People suspected of having sleeping problems are often referred by their general physician to a specialist to undergo a
sleep study. A sleep study is best done in a sleep clinic especially for severe cases of sleepiness disorders.
The most common disorders diagnosed inside these facilities would include insomnia, sleep apnea and shift work disorder. Normally, a patient would come into a clinic having only symptoms and still unaware of what type of disorder he or she may have. A sleep study is conducted in order to confirm the type of disorder, determine severity, and finally come up with a treatment plan based on the results of the tests. This is an important diagnostic procedure especially for children, the elderly and those who have severe cases. The type of test performed will depend on the symptoms presented by the patient. Here are several types of tests done inside the facility.
Overnight Sleep Study
Overnight sleep study would require the patient to spend a night at the clinic. The patient would have to go through a procedure called polysomnogram. Wires and electrodes will be attached to various points of the patient’s body. This will enable the clinical technicians to monitor the patient’s vitals while asleep. It is able to detect vitals such as brain waves, heart rate, breathing rate, muscle activity, eye movement, and other body system vitals which would be significant to the patient’s diagnosis. It can help detect sleep-related behaviors that can be harmful to patients and other people.
CPAP Study
A C PAP or Continuous Positive Airway Pressure study, is conducted on patients with a breathing disorder such as obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, central type of apnea, hypoventilation and hypoxemia. It is conducted to determine the correct pressure level for those prescribed to use a cpap treatment system. This test is used to set the right level of air pressure in a cpap treatment therapy.
Multiple Sleep Latency Test
Excessive sleepiness affects about 5% of the general population. It is when you are extremely drowsy at a time and place when you should be awake and alert The Multiple Sleep Latency Test or MSLT is a nap sleep study. It determines a person’s rate of ability to fall asleep in calm and quiet situations. It is the standard way to measure the level of daytime sleepiness. Ideally, a person should fall asleep in a shorter amount of time as your feeling of sleepiness increases. This test charts your heartbeat, brain waves, and eye movements. This test is used routinely to detect sleeping disorders.
Maintenance of Wakefulness Test
The Maintenance of Wakefulness Test is a type of sleep study done to measure daytime alertness. The test will isolate you from outside factors that can affect your sleepiness such as noise, light, temperature and physical activity. This identifies how well a person with a disorder stays awake after starting treatment. It will help the sleep doctors gauge the progress of the patient to the treatments. This type of test can be conducted on regular periods and results will be compared over a period of time.
same reason that not all people who experience fatigue has this disorder. Here are some common signs that you might be at risk:
