Workers stay up all night to help patients at the UCLA Sleep Disorders Laboratory

In the process of helping sleep-troubled patients, Mary McCullough saw her own health slowly deteriorate.

The registered polysomnographic technologist worked late hours at the UCLA Sleep Disorders Laboratory in Santa Monica, coming in at 8 p.m. to check patients in and prepare them for their sleep tests. She’d attach wires to their heads and bodies to monitor breathing, brain and heart activity as they slept.

But while her patients tried to rest, McCullough would go to the tech room and stay up all night to monitor their brain waves and any signs of abnormal sleep activity.

She tried to stay awake by drinking coffee, but gave it up after a few months in favor of healthier options such as water and non-sugary snacks. When she got sleepy, she would start doing sit-ups or jumping jacks to get exercise.

“I was always getting sick,” said McCullough, who now works as a daytime technician. “My body couldn’t handle it.”

The late work hours may seem unconventional, but it’s just part of the routine for the technicians who spend a majority of their nights at the Santa Monica lab, helping others sleep.

More than one-third of Americans have sleep problems, said Dr. Frisca Yan-Go, director of the lab.

These issues can range from excessive daytime sleepiness to more dangerous disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea, which involves a pause in breathing during sleep.

To treat these problems, patients often come to sleep labs, such as the one in Santa Monica, to receive testing and diagnosis.

“The field (of sleep medicine) has really expanded … and we know more about how (sleep) affects human life and the self,” Yan-Go said. “If you pay attention to sleep, you will be able to have a better well-being.”

Because of space constraints at the Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital, the lab will relocate to the Westwood Village campus in September, said Dr. Alon Avidan, the associate professor of neurology who will serve as the new director of the lab.

On a regular basis, the lab treats a wide variety of patients, including infants and the elderly, and each group presents challenges for treatment.

Though it can be difficult to put sleeping devices on babies, older patients can sometimes get confused at night, Avidan said.

This requires special care from the night technicians since these patients may exhibit signs of dementia or act rudely.

“You can’t take it personally,” McCullough said. “You have no idea what has happened during this person’s life, and they’re there in a very vulnerable position. You have to calm them down and make them feel safe.”

Though patient care is a priority, the abnormal job hours do take a toll on the technicians. It can be lonely on the hospital floor during the tests, so any form of interaction is welcome.

“When we see security guards, we trap them up here to have a conversation with them,” said night technician Paula President.

As a mother of five children, including 8-year-old twins, President said it can be tough working nights.

“I don’t have a social life,” she said, laughing. “It’s not for everyone, and you have to know yourself well.”

Yet, she finds a way to balance her work and family life. Before going to work, she sleeps during the daytime in a cool room and then picks up her children from school.

If her children are sick during the week, they can come home and rest in bed with her.

And on weekends, President reverts to a nighttime sleeping cycle, which allows her to do normal daytime activities with her family such as make breakfast and go to church.

“Somehow, (the hours) work for me,” she said. “There’s a lot of people we’re helping that might not have been helped otherwise.”