Posted on by ijeomaopara

Like Sand Through the Hourglass And Other Amusing Realisations

Here we are, six months later…what has changed?  

Well… life has been a rollercoaster OF NOTE.  

The past six months have felt like three years almost, as I’ve been evolving rapidly without so much of a chance to recalibrate authentically. Academically, things have been progressing in an interesting way; I presented at two international conferences in June, and have had some of the most amazing networking opportunities within my field. The first conference I attended was the London School of Economics Media Futures Conference, where I presented parts of a working chapter. The second one was hosted by the Stellenbosch Business School on Gender, Work and Organisation, and I co-facilitated a workshop on feminist activism in the academy with my supervisor Professor Amanda Gouws. On paper, it feels like I’m doing the right things to make sure my academic career is on track, but I can’t help but feel like there is some level of stagnancy that’s preventing me from pushing myself like I normally do.  

My personal life has also been topsy-turvy, and I have been going through the motions of true grief for the first time in the 28 years of my life. The phrase ‘nothing lasts forever’ has taken on a completely different meaning, as losing people is something that is always hard to deal with. It’s also part of the reason why my vlog this month has taken on a somewhat abstract format, where I focused more on showing what the days in my life have looked like recently, as opposed to a linear, cookie-cutter ‘day in my life’.

For some reason, it felt disingenuous to set up my camera, press record and pretend to wake up and put together a routine that seemed void of flaws. My days really have felt like a case of jumping across different universes, almost like that movie Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022).To be completely honest, my ethics application has been a source of frustration since the beginning of the year, impacting my creative flow. While I understand the importance of due process and acknowledge the validity of concerns, it’s led me to question the worthiness of pursuing my research in the first place. Which really sucks.  

However, I’ve taken steps to address this. I’ve recently gained a mentor from the African Feminist Initiative at UPenn, Professor Tarez Graban. Our first session together was incredibly affirming, reigniting my belief in the value of my work. Naturally, I have the support of my supervisor and co-supervisor. Still, without a clear sense of direction in my work, it becomes difficult to communicate expectations if I am in a period of struggling with where to draw strength from. At the end of the day, this PhD will be completed. Every day that brings me closer to the finish line may not look the same, but it’s part of the bigger picture. And we’re never alone in this journey, always supported by those around us. 

Almost there.  

Posted on by johanne_marais

Polysomnography: A word long enough to put you to sleep!

So, how did you sleep?

I ask with a greater level of intrigue than simply for the commitment of connecting with you. I ask, because I care. I ask because I am a scientist.

A hundred or so years ago, what we knew about sleep was that we sleep to alleviate sleepiness. Considering that humans spend nearly a third of our lives in the sleeping state, it should come as no surprise that I (and many sleep researchers before me) remain unsatisfied with that deduction. The velocity of sleep research had been exponentiated by Hans Berger’s measurements of the brain’s electrical activity, depicted as waveforms, which he called an electroencephalogram.

Since the tool of electroencephalography (or, EEG) came to the slumber party in the 1920’s, sleep scientists began inquiring into the effects of sleep deprivation on the body, the role of sleep on cognitive power and, remarkably, observing that different stages of sleep occur in cycles through the night. All this is possible with the understanding of the brain as a battery – a component in a circuit that has a finite capacity for work with the inevitable outcome of needing a recharge.

When you are in a state of wakeful awareness, following demands of “to-do” lists and preparing for meetings, your brain may be functioning at maximum capacity. Daydreaming on a walk through a park during lunchtime requires the brain to be far less acutely involved in paying attention. As you read, meditate, or begin drifting off to dreamland, the output of your brain slows down sequentially and allows the initiation of sleep.

A person’s sleep and wakefulness is partially at the mercy of the usual “sleep-hygiene” factors:

  • timing and amount of caffeine intake
  • the stimulation of light exposure and humidity of the sleep environment
  • stressful events in one’s day
  • the body’s apparent chronobiology
  • what was eaten before bed…

The phenomenon of sleep is as unique to your body and lifestyle as the print on your fingertips!

Yet, there are numerous internal decision-makers for adequate or disturbed sleep – some of which the sleeper may not even be aware of.

I work as a collaborator with a team of remarkable clinicians at Ezintsha, a research centre located adjacent to Wits Health Sciences campus, for patients with illnesses like TB or HIV that drive major public health issues in South Africa. The HIV epidemic is currently rather well managed by the early-stage intervention and widespread distribution of antiretroviral therapies across South Africa. This follows nearly three decades of devastation. However, with the prolonged life expectancy and improved quality of life available to people living with HIV, epidemiologists observed the inflation of other devastating epidemics like hypertension, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and heart attacks.

Cardiometabolic risk indicators like high blood pressure, sugar intolerance and cholesterol imbalances are on the rise, and researchers in HIV-related trials begin to engage with a new class of reported symptoms: those of obstructive sleep apnoea. Obstructive sleep apnoea describes the short-lived but repeated pauses in breathing during sleep, often indicated by snoring. This is frightening to both the patient and housemates who have heard the gasping snores that accompany the breathless event but fear not! Obstructive sleep apnoea is treatable.

So, why is this story important?

Sleep apnoea remains underdiagnosed in the general South African population, despite as many as 30% of people being at risk for this sleep-related breathing disorder. Its side effects include daytime sleepiness, chronic inflammation, reduced motivation, brain fog, changes in mood and of course a further rise in those nasty cardiometabolic risk factors. Cardiometabolic diseases are responsible for one out of every five deaths in South Africa. This is a public health crisis, which we can aim to mitigate with routine diagnostics for obstructive sleep apnoea.

Without the foundation of an EEG, an even more comprehensive sleep measurement tool would never have been possible. Cue, polysomnography! Polysomnography measures brainwaves in various sleep stages, but the addition of other physiological measurements like heart rate, chest and belly movement, blood oxygen levels and air moving through the nose opens the door to diagnosing obstructive sleep apnoea through overnight sleep observation – which is exactly what I do! Polysomnography tells the story of how we sleep – I am simply the reader.