Missing Log Entries

While reviewing my survey results (sleep log), I discovered that I am missing all entries between 8/18 7:30am through 8/20 2:55am; a total of 8 entries. I am certain beyond the shadow of a doubt that I properly submitted the entries, so this is very disappointing and annoying.

As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, I created a Google Drive form that captures interesting data about me and my state of mind after each time that I wake up, plus right before I go to (core) sleep. That data is then saved into a Google Drive spreadsheet.

Google warns that if you adjust the format of that spreadsheet or the form, that you can unwittingly break the connection with it to the form, and I did just that on August 14th. So that I didn't have to investigate what it would take to repair the "break", I decided to just create a new sheet in the same document, and connected the adjusted form to that.

Thinking back, around 8:00am on 8/18 I did muck around with creating a new chart in that spreadsheet that helps visualize trends (especially with weight). However, if that broke it, I don't understand why now when I have the spreadsheet open in another tab as I submit an survey, it immediately records correctly.

For now, I will begin confirming the record for each new entry, but further investigation and research into the topic will be warranted if I notice that entries are getting lost.

*Edit 08/20/2013 9:49PM

My survey for Day 8 - Post Nap 2 is not being saved in the spreadsheet, even within the same environment as the Post Nap 1 had worked. I am going to take this opportunity to add a few sleep deprivation symptoms that I have noticed, then re-connect the form with yet another sheet.

Day 8 - Post Nap 1

Alarm: 3:30am

Despite being relaxed in bed 8 minutes early and being sleepy, falling asleep took quite a bit of time. Waking up and getting out of bed was a little easier, though, I still have a hint of a headache. Drinking ice water, I found, really helped.

The plan is to go on a easy morning run, have a decent breakfast, then get prepared for the day. 

Allons-y!

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Day 8 - Post Core

Alarm: 2:20

I remember waking up early twice, neither in a good way. I think that it was some kind of subconscious anxiety about sleeping through my alarm. Reviewing SleepBot, I can see that happened at 1am and 1:25am.

Waking up was fairly difficult this morning; I nearly fell back asleep as I laid in bed after turning off my alarm. After finally getting up I had some pretty intense, sharp pressure around my temples not unlike caffeine withdrawals, that and a severe sensitivity to light.

Most symptoms were gone 30 minutes later, but now that it is 1 hour later, there still persists a very faint, tunnel-vision-esque headache that I really hope disappears after Nap 1.

Speaking of Nap 1 and schedules, we are not adjusting any of the naps times because our core was off by so long. This is because I am beginning to recognize think that schedule consistency will be the key to success in this endeavor.

Lesson Learned:

A consistent sleeper is a happy sleeper.

Day 7 - Pre Core

Alarm: 2:15am

We missed our core sleep time by a long shot! A close Mensa friend of ours held a going away party at our favorite restaurant so we decided to stay a bit later than we would have otherwise. Except for a few yawns near the end of the dinner, I'm happy to report that we are still quite awake and headache/pressure free.

We still need 3.5 hours of core though, so we're moving the alarm back to 2:15am to ensure that happens. So without further ado... good night!

Day 7 - Post Nap 3

Alarm: 12:50

Was in bed a few minutes before nap,

Fell asleep quickly,

Was not interrupted,

Woke up on time, refreshed, and symptom free.

Not much else to say... except: "No news is good news!"

Day 7 - Post Nap 2

Alarm: 7:20 am

I prepared on-time, slept well with no interruptions, then woke easily. I feel healthy, focused, and devoid of sleep loss symptoms, so it's time to get some work (programming) done.

Day 7 - Post Core / Nap 1

Alarm: 12:30am / 3:50am

WHAT?! Somehow, I slept through the first alarm and didn't wake up until after Nap 1's alarms. I woke up very drowsy, with a dry mouth, and an intense headache that lasted about 10 minutes. I suppose this is one danger of sleeping with your phone/alarm in the bed with you. 

If this happens again, I'll start having to use a spare phone as the alarm, and my main phone as the movement/sound sensor.

Because we pushed the alarm back by 30 minutes, I had created a new temporary alarm in SleepBot. When a non-repeating alarm is created, the checkbox that notifies you that the alarm is set gets unchecked after it goes off. That makes sense (as you don't want it to reset itself if it is non-repeating), however, this means that I don't have any way of seeing if the alarm had gone off at all; perhaps I didn't sleep through it and instead just forgot to set it?

Below is my graph from last night:

Until about 11pm, I would say that everything was normal;  you should be able to see where I entered and exited SWS/REM. At midnight, however, loud rustling noises were detected (not an erroneous alarm, I listened to the recording), but on my wife's graph, there was no sound or movement. Perhaps this was my body expecting to be woken up at midnight?

Looking even closer,  I notice that no new movements were detected after 12:22am, and no new sounds after 12:28am, while I slept until 3:50am. I think that this means that my alarm set for 12:30am went off correctly, triggering sleepbot to stop recording, but then was immediately switch off by something in the bed (my pillow or hand being the most likely).

Here are my wife's Core graphs:

And her Nap 1 graph:

The large amount of noise heard until 10:15pm is just rustling sounds indicating her difficulty in falling asleep right away. The noises at 2am are also just rustling sounds. Also, there is an ambient noise throughout her recording that is caused by her being near a fan.

My wife says that at 2am she woke up enough to notice that the [Go to Sleep] button was displayed on her phone instead of [Wake Up], so without checking the time, she toggled that to wait until the alarm sounded.

Lessons learned:

• Changing nap times probably isn't a good idea. 
• Leaving your alarm device in the bed with you holds a real potential for accidental failure.
• Sleeping through Core to Nap 1 can give you a pounding headache.