![]() ![]() two belts that wrap around your chest and abs to measure movements associated with breathing.It’s basically a monitor that measures your oxygen and breathing levels through several different components: The at-home test itself is fairly simple. More often than not, they’ll recommend an at-home test if they believe you have sleep apnea, a common and serious condition that affects your breathing, or restless leg syndrome, a condition that causes an uncontrollable urge for you to move your legs.īoth of these conditions are able to be detected by an at-home test, so the logic is: Why do an in-lab test if you don’t need to? (FYI: Sleep facilities used to be called sleep centers or sleep clinics, but now they’re referred to as facilities, as per the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.) If your sleep specialist decides that you would benefit from a sleep study, also known as a sleep test, they’ll recommend one of two methods: an at-home study or an in-lab study at a sleep facility. If you have insomnia, for example, you likely don’t need further sleep testing, as it’s already clear that you don’t sleep - so your doctor may refer you to an insomnia specialist (a sleep doctor with a specialty in psychology) who can help you figure out what may be keeping you up. “Once we have gathered all this information, we decide if their issue can be solved by changing their sleep hygiene, or if they need further testing,” Al-Sharif continues. Are you currently taking any medications or supplements that interfere with sleep?.How much alcohol and caffeine do you drink during the day?.How likely are you to doze off while reading or watching TV?.Does this impact your work performance, and in what ways?Īnd finally, the sleep specialists gather what they call objective data:.“We look at all sorts of factors, beginning with a patient’s medical history, occupation (especially if they work night shifts), and sleep habits (bedtime, wakeup time, sleep environment, anything their partners have told them about their nighttime behavior),” explains Al-Sharif.Īfter that, they go into your daytime habits: That sleep specialist will ask you a series of general questions to pinpoint what services you may or may not need. Once you recognize that you have a sleep issue, the next step is to see your primary doctor, who will then refer you to a sleep specialist (also a doctor). “But when your sleep troubles start to have an effect on your work, your relationships, your activities, and/or your quality of life, then it’s time to think about seeking advice to see what’s going on.” “If your lack of sleep is not something that affects what you’re doing during the daytime, then it is probably OK,” says Hussam Al-Sharif, MD, a sleep medicine specialist at the Mayo Clinic Health System in Wisconsin. All of the doctors we spoke with said the key to figuring that out is to look at your daily activity: Are you impacted by your previous night’s sleep during the day? Recognizing that you have a sleep issue that could benefit from medical intervention is the first step in this process. ![]() There are a few steps you need to take before you go to a sleep facility, if your doctor even recommends that you go to one at all. With this in mind, we checked in with three top sleep experts around the country to find out everything you need to know about sleep facilities. adults usually get less sleep than is recommended. There are 120 different kinds of sleep-wake disorders, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also reports that one-third of U.S. Or possibly, in the blurry haze of a middle-of-the-night internet deep dive, you’ve stumbled upon the advice to get checked out in an overnight sleep facility and wondered: What even are those, really? What actually happens if you go to one? Are they scary? Are they weird? Is it creepy to know that someone is watching you while you sleep? Are they the right solution for you? ![]() Maybe you’ve wondered whether other people toss and turn as much as you do or whether there’s actually something clinically wrong with your sleep patterns. for no reason, even though you were able to fall asleep just fine. Perhaps you’ve asked the internet whether it’s normal to keep waking up at 3 a.m. Here’s an under-the-covers look at who qualifies, what to expect, and the conditions and treatment plans a sleep study might reveal.Ĭhances are, if you’ve ever struggled to fall asleep or stay asleep, you’ve likely consulted Dr. ![]()
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