What is measured during a sleep study?
If your medical professional recommends a sleep study, they are essentially interested in monitoring your breathing, body movements, and responses throughout the night to determine whether you have a sleep disorder. A sleep study can be conducted at a sleep clinic, a hospital, or comfortably in your own home.
What happens during a sleep study?
At a clinic or hospital, a healthcare professional will attach several sensors to monitor your sleep. These sensors are placed on your:
- chest to monitor your heart activity
- near your eyelids to measure eye movements, which help indicate your sleep stages
- head to measure electrical signals from your brain
- thighs to check muscle activity.
You will also be fitted with:
Featured Product
ResMed AirSense 10 Autoset
ResMed's best automatic CPAP — adjusts pressure with every breath for precise, comfortable therapy throughout the night.
View Product Free Consultation- a nasal cannula to monitor your breathing
- a finger oximeter to measure your oxygen levels
- elastic belts around your chest and abdomen to measure your breathing effort
With your consent, the clinic or hospital may record you while you sleep to gain a deeper understanding of your sleep habits. Since you will be staying overnight, it is advisable to bring everything you need for your usual bedtime routine, including sleepwear and toiletries.
How does an at-home sleep study work?
Before the night of your sleep study, a sleep clinic technician will show you how to apply the sensors and monitor, as well as how to operate the recording device throughout the night. Carry on with your usual evening routine and, when you are ready for bed, set up everything as demonstrated and begin recording. In the morning, remove all the equipment and return the recording device to the clinic.
How do I get the results?
After the study, schedule a follow-up appointment with your doctor to discuss the results. If the results indicate
that you have a sleep disorder, you will be informed of its severity, the potential effects on your health, and the available treatment options.
Our Services for You
What exactly is sleep apnea?
Sleep apnea is a condition that affects an average of one in five adults1 — so if you have it, you are not alone.
If you have sleep apnea, airflow to your lungs stops for 10 seconds or more at a time. The most common form is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which is caused by a blockage in the airway.
Why is treatment important?
When your body senses that you have stopped breathing, a control center in your brain causes you to wake up gasping so you can start breathing again. You then fall back asleep and the cycle repeats.
Being deprived of oxygen and constantly being jolted awake to breathe — hour after hour, night after night — puts enormous strain on your body. So when you feel exhausted the next day, what is happening inside your body is far more serious.
The good news is, you have taken a step toward doing something about it. There are several therapy options you may wish to discuss with your doctor. One of them is positive airway pressure therapy, which is highly popular and widely used to treat OSA.2.
How does positive airway pressure therapy work?
Most sleep apnea events are caused by weakened tissue in the throat that collapses and blocks the airway during sleep. To prevent this, a regulated flow of pressurized air is applied to keep the upper airway open and prevent apnea events.
This pressurized air is generated by a small device and delivered through a mask that you wear while sleeping. As long as you breathe the air delivered by the device at the pressure prescribed by your medical professional, you can sleep without further apnea events.
How do I obtain the therapy equipment?
If your sleep study was conducted at a clinic, you may be asked to return for an overnight 'titration' study to determine the most appropriate device settings for your treatment. Once the settings are established, you will receive a prescription for a mask and device, which you take to a ResMed distributor. You can then take the prescribed equipment home to try. If you had an at-home sleep study, your medical professional will refer you to a
ResMed distributor to obtain a mask and a ResMed AutoSet™ device to begin an at-home titration trial.
Things to Remember
Give yourself time to get used to the therapy.
- Try different masks until you find one that suits you. The right mask is essential for effective treatment.
- You are not alone. Many people are on the same journey toward achieving better sleep.
1 Young et al. Epidemiology of Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Am J Resp Crit Care Med 2002. Supported by NIH grants RO1 AG14124 and RO1 HL62252
2 Vlachantoni IT et al. Effects of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment for obstructive sleep apnea in arterial stiffness: a meta-analysis. Sleep Med Rev. 2013 Feb;17(1):19-28. doi: 10.1016/j.smrv.2012.01.002. Epub 2012 May 9. This study was supported in part by the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
