Having an overnight in-lab sleep study. Bring on the sensory input: a strange bed in a strange room, wires & electrodes on my skin, a series of masks covering my face, and being awakened periodically by a stranger!
I always wonder how the very abnormal environment of some of these things alters test results.
Does every fMRI just have to deal with show excitation in areas of the brain involved in dealing with loud noises, for example?
So, for a sleep study, they aren't looking for your "normal" sleep; that's not available. What they are hoping for is a full sleep cycle (NREM 1, 2, and 3, and REM) and enough time to screen for basic disorders such as sleep apnea, movement disorders, etc.
Pretty much everybody sleeps differently in a strange environment. It's called "first night effect." But most sleep studies are not looking for your normal sleep architecture. They're looking for disorders that happen when you're unconscious. Which is why sleeping pills are often possible.
