Sleep apnea is a serious condition that can go undiagnosed in most people and is one of the most common sleeping disorders in Americans. It’s estimated that 80% of cases of sleep apnea have gone undiagnosed which isn’t surprising. A common doctor’s visit can’t determine if a patient suffers from the sleeping disorder nor can any blood test. The only way to find out for sure is to do a sleep study test, which for many people can seem like a scary prospect. What is a sleep study test and what can patients expect?

Gathering Information

There is a multitude of sleep apnea health issues associated with the disorder that makes it difficult to function day-to-day. Issues that can crop up can include high blood pressure, stroke, cardiovascular problems, chronic heart failure, and even atrial fibrillation. Immediate symptoms can be anywhere from the dry mouth to personality changes due to a lack of sleep. This lack of rest is caused by sleep apnea which causes a person to stop breathing for a few seconds before resuming, sometimes followed by a loud snort or snore. This pulls the person out of deep sleep and causes their quality of rest to continue to decline.

Sleep studies are designed to gather information to determine if someone suffers from the disorder, usually through a test. The traditional test was conducted by a sleep study, also called a polysomnography, which is an overnight exam. The exam is designed to monitor the patient’s brain and body while it's asleep to determine what is going on. These traditional tests involve an overnight stay at a sleep center or hospital where the patient will be hooked up to EEG monitors to track the patient’s stages of sleep.

The sleep study will measure things like oxygen levels in the blood, eye movements, body movements, breathing and heart rates, and be snoring. This information will help the doctors to reach a more conclusive answer if the patient suffers from sleep apnea or another disorder that could be impairing their quality of sleep.

Tracking the Stages of Sleep

Sleep apnea health issues are serious and can have a severe impact on the quality of rest a person is able to have throughout the night. People typically go through five stages of sleep throughout the night, the most important one being REM. REM sleep is where people dream and is where they get the most rest. When a person goes through all five stages of sleep it’s called a “cycle” and REM sleep will start to increase with each completed “cycle”. The final stage of sleep can sometimes even see REM sleep lasting for up to an hour, now that’s a good rest!

Sleep apnea study devices track these cycles and the disorders caused them to be interrupted which results in less time spent in REM sleep. When this happens, the person is unable to get the rest they need which results in a lower quality of sleep. Ever notice when you don’t get enough sleep you feel drowsy throughout the day, probably irritated too from lack of rest? With sleep apnea, people feel like that all the time with typically other symptoms piled up on their plate along with the threat of a myriad of health issues.

Sleep apnea study equipment can help to determine whether a patient suffers from this disorder or not since it monitors the stages of sleep. Doing an at home test will also eliminate the need to do an in-lab sleep study and will produce more accurate results. It’s difficult to fall asleep in an alien environment and at home, the results will be more accurate since the patient is relaxed and at home. Our equipment has helped people to find out if they suffer from sleep apnea or not so they can finally get back to getting a full night’s rest.

VirtuOx is the leader in home sleep tests and pulse oximetry.