Last week my patient, long-suffering husband and I ordered some wrist health monitors like all the cool kids are wearing, and they arrived yesterday. He set them up for us last night and we started using them immediately. It looks like we are wearing big ugly matching watches.
One of the things they measure is sleep patterns and I was anxious to see the results from the first night. I have always been highly affected by caffeine, so for years I have stayed away from it. But yesterday, in a fit of poor judgment, I ordered a cola-flavored Icee at a convenience store during our trip. Caffeine and sugar - a dangerous combination for an already hyperactive overachiever insomniac. I felt certain I would pay for it last night.
The first thing I learned about the health monitor is that it records lying quietly in bed staring at the clock as "light sleep". So it is an optimist, just like me. It gave me some pretty detailed stats and an 84% sleep score. I was hoping for an A, but based on the stats and how I felt this morning, I think I was lucky to get a B. I'm back on the caffeine-free wagon today and hoping for a better score tomorrow.
My health monitor also records, among other things, the number of steps walked. My current morning PT walk is approximately half a mile. I recorded about 4,400 steps over the course of the day today. Before CRPS, I walked two miles every morning at a much faster pace and was much more active the rest of the day. I guess that explains why I can only fit into about one-quarter of my clothes.
The health monitor is providing interesting information, but there is not a lot I can do to change any of it right now. Maybe it would be better not to know, but now I am committed. As things improve, and I am sure they will eventually, at least I will be able to quantify it. And besides, who wouldn't want to wear a big ugly watch all day every day?
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