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Table of Contents
Purpose
Timing and Location
Day of Your Test
During Your Stay
Results
A sleep study, called apolysomnogram, is a test used to help diagnosesleep apnea,restless legs syndrome(RLS), and othersleep disorders. People usually spend the night at a hospital sleep laboratory or an outpatient sleep clinic. Electrodes attached to their body monitor their brain waves, breathing, and movement while they sleep.
Verywell / Emily Roberts
Purpose of a Sleep Study
Your healthcare provider may want you to undergo a sleep study if you have trouble falling asleep, wake up frequently, snore, or have other symptoms of a sleep disorder.
A polysomnogram might also be advisable based on a screening test fornarcolepsy(excessive daytime sleepiness). The test is known as theEpworth Sleepiness Scale.
What Can a Sleep Study Diagnose?
Sleep studies are designed to diagnose sleep disorders, including:
Some healthcare providers ask their patients to write a self-report about the quality of sleep, how often they wake up, how rested they typically feel, and other issues. These reports may be helpful to a point, but they don’t the full assessment a sleep study does.
What Does a Sleep Study Measure?
A sleep study provides a more complete picture of the quality of your rest and what may be going on in your body to affect it. The electrodes—small metal discs with wires attached—are used to monitor:
A practitioner then interprets all the data that is collected and will discuss the results with you.
What Does a Sleep Study Cost?The cost of a sleep study varies, depending on the type of test and the facility charges. Small clinics typically charge less compared to big hospital systems.Contact the sleep study clinic or lab for a cost estimate. Then, if you have health insurance, call your carrier to find out whether it will cover your visit.
What Does a Sleep Study Cost?
The cost of a sleep study varies, depending on the type of test and the facility charges. Small clinics typically charge less compared to big hospital systems.Contact the sleep study clinic or lab for a cost estimate. Then, if you have health insurance, call your carrier to find out whether it will cover your visit.
When Is Your Sleep Study?
Most sleep studies take place over the course of one night. A typical check-in time for a polysomnogram is between 8 and 10 p.m. The usual departure time after a person wakes up the next day is between 6 and 8 a.m.
The goal is for you to sleep for at least seven hours, though this isn’t always possible. In some cases, sleep medication may be given to help you along.
That said, your provider may be able to make a diagnosis even if you don’t sleep for this long.
If you work nights, some facilities can conduct studies during the day.
Where Are Sleep Studies Done?
This test typically is done at a sleep center or sleep lab. This may be a special department that is part of a hospital or clinic, or a standalone facility. Sleep studies are sometimes even set up in hotels.
Sleep labs may beaccredited centers, which means they have met the standards of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).
If your healthcare provider is ordering a sleep study for you, they will steer you in the direction of a lab that they are familiar with and trust. If you’re seeking one on your own, be sure to research facilities in your area to find one that is accredited or has been reviewed favorably.
In general, a sleep center has multiple bedrooms that are set up for overnight sleep studies. These rooms are designed to be as comfortable and homey as possible, often with regular bedroom furniture (not clinical-looking hospital beds), a television, a private bathroom, and other amenities.
Typically, a sleep clinic is staffed with one or more healthcare providers who are trained in sleep medicine. Many also practice related disciplines, such as neurology, psychiatry, and pulmonary medicine.
Other medical professionals typically found at sleep centers include physician assistants, nurses, respiratory therapists, and medical assistants.
The Day of Your Sleep Study
On the day of the study, you should follow your regular diet and daily routine, but with some exceptions:
What to Bring
It will be important to check with your sleep center to see if they have special restrictions for you. In general, though, you should bring the same items you would pack for an overnight stay at a hotel:
Who Can Go With You
No one can stay with you overnight, though exceptions may be made for parents of children undergoing a sleep study or patients with a condition that makes it unsafe for them to be alone, such as dementia.
In these cases, a rollaway cot may provided. Keep in mind that the room will be monitored throughout the night.
You won’t be able to bring a pet, with the possible exception of a service animal. The animal will require proper documentation before it is granted entry.
You’ll be asleep for most of the time you’re being tested, but it’s important to know what will happen so you can do your part to ensure that the results are as accurate and useful as possible.
Check-In Process
When you arrive for your sleep study, the process will be similar to checking in for any healthcare provider’s appointment. There may be paperwork to fill out, including a consent form. You may need to present your health insurance card and/or co-pay if you have one.
Once you’re checked in, asleep technicianwill take you to your bedroom for the night. They will show you the bathroom and where you can put your things.
You will then have time to change into your sleepwear and go through your regular nighttime routine of brushing your teeth and washing your face.
Testing Set-Up
The technician will spend about 45 to 60 minutes setting you up for your sleep study. Some studies forseizures, for example, may take as long as 90 minutes to two hours to set up.
Anelectroencephalogram (EEG), which measures electrical activity in the brain, is one of the tests that will take place while you sleep. To prepare you, the technician will:
If you’re sensitive to or allergic to medical tapes or glues, let the technician know ahead of time so that they can use a type that won’t bother you.
Other Equipment
In addition to the electrodes, several or all of the following may be part of your sleep study setup:
All of these wires will be connected to a small, portable box that you can easily carry with you if you need to get out of bed to use the bathroom. If you usecontinuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)during the night, you may be fitted with a mask.
Finally, just before you go to bed, the technician will place a nasal cannula—plastic tubing that sits in the nose—that will measure airflow while you sleep. Most sleep clinics also use athermistor, a pronged wire that sits in the nostrils and measures temperature changes.
Going to Bed
The technician will help you into bed and connect the wire box to a computer so that they can monitor you from another room. There will likely be a small infrared camera and two-way speaker in the room. If you need to get up during the night, this is how you will call for help to do that.
Just prior to going to sleep, the technician will test the equipment. As part of this testing, they will have you open and close your eyes, move them around, snore, take breaths in and out, and move your arms and legs.
If something goes wrong with a wire, or if one comes loose during the night, your technician will fix it.
Once you’re set up, the technician will leave you alone to read, watch television, or listen to music. It’s important to not fall asleep until it’s your usual bedtime or you feel drowsy enough to drift off.
What If You Can’t Sleep?
Not being able to sleep is a common concern of people undergoing a sleep study. Surprisingly, most people do sleep despite the unfamiliar environment and all the wires. In fact, it’s rare that someone isn’t able to sleep at all.
If you’re really worried about falling and staying asleep, your healthcare provider may have you take a medication that won’t interfere with the various tests. The most common sleep aid is Ambien (zolpidem). Do not take this medication or any other without the approval of your healthcare provider.
In the worst-case scenario, the testing can be repeated to ensure that the results are valid.
Ask QuestionsBe sure to ask your technician questions if you need clarification about any part of the sleep test. Technicians are trained to realize that the more a patient knows, the more likely they will be to relax.
Ask Questions
Be sure to ask your technician questions if you need clarification about any part of the sleep test. Technicians are trained to realize that the more a patient knows, the more likely they will be to relax.
Sleep Study Results
You likely will not be given any information about your study until a sleep healthcare provider has had a chance to review the results. This probably will take some time.
Sleep study reports can be as many as five pages long. They can be packed with hundreds of pieces of data about everything from the stages of sleep you went through and your breathing, to your heart rate, oxygen levels, muscle movements, and snoring episodes.
Sleep study results typically include data about:
Your healthcare provider will review your study results with you and discuss possible treatments, if needed.
AHI ExplainedThe AHI scale consists of two columns: The AHI and the sleep apnea rating. The AHI values and corresponding ratings are:Less than 5 (<5): Normal, meaning no sleep apnea5 to 15: Mild sleep apnea15 to 30: Moderate sleep apneaMore than 30 (>30): Severe sleep apnea
AHI Explained
The AHI scale consists of two columns: The AHI and the sleep apnea rating. The AHI values and corresponding ratings are:Less than 5 (<5): Normal, meaning no sleep apnea5 to 15: Mild sleep apnea15 to 30: Moderate sleep apneaMore than 30 (>30): Severe sleep apnea
The AHI scale consists of two columns: The AHI and the sleep apnea rating. The AHI values and corresponding ratings are:
For those with excessive daytime sleepiness,multiple sleep latency testing(MSLT) may follow a diagnostic polysomnogram. This testing consists of opportunities to take naps at two-hour intervals the day following the overnight testing.
It is somewhat simplified from the baseline study, with fewer measurements involved. The MSLT can identify narcolepsy, hypersomnia, or whether a normal amount of daytime sleepiness is present.
A maintenance of wakefulness test may also be performed as a follow-up. It’s usually reserved for people who work in professions that require sustained alertness in order to preserve public safety.
Truck drivers, airline pilots, train conductors, and other transportation professionals may be prime candidates for this test. Its goal is to ensure that in a quiet, somewhat darkened space, the patient can stay awake while slightly reclined. Transient dozing (or falling asleep) may be a problem if identified.
Repeat Sleep Studies
Sometimes it’s necessary to repeat a sleep study. Your healthcare provider may suggest this course of action in certain situations.
Health Changes
A relatively modest change inweight—say, a loss or gain of 10% of your body weight—may justify a repeated sleep study, Sleep issues often improve with weight loss and worsen after weight gain.
Abnormal sleep behaviors such asREM behavior disordermay develop later in life and should be assessed with a formal sleep study. Significant health changes could necessitate a second look, too. Heart failure, stroke, or the introduction of narcotic medications may all be reasons to ensure changes in breathing during sleep have not occurred.
Checking to See if Other Treatments Are Working
You may have tried alternative treatments and your physician wants to measure their effectiveness.
Some people turn to alternative therapies to treat sleep apnea, including the use of anoral appliancefrom a dentist or asurgical treatment. A second sleep study can be a useful way to check how the appliance works or whether the surgery was a success.
Unresolved Sleep Apnea
If you’re stilltoo sleepy, it may be a sign to dig a little deeper. Persistent and excessive daytime sleepiness may also require a reassessment of other conditions that may be triggering the fatigue.
The Epworth Sleepiness Scale may be used again to gauge sleepiness. More intensive evaluation often proves necessary to sort out the underlying cause of the apnea.
Summary
Your healthcare provider may ask you to undergo a sleep study if you have trouble falling asleep, wake up frequently, snore, or have other symptoms of a sleep disorder. The study requires that you spend a night at a sleep center or sleep lab so that you can be hooked up to several types of monitors that literally track your every breath and movement.
In the end, the report should give your primary care physician a good picture of your sleep quality (or lack thereof). To prepare for your visit, it’s smart to pack as if you were going to a hotel but not actually staying at one (since you can’t drink caffeine or alcohol before the study begins). Many people fear that they won’t fall asleep (or stay asleep) during a sleep study, but the majority do.
3 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Academy of Sleep Medicine.Sleep study.Sleep Foundation.Sleep studies.American Sleep Association.Sleep study test results.
3 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Academy of Sleep Medicine.Sleep study.Sleep Foundation.Sleep studies.American Sleep Association.Sleep study test results.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American Academy of Sleep Medicine.Sleep study.Sleep Foundation.Sleep studies.American Sleep Association.Sleep study test results.
American Academy of Sleep Medicine.Sleep study.
Sleep Foundation.Sleep studies.
American Sleep Association.Sleep study test results.
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