What to Expect From a Sleep Study
Monday, July 27, 2015
Many people put off having a sleep study — much to the dismay of their bed partner — for one simple reason: it seems kind of weird.
“It can be disturbing to find yourself sleeping away from home in a new environment anyway,” said Jeff Reid, MD, a board-certified pulmonary medicine and sleep specialist with West Georgia Lung and Sleep Medicine and medical director of the Tanner Center for Sleep Disorders. “Add to that the fact that you’re being monitored as you sleep, and then it’s easy to let the weeks slide by without scheduling one.”
The most common type of sleep study is a polysomnograph, which is often used to diagnose common sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA. During a polysomnograph, a sleep technologist will use specialized equipment to monitor:
- Brain waves and eye movements that allow a sleep specialist to assess the stages of sleep and find possible disruptions that could indicate a disorder
- Heart rate and blood oxygen levels that could indicate disorders like OSA
- Body movements that could indicate restless leg syndrome or other movement disorders
- And more
With the information gathered during a sleep study, a sleep specialist is able to make recommendations to help patients get a better night’s rest. Sleep studies available at the Tanner Center for Sleep Disorders include:
- Full-night diagnostic studies (nocturnal polysomnogram, or NPSG)
- Split-night diagnostic and therapeutic studies (NPSG with continued positive airway pressure, or CPAP)
- Portable testing for appropriately selected patients
- Daytime multiple sleep latency tests (MSLT)
- PAP naps
- Maintenance of wakefulness test (MWT)
- Pediatric sleep studies
Tanner has two fully accredited Tanner Center for Sleep Disorders locations — one in Carrollton at 100 Professional Park near the Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton campus (sleep study room pictured above) and one in Villa Rica at 705 Dallas Highway in the VillaMed medical office building adjacent to Tanner Medical Center/Villa Rica. Each location provides comfortable, hotel-like amenities, including:
- Queen-size, electric adjustable beds
- Cable television
- Beverages
- Private bathrooms
- And more
“It’s important that sleep disorders be diagnosed in a timely fashion,” said Dr. Reid. “The longer they go untreated, the greater the risk of serious health complications, including heart attacks and strokes.”
Individuals who think they may have a sleep disorder should speak with their physician, who can order a sleep study at Tanner. More information about the Tanner Center for Sleep Disorders is available online at www.TannerSleep.org or by calling 770.812.9146.