have the lowdown on who may have a sleep study, what to anticipate, and
what issues and potential treatments it might uncover.
We consulted three nationally renowned sleep specialists to get the lowdown
on sleep studies and how they work in testing facilities. Here is your A to
Z guide.
How someone can get a sleep study?
There are some things you need to do before you go to a sleep centre if your doctor tells you to.
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| Patient consulting with doctor about sleep problems and possible sleep study referral |
One of the first steps is realising that you have a sleep problem that could be helped by medical help. Every doctor we talked to said that looking at what you do every day is the best way to figure that out: Do you feel the effects of your last night's sleep during the day?
If not getting enough sleep doesn't get in the way of what you do during the day, it's usually fine, says Hussam Al-Sharif, MD, a sleep medicine expert at the Mayo Clinic Health System in Wisconsin.
"But if your sleep problems start to affect your job, your relationships, your recreation, or your general well-being, it might be time to get help to figure out what's wrong."
Once you know you have a sleep problem, you should see your primary care doctor. They will then send you to a sleep expert, who is also a doctor. The sleep professional will ask you a number of general questions to get a better idea of what services you might or might not need.
Al-Sharif says, "We look at a lot of things, starting with the patient's medical history, their job (especially if they work night shifts), and their sleep habits, including when they go to bed, when they wake up, where they sleep, and what their partners have said about how they act at night."
After that, they talk about your daily habits:
- How tired do you feel during the day?
- Does this affect how well you do your job? If so, how?
- When you read or watch TV, how likely are you to fall asleep?
- How much coffee and beer do you drink during the day?
- Are you taking any vitamins or medicines that make it hard for you to sleep?
If you have insomnia, for example, you probably don't need any more sleep tests because it's already clear that you don't sleep. Instead, your doctor may send you to an insomnia expert, who is a sleep doctor with a psychology focus, who can help you figure out what's keeping you up.
Taking an exam about a sleep study
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| At-home sleep study equipment including a pulse oximeter, nasal sensor, and chest belts |
If your doctor suspects sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome, two dangerous conditions that disrupt breathing during sleep, or if you have an overwhelming need to move your legs constantly, an at-home test will likely be recommended.
Since a home test may identify both of these disorders, there's no need to undergo an in-lab test.
There isn't much complexity to the at-home exam. It's essentially a multi-component monitor that analyzes your breathing and oxygen levels:
- two belts that encircle the body to track abdominal and chest motions related to breathing.
- a little gadget that you may wear on your finger called a pulse oximeter that measures the amount of oxygen in your blood.
- a little syringe that attaches to your nasal passages and places itself behind your ears to record the patterns of your breathing.
“It's a straightforward system, and patients catch up on how to use it very quickly: You put it on at night, turn it off in the morning, and then bring it back to the sleep center," adds Michael Friedman, MD, FACS, medical director of Chicago ENT.
In the event that the obtained data is deemed invalid due to technical difficulties that occurred throughout the night (such as the finger probe being dislodged), you could be requested to repeat the test.
Or, an in-lab study may be requested if your home test revealed severe sleep apnea and you had a substantial decrease in oxygen levels while you were asleep. Following these steps will assist you in determining the most suitable positive air pressure device to be used.
Gather your pyjamas
Because no one like being in a hospital, sleep testing in the past were inconvenient and sometimes painful. Friedman argues that contemporary sleep laboratories are more accommodating.
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| Comfortable and modern sleep lab room setup with monitoring equipment |
He goes so far as to say they're like hotel rooms, describing how they have soft mattresses, little visual and auditory distractions, and a dimly lit setting with blackout shades. In case you have to use the restroom in the middle of the night, there is usually one connected as well.
To aid with drowsiness, most sleep laboratories provide basic consumables such as crackers, peanut butter, water, and soda without caffeine. The technician may keep tabs on you all night long using the TVs and tiny cameras provided in the room.
No aromatherapy stations or white noise machines are available at a sleep lab, but you are welcome to bring your own if you choose. To put it simply, the research will not be interrupted by your bedtime rituals.
Behind the scenes
What actually takes place during this whole process?The sleep assistant at the sleep lab will tell you what to expect when you get there. A sleep worker will usually be in charge of gathering the data in the lab. After the fact, a sleep expert will look at the data.
After the worker gives you an explanation, they'll have you change into your sleep clothes (most people bring pajamas or scrubs). Then, they'll put 12 to 14 electrodes on your body in different places:
- your chest to check the action of your heart.
- your legs to watch how they move.
- your face and scalp to record brainwave activity.
There are lines connecting these probes to a control box on the front of your clothes that is about the size of a smartphone. That means you can take the control box off so you don't have to carry it around with you when you stand up. Everything else stays put.
Based on the situation, some techs may also put bands around your chest and abs and a tube under your nose to measure the flow of air.
After you're set up, it's time for bed!
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| Sleep technician attaching electrodes to a patient for in-lab sleep monitoring |
The study starts around the time you say you're going to bed, so the researchers hope you fall asleep like you do at home. A lot of people watch TV to help them fall asleep.
Technicians will also ask you to sleep in the same position you normally do at home. However, if they see that you're not sleeping well on your back, they will ask you to sleep on your side instead, since sleep apnea is worse when you're looking upwards.
He says, "Yes, it's not the most comfortable sleep with all the wires, but you can turn." "It's not great, but it's not terrible either."
Also, important fact: the study doesn't go all night. The techs only need about 3 to 4 hours to measure your sleep after you fall asleep, not the full 8 hours. You can sleep for as long as you want, though.
Romulo Cordero, director of the Sleep Center and Neurodiagnostics at Crystal Run Healthcare, a health center with locations across New York, says, "Most patients are able to sleep for about 5 to 7 hours and leave early in the morning, around 6 a.m., so they can sleep at home if they weren't able to get a full night's rest during the study."
If you get stage fright and can't sleep at all during your sleep study, the doctors will probably ask you to come back for another session, but this time bring a sleep aid with you.
The other type of sleep study
You can also take part in a sleep study, where experts watch how you sleep in a clinic overnight and then write up their results.Sleep scientists usually find volunteers for this kind of study through newspaper ads, TV spots, or word of mouth. They then bring the subjects to a special lab to be tested. When you do sleep studies for your own health, they are pretty normal. But when people do them for research, they are very different.
There is money exchange, and most of the time they happen in the same clean rooms with snacks and wires. Cordero says he has heard of workers who get paid anywhere from $20 to $3,000 just for showing up.
A lot of the research projects are just trying to find out what stages and lengths of days people normally sleep.
The conclusion
Whatever kind of sleep research you're doing, it's critical to keep in mind that your goal is to improve everyone's sleep and, therefore, their general health.After all, action often results in answers, and answers frequently result in novel therapies, which in turn lead to improved mental and sleep health.
