What should I bring to the study?
What should I do the day of the study?
What is Polysomnography, or sleep study?
How is polysomnography performed?
How long will the polysomnography test last?
When will the results be known?
What are the signs and symptoms of a sleep disorder?
How are sleep and health related?
Are the sleep suites comfortable?
What should I bring to the study?
Patients are asked to bring comfortable sleep attire (shorts and a t-shirt, pajamas).
You may also bring a book or magazines if you like to read before going to sleep.
Please bring anything that will make you more comfortable in a different enviornment.
Please bring any medications you may take prior to bedtime.
Insurance card.
What should I do the day of the study?
Please do not have any caffeine after 12:00 p.m.
Do not take any naps
Avoid excess liquids after 6:00 p.m.
Stay on your regular medication schedule
What is Polysomnography, or sleep study?
Polysomnography, or sleep study, is a complex test that evaluates the quality and quantity of sleep stages. Continuous recordings of brain waves, eye movements, chin and check muscle tension, chest and abdomen breathing effort, leg movements, airflow, snoring and blood oxygen level.
The same sleep you experience at home will also occur in the sleep lab, except that it will be observed and measured. Nothing is done in the lab to change sleep-related events, nor is anything inserted into the body. If fact, an elaborate, well-planned, presleep regimen is undertaken, which includes preparing and applying external electrodes and answering any questions you may have concerning sleep and the sleep lab. This is why you re asked to arrive several hours before your regular bedtime.
Some patients feel uncomfortable when wired with electrodes and being monitored, but they usually sleep adequately even on the first night. The sleep lab environment is safe and conductive to sleep. It is dark, quiet, and pleasing with controlled, comfortable temperature. You will have your own private bedroom with a restroom nearby.
Most importantly, maintain your normal daily schedule, and avoid starting a new diet or exercise program until after the sleep study. Be sure to tell the sleep center personnel about any medications you are taking or have recently discontinued.
How is polysomnography performed?
A specially trained technologist will conduct the evaluation. After you are dressed for sleep, the technologist will apply approximately 15 electrodes to your scalp and skin. A band will be placed around your chest and abdomen to monitor breathing effort. A small airflow sensor will be placed beneath your nose and a sensor will be placed on your neck to monitor snoring. Once in bed, the technologist will apply an oxygen sensor to a finger.
The wires attached to the monitors are plugged into a box that is then plugged into a cable by your headboard. The technologist will monitor you from another room. If you should need to get out of bed during the night to use the bathroom, ask a technologist to disconnect the cable.
How long will the polysomnography test last?
An overnight study usually starts at your usual bedtime and ends at or before 7:00 the following morning. If a nap study is requested, it follows the overnight study and ends approximately 10 hours after you awaken (usually between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. ).
When will the results be known?
A tremendous volume of information is collected in the computer. A technologist analyzes all of the data the following day after your sleep study. Careful interpretation of the Polysomnography is performed by the interpreting physician. This leads to a diagnosis of the sleep problem, as well as recommendations of treatment.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask. Your physician and the sleep lab personnel are ready to help you understand what is happening during your stay in the sleep lab. They will make the experience as comfortable as possible for you.
How are sleep and health related?
Metabolism and weight
Chronic sleep deprivation may cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite.
Cardiovascular Health
Serious sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels and irregular heartbeat.
Disease
Sleep deprivation alters immune function, including the activity of the body's killer cells. In addition, keeping up with sleep may help our bodies fight cancer.
Learning and Memory
Sleep helps the brain commit new information through a process called memory consolidation. In studies, people who had slept after learning a new task did better on tests later.
Mood
Sleep loss may result in irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate and moodiness. Too little sleep or a sleep disorder often times leaves you too tired to enjoy the things in life that make you feel positive and happy.
A continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine is used mainly by patients for the treatment of sleep apnea at home. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the upper airway becomes narrow as the muscles relax naturally during sleep. This reduces oxygen in the blood and causes arousal from sleep. The CPAP machine stops this phenomenon by delivering a stream of compressed air via a hose to a nasal pillow, nose mask or full-face mask, splinting the airway (keeping it open under air pressure) so that unobstructed breathing becomes possible, reducing and/or preventing apneas and hypopneas. This has the additional benefit of reducing or eliminating the extremely loud snoring that sometimes accompanies sleep apnea.
BiPAP (Variable/Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure) provides two levels of pressure: Inspiratory Positive Airway Pressure (IPAP) and a lower Expiratory Positive Airway Pressure (EPAP) for easier exhalation.
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