Overnight Sleep Study Questions

SusanEllen, Yes, bring your own pillow and blankets. I should have done that. Make sure you adjust the room temperature to what you're used to. I would also try to arrange your sleep time with the sleep tech so that it matches your normal sleep time as closely as possible. I'm a night owl, so they let me go to sleep later, about 11 pm, which helped. I also brought a book and some music on CD to relax to, which helped me relax until they wired me up for the study. I was actually able to sleep, but not as well, of course, as in my usual sleep environment. I was allowed to take a sleep drug (zolpidem 5 mg) which helped me get to sleep.

It looks like a CPAP may be in my future because while my sleep apnea is mild I have symptoms excessive daytime sleepiness and fatigue.

No one warned me about the paste in my hair. They used some sort of paste to hold the sensors on my head. So, don't wash your hair before the sleep study because you will absolutely need to wash your hair right after. Honestly, it was the worst night's sleep ever. I was cold and so uncomfortable, and woke up more times than I usually do. Definitely pee right before the tech hooks up the wires because it is a pain to do it when you really have to go. And be patient- My tech took a while to respond to my alert. Good luck!

....I don't remember everything about my sleep study a few years ago but it took the young man about 50 minutes to hook me up to all the wires; then i trie to go to sleep and he kept coming into the room and the head of the bed had some equipment on it and he several times double checked some of the wires etc., also i had to urinate through the night so that was a bit of a problem an having to be careful of the wires; we were awake/woken up in our individual rooms at 6am.... when i got out of bed i noticed on of the wires was off. few weeks later met the dr. very nice but said something to the effect i woke up or 60 times and suggested one of those machines for through the night but I didnt get one. I thought it would be like a simple oxygen mask but it has to press on your face and not let any outside air in and my face is sore and I have tmj and dry eyes etc., so decided against it. so i still have sleepless nights but feel i am not a good candidate for the machine...also they have to be cleaned or sterilized each week or so and I would be afraid of germs etc. however, many people have the study done and benefit considerably from the night mask, so am not saying they dont work, just not for me. But no wonder i kept waking up with so many wires attached and trying to move around....i got the lab tech to take a photo of me with all the wires and i would put it up here but i think you can envisage it!! one woman in another room did not sleep the entire night! good luck. J.

Thanks everyone for your helpful and supportive comments. I had my overnight sleep study and found it difficult. The wires, the unfamiliar room, the uncomfortable bed and the anticipatory anxiety made for a strange night of sleep/wake. I tossed and turned and had the sleep tech come in several times to reattach stuff. It did not feel like a normal night, so I hope the data they got is helpful to sort out any sleep issues I have based on the study. When the sleep tech woke me up in the morning, he said, "You moved around a lot last night."

...just wondering, as I did after my test: because we are in a different bed, strange room, wires all over us.. is this a true "picture" or accurate results that end up with our getting medication and a breathing machine? daughter's watch has a setting measures sleep movements etc., would this be useful?

I don't think anybody really sleeps normally during the test, I sure didn't either time. Now on Resmed a10 auto cpap machine. AHI 1.2 😎.

Has anyone used the Philips C-Pap? I see that they have been recalled.