Sleep Medicine

Most sleep studies are scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. and last overnight. You will be able to leave around 6:30 a.m. If you have a different schedule, simply talk with your sleep technologist to arrange a different wake-up time. Our sleep techs do not come until 9 p.m., so there’s no reason to be early. Plan on arriving close to 9 p.m. You will be shown to a private bedroom complete with a full bathroom if you wish to shower.

Not usually. Our goal is to record you as close as possible to your regular sleep pattern. Rarely, there are some tests the next day following a sleep study, but you would know about these well in advance. Since studies are performed overnight, you can usually keep your regular schedule.

Placing the monitoring devices takes around 45 minutes. During this time you may ask your sleep technologist about your sleep study and what to expect. Your sleep technologist will explain what we are attaching for monitoring and why. We will try to arrange your bedtime before 11 p.m. You may read or watch TV before your study, but remember that we want to record as much sleep as possible so your TV watching may end earlier than usual.

To fully understand your sleep and breathing pattern during the night, we attach painless monitoring equipment to record brain waves, eye movements, muscle tension, oxygen levels, heart rate, breathing effort, limb movement and airflow. Most of these items attach as sticky patches or tape, similar to a band aid. Respiratory effort is monitored by two thin belts. Sometimes small places on the chest, legs or chin may need to be shaved for patches to stick, but the scalp is never shaved.

We don’t administer any medications for these tests and there are no shots or pills given by the sleep lab. You will need to bring any prescription or over-the-counter medications you normally take. If you’re using a sleep aid supplied and approved by your doctor, then tell the sleep technologists and they will tell you the best time to take it.

The sleep technologist will need to remove a few of the connections from your monitoring equipment before you use your private bathroom. Simply call for your sleep technologist and they will assist you in getting up and returning to bed.

Every item we use for monitoring should be comfortable and not cause any discomfort. We will make sure you are comfortable so that you sleep well. Each bedroom has a double bed and individual temperature controls. If you bring your own pillow, you will probably sleep more comfortably.

You will receive the results of your sleep study from your doctor, not the sleep technologist. Due to the full examination of all of the sleep parameters we recorded from your night at the sleep lab, and the time it takes for the sleep specialist to review and interpret your sleep study, we recommend scheduling your doctor’s follow-up appointment at least two weeks after your sleep study date.