My Sleep Study: "It Showed Me When I Stopped Breathing"

As a radio news director, Doug, 46, has reported on sleep disorders several times through the years. But despite his constant tiredness and admitted lack of rest (watch Doug discuss falling asleep behind the wheel), he never realized that he himself could have a problem—until he interviewed a doctor in 2006 about obstructive sleep apnea.

"I have all these symptoms," Doug remembers thinking. "I was doing the story for everybody else and found out, hey, I'm really talking about myself here."

To find out for sure, Doug went through an overnight sleep study. "They put all kinds of monitors on me, to check my heart, my brain waves, my leg movements," he describes. "And they put a series of nodules all over my head. You would think that that would prevent me from going to sleep to begin with, but they waited for me to fall asleep."

When Doug woke up, the technicians took him into another room to see his results. He’d stopped breathing many times during the night, and his doctor explained that when this happened, his body went into full gear, working overtime to wake him up, to make him breathe again.

"I’m supposed to be resting, and my heart is racing, my brainwaves are going crazy," says Doug. "I even asked, 'Doesn't that make me smarter?' I was looking for something good in this situation. But they said, 'No. It's all detrimental.'"

After his diagnosis, Doug began wearing a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine at night, which keeps his airways open and allows him to sleep without fear. (Watch Doug discuss his CPAP machine.)

Now that he has more energy during the day, he has started exercising and trying to lose weight. (Watch Doug discuss his inspiration to get in shape.) He sees his wake-up call as a new lease on life: a chance to be a healthier, happier, and more productive person.