If it's suspected that you have sleep apnea, then you'll need to undergo a sleep test. This will measure several vitals as you sleep, including your breathing patterns. The data collected from this test will then be examined by your doctor, who can then make a diagnosis. If you're thinking about undergoing a test yourself, here's the equipment that will be involved with yours.

What Is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is becoming more widely known, but many people still aren't very sure about what it is. In basic terms, sleep apnea is a disorder where your airway relaxes when you're asleep, blocking your airways and making it difficult to breathe. This can occur multiple times throughout the night. As you can imagine, being unable to breathe for periods throughout the night can have serious knock on effects on your health.

What Are The Effects Of Sleep Apnea?

You may have sleep apnea if you suffer from any of the following symptoms:

• Feeling tired, even if you feel as though you've slept for a good period of time.
• Waking in the night.
• Feeling moody or irritable, which doesn't go away within a few days.
• Loud snoring.
• Headaches when you wake in the morning.

These can all point towards several different issues, but it's a good idea to have yourself checked out for sleep apnea health issues if you're just ruling it out.

Sleep Apnea Study Equipment

There are two ways of being tested for sleep apnea. You can take part in a lab sleep study, where you travel to a lab and are examined by a professional as you sleep, to assess the data collected. The other method is to take an at home test, which is becoming more common as they are much more convenient. Here's the equipment you'll use in each scenario:

• Lab Testing: If you go to a lab, you'll be shown to bed that resembles a hotel bed. You'll be attached to monitoring machines by a variety of sensors. These sensors will feed information back to the people observing your sleep throughout the night. This information includes your breathing, heart rate, movement, and more.

• Home testing: The equipment for home testing is often much more compact and unobtrusive. It will depend on where you buy your equipment from, but it can simply consist of a headband that contains the sensors needed to track your sleeping patterns. You can be shown how to set up the equipment yourself, and when you're done you can take it to your doctor, or send it off in the mail.

What Happens After Testing

Once you've used your equipment and go the results, you'll need to get in touch with your doctor to discuss the results. Your doctor will tell you if they believe you have sleep apnea or other sleep-related health issues. They'll also discuss treatment options. Often, you'll be given equipment to wear at night to prevent further issues. Medication or surgery can also be a solution, but these will be discussed with you.

Why Choose A Home Sleep Test?

If you have the option to choose between a lab and home test, why go with a home one? Here are a few reasons why:

• More convenient: You can undertake a sleep study in the comfort of your own home and bed. It's perfect if you find it hard to sleep in an unfamiliar bed, or you have commitments that stop you leaving for the night.

• More comfortable equipment: Sleep apnea study devices that are designed for home use are much more comfortable than the multiple machines you find in sleep labs. You'll find it easier to get to sleep, which means you'll get much more accurate results.

• Cheaper to undergo: Insurance will often cover sleep studies in a lab, but they will cost more than a home study. If you're trying to save cash, then this could be the way to go.

• Easy to set up: You can easily set up a test yourself, which puts you in charge of the test. If you want to feel more involved in your health, then this can help you understand your testing.

Sleep testing can use much less equipment than you're expecting, especially if you choose to go with a home sleep study. They're more comfortable, accurate, and easy to administer, so there are lots of reasons why they're becoming more common.