Thursday, August 14, 2008

To sleep, perchance to snore...

Ask anyone who's spent the night in the same BUILDING as me, and they'll tell you I snore like a man possessed by demons. Recently had a model stay overnight on the couch at the opposite end of the house, with me behind a closed door, and she still opted to sleep with her iPod earbuds in, quietly playing classical music to drown me out.


Well, the snoring has other implications as well, in that it's pretty obvious that I have sleep apnea -- nothing to do with the famous model of the same name. It may have contributed to NFL great Reggie White's death, and is essentially swallowing ones own tongue and suffocating until the body manages to resume breathing. As you might guess, depriving the body of air leads to all kinds of long term health problems, and is potentially fatal, in addition to making for a lousy night's sleep. 

I've tried the nose strips and sleeping on my stomach, but I just roll onto my back in my sleep. Must be my self-destructive nature. For years I'd figured if I could just find a way to keep my mouth closed while I slept, that would solve the problem, and even visualized some sort of a sling or brace, but never tried to make one. Well someone went ahead and made one and is selling it online. For what it is, it's a bit pricey, but for what it does, it's worth every cent. After just three nights using it, I can tell a big difference and am pretty sure I'm not having apnea episodes during the night, although nobody has been around to attest to what degree it prevents snoring. Gawd help me for buying something I first saw advertised in spam, but any port in a storm sometimes. So, here's to better sleep and the benefits it brings... next step, the treadmill!

In addition to being sleep-related and dreamy, this shot is a sneak preview of a little project that I hope will grow... from a shoot in May of 07. More on that soon.

3 comments:

Alan Klem said...

I have the same problem.

I read an article about remedies for snoring. They found the best way to stop a person from sleeping on their back is to fill a sock with tennis balls and safety pin it to the back of a t-shirt.

Cheap, simple, and effective...though a bit goofy looking...

Anonymous said...

Hey Gary,

Are those my blurry testicles there? If you and Lynz are doing a shoot I'd like to get some time in, bring a sword along for some shots.

Orixx said...

Awesome picture.. and it sure is quiet now when I try to sleep at night. I can actually hear crickets.. and the sound of my own thoughts running through my mind. I'm trying to get used to it. Your snores always lulled me. But congrats on finding something that works :).