Sleep Lab Tests

Millions of Americans are yearly suffering from a form of sleeping disorder. Insomnia, sleep apnea and sleepwalking are just a few of these. This is a major cause for concern because there are a lot of health complications that are commonly associated with lack of sleep.

To better diagnose the cause, severity and the eventual treatment for sleeping disorders, doctors may require a patient to undergo a sleep lab test. This is conducted under the watchful eyes of a sleep disorder specialist who will note the changes and differences in the patient’s sleep patterns.

The sleep lab test is part of the sleep study, or polysomnogram, that a sleep specialist may conduct on his patient to determine the right course of action to be taken. The test records the data taken from the different states of sleep and wakefulness, taking into consideration every minor detail that may not be of the ordinary.

Some of the data that are recorded are the blood pressure, oxygen intake, sleeping position, heartbeat, snoring, and muscle tone.

What Happens During the Test?

This test is commonly conducted at night, as it is the normal sleep time. The doctor or the specialist will then ask you a series of questions regarding your sleeping habits and other related medical conditions. If you have a partner, the doctor will also question your partner to find out some details such as if you snore and your usual sleeping positions.

Afterwards you will go inside the lab where you will lie on the bed and the lab technician will place electrodes on you to record your stats. A technician or the doctor himself will then monitor your stats and also view you while you are sleeping. Factors like the level of your sleeplessness and the REM stages of your sleep will be taken into consideration.

After the test, the specialist will collate all the data. He will then try diagnosing your sleeping disorder based on it or if he thinks he still needs more data, he might require you to undergo another sleep lab test.

If you do have a sleeping problem, you can download our free report with simple suggestions that may help.