To celebrate Sleep Tech Appreciation Week, our team set out to connect with sleep technologists around the U.S. on why they love working in the sleep industry. From funny jokes to notes that hit you right in the feels, technologists didn’t hold back when answering our simple question: why do you love your job? We hope you enjoy this piece, because it was one of our favorite articles of the year to write. And if you have a technologist or technician you’d like to celebrate, please share this with them so we can continue to add to the inspiration. With that said, let’s jump into the 17 responses from sleep technologists on why they love their job!
Nine sleep technologists on the rewards of working in sleep
Many of the technicians and technologists we asked wanted to highlight the rewarding nature of working in sleep medicine. These folks often had much longer stories to tell, so our apologies if your quote has been condensed!I’ve been in medicine 30 years, sleep almost 20. First job that I can actually see the benefit to my patient in 12 hours!! The smiling faces once they get a good night’s sleep…. Priceless!!” – Kristine M.
There is no better feeling than getting a patient who barely breathes and wakes up constantly, and after a few hours, seeing them calm, sleeping and dreaming.” – Stanimira M.
When you’re able to educate a patient, make them feel comfortable and offer several types of masks so they know their choices and can be compliant and successful and will be living a healthier life with a good night’s sleep.” — Robyn DK
I love knowing that I am helping people live happier healthier lives. I make a difference in their health and their quality of life. Very satisfying.” – MB
I love knowing I help people live better and nothing I do hurts. We change lives.” – Danielle D.
The best thing about my job is being able to make a difference in one night. Getting a severe patient treated so successfully, to the point that when the patient wakes up, they say it was the best night of their lives.” – Ada Vanessa Sardin, RPSGT, CCSH (11 yrs in sleep)
I could save a life in a code and maybe they’ll be ok, but I can literally change someone’s life overnight.” – CJP
I absolutely love the people I get to work with in the sleep field! From the patients I will never forget to the colleagues and peers that have taught me so much, the people are what makes this career so rewarding. It is a discipline that has a far reach and has brought me into avenues I never thought possible. Cheers to all the wonderful technologists that fuel this field with passion and innovation and push us into the future!” – Andrea Ramberg, RPSGT, CCSH
Five sleep technologists who doubled as class clown
Not everything about the sleep world has to be serious. While our collective work strives to improve human health, you can’t forget that laughter is the best medicine of all.I’ve never been paid so much to sit on my butt for so long. It’s flat out hilarious that I haven’t been in a code, stress drank after work, or missed lunch in the last five years…This is why I love Sleep.” – Dru Watkins
That feeling when you’re driving home in the morning knowing you just fixed someone’s distress. Secretly smiling at the grumpy commuters going INTO work.” – Patrick B.
I love it when you see someone who is on the brink of a physical or mental breakdown. Six hours later you wake them up from three or more hours of REM rebound. They usually have a goofy almost stoned appearance. That is when you go home and have your morning martini and know you deserve it.” – Allen H.
We help prevent permanent dirt naps.” – Thomas D.
A successful titration is somewhere between science and an art form. What we get in the lab these days are usually the ones with high comorbidities, the ones who have had negative experiences with the HSAT to auto-set route. When you get those and FIX those, well, it’s like the story of the guy on the beach throwing starfish back in the ocean, saving one life at a time.” – Chris P.
And to close, three of our favorites:
This final set of quotes touches on the emotional side of your brain. They’ll make you smile, and if you’re in the world of sleep, they’re relatable at a fundamental level.Knowing that you are changing someone’s life. You may be preventing hypertension, stroke, heart attack, or just the normal grump in the mornings. It feels great to hear a patient tell me they have never slept so good, after going through a CPAP titration. I love patients with anxiety. I have always been able to put them at ease and find the right CPAP mask for them. Those feelings right there make my job worth it!” – Megan H.
“I help people dream again. When I tell my patients that, it always makes them smile and relax.” – B.M.
I love the big burly guy who comes in saying, “This is all just a scam that you guys, the doctors and insurance company cooked up! Everyone that comes here leaves with a machine. I’m only here because my wife and doctor won’t shut up about it.” Meanwhile, said patient with hypertension and borderline diabetes qualifies for a split with an AHI of 87 in 60 minutes of sleep and leaves in the morning saying, “Man! I feel amazing! You made a believer out of me!” and gives you a huge bear hug. These tough guys always make me smile.” – Kat M.
