How a sleep study can help

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Sleep studies monitor your sleep stages and cycles to identify if or when your sleep patterns are disrupted and why. The normal process of falling asleep begins with a sleep stage called non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Normal sleep stages are as follows:

 

• Stage 1: Your eyes are closed, but waking you up is easy. This phase may last for 5 to 10 minutes.

• Stage 2: You are in light sleep. Your heart rate slows, and your body temperature drops. Your body is getting ready for deep sleep.

• Stage 3: This is the deep sleep stage. It's harder to rouse you during this stage, and if someone woke you up, you would feel disoriented for a few minutes.

 

During deep stage 3 of NREM sleep, the body repairs and regrows tissues, builds bone and muscle and strengthens the immune system. During this stage, your brain waves, as recorded by electroencephalography (EEG), slow down considerably. In contrast to later stages of sleep, your eyes don't move back and forth rapidly during NREM.

 

• Stage 4: After an hour or two of NREM sleep, your brain activity stops, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep begins. Most dreaming occurs during REM sleep. You normally go through multiple sleep cycles a night, cycling between NREM and REM sleep in about 90 minutes. Sleep disorders can disturb this sleep process. As you get older, you sleep more lightly and get less deep sleep. Aging is also linked to shorter periods of sleep, although studies show you still need as much sleep as when you were younger.

 

The data we collect will include information about your sleep, such as:

 

• How long do you spend in each sleep stage

• How often do you wake up

• Whether you stop breathing or have trouble breathing

• Whether you snore

• Body position

• Limb movements

• Unusual brain activity patterns

 

Once the study is complete, Biolife Health Center will provide a sleep health plan with instructions for sleep hygiene and improving your sleep. After the sleep study has been conducted and reviewed, several conditions may be diagnosed, and various specific treatments may be recommended. There is a wide range of methods for treating sleep problems. Your physician may prescribe medications.

 

Sometimes, a sleep psychologist is called upon to recommend non-drug approaches, including addressing patients’ pessimism about their sleep surroundings, correcting misconceptions about sleep, controlling stimulating factors that hinder sleep, and identifying positive behaviors that aid sleep. Improving your diet, sleep environment, and bedtime rituals, including the timing of physical exercise, alcohol intake, and other factors, may all contribute to a better night’s sleep.

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Who can benefit from a home sleep study?

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Our sleep studies help identify and rule out various sleep disorders. Sleep studies are also valuable in psychology, providing insight into brain activity and the other physiological factors of sleep disorders and normal sleep. This has allowed further research on the relationship between sleep and behavioral and psychological factors. Our sleep studies can help determine the following:

 

• Sleep apnea or another sleep-related breathing disorder. In this condition, your breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep.

• Periodic limb movement disorder. In this sleep disorder, you flex and extend your legs while sleeping. This condition is sometimes associated with restless legs syndrome.

• Narcolepsy. You experience overwhelming daytime drowsiness and sudden attacks of sleep in this condition.

• REM sleep behavior disorder. This sleep disorder involves acting out dreams as you sleep.

• Unusual behaviors during sleep. Your doctor may perform this test if you do unusual activities during sleep, such as walking, moving around a lot or rhythmic movements.

• Unexplained chronic insomnia. If you consistently have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, your doctor may recommend polysomnography.

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What is the scientific research on sleep studies?

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The Institute of Medicine recently estimated in its report, Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation -: An Unmet Public Health Problem, that “hundreds of billions of dollars a year are spent on direct medical costs related to sleep disorders such as doctor visits, hospital services, prescriptions, and over-the-counter medications.” Sleep problems and lack of sleep can affect everything from personal and work productivity to behavioral and relationship problems. Sleep problems can have serious consequences. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drowsy driving claims more than 7,000 lives and causes at least 1.2 million motor vehicle crashes each year.

 

Compounding the problem is the fact that most people know when to seek medical help for physical discomforts such as fever or pain, but sleep problems are often overlooked or ignored. The overwhelming majority of people with sleep disorders are undiagnosed and untreated.

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What to expect when you have a home sleep study

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A home sleep test is a convenient way to collect information about your sleep. Biolife Health Center uses three sleep trackers. The first is a sleep tracker placed under your bedsheets. You do not feel anything. The second is a wristwatch, and the third is a comfortable headband to measure your brain waves. All this, in combination, will give us a full spectrum of all your sleep markers.

 

• Patients will be given specific instructions before they start the sleep test period. But basically, we want our patients to follow their routine as much as possible.​ This way, we can determine and recommend changes in your sleeping habits.

 

Is a sleep study safe?

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Yes. Our technology measures your body and brain activity in a safe and secure manner, following HIPAA standards.