detect a decrease in the levels of oxygen in the snorer's blood stream, it triggers the hand of the polar bear-pillow to move towards the snore's face to gently brush/tickle it to make them move from their back (that's when snoring is at its worst and when sleep apnea is also in full mode), to make the sleeper move onto their side.
Here's a video of the device in action.
Now... as a person who does have sleep apnea - and knows now the power of a good night's sleep, I think this Jukusui-kun shows great promise, but let me just state that people who are always tired need to first get a sleep study done. If you are simply a snorer - with no sleep apnea - then perhaps this device is for you.
But, should the sleep study show you have sleep apnea, do not screw around. Get a C-PAP device and save your life. The C-PAP device does take some getting used to. I panicked the first time I tried it, as it felt like the machine was trying to breathe for me. I did not go back for eight years and suffered terribly for it.... as did my wife, family and friends who watched me self-destruct before their eyes.
The Jukusui-kun seems like a great invention... but what if you are the type of person who keeps rolling over onto your back? You will keep getting interrupted sleep from the polar bear arm, you will still have the sleep apnea affecting you, and you will still snore... this machine treats the symptoms and offers a band-aid for sleep apnea sufferers.
A C-PAP machine will, or rather, can stop you from snoring, and it will allow you to have an uninterrupted sleep. I only get between 4 and 6 hours of sleep at night (my choice), but it's a good 4-6 hours of sleep at night. I function very well, thank-you.
Have a good night's sleep,
Andrew Joseph
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