The convenience of a home sleep study – Mill Creek sleep apnea treatment
The convenience of a home sleep study – Mill Creek sleep apnea treatment
All sleep problems require a sleep study in order to be diagnosed. Without a sleep study, medically known as a polysomnogram, health professionals couldn’t be certain of what type of sleep problem they’re dealing with or how severe it is, and it would be difficult to choose the right treatment. Traditionally, a sleep study was done in a sleep laboratory. Developments in technology have allowed the creation of instruments for a sleep study at home.
What is a traditional sleep study like? – Mill Creek sleep apnea treatment
To have a traditional sleep study, the patient arranges to spend the night at a sleep laboratory. This is a specially constructed facility with beds in which patients can sleep. A variety of instruments are attached to the patient before he or she goes to sleep. These may include electrodes on the head to monitor brain waves, sensors near the nose and mouth to detect airflow, a chest strap with a monitor to detect the movements of breathing, a sensor on the fingertip to detect the oxygen in the blood, sensors on the legs to detect movements of the muscles, and sometimes other detectors.
The patient then goes to sleep in the sleep study bed, which is almost always located in its own room. While the patient sleeps, a sleep technician monitors the study from an adjacent room. If a sensor slips out of place or stops working, the sleep technician can go into the room to replace it.
What is a home sleep study like? – Mill Creek sleep apnea treatment
To have a home sleep study, you take home a few monitors to wear while you sleep in your own bed. You will be shown how to use the equipment correctly, in order to get reliable results. Most patients who take home this equipment complete their sleep study that night. You then return the equipment, along with the data recorded in it, the next day. Your health care professionals will download and analyze the data.
The biggest advantage of a home sleep study is that you get to sleep in your own bed. For many people, it’s hard to plan a night away from home, particularly for people who have family or other obligations. In addition, it’s much more comfortable to sleep in your own bed. Even though sleep study centers are designed to be as comfortable as possible, there’s just no place like home.
The cost of a home sleep study is also lower than that of a traditional sleep study. However, the home sleep study does use fewer pieces of equipment. For example, there is no brainwave monitoring in a home sleep study. For most people, that doesn’t matter. The equipment can detect the most common sleep problems, including sleep apnea, very reliably. In the rare case that your sleep professional suspects that you have another type of sleep problem, it’s possible that a traditional sleep study will be recommended.