Clinical Testing for Sleep Apnea

Dr. Tom Northway works closely with the physicians at area sleep centers and is trained to recognize and treat sleep apnea. The information provided here is intended to increase your knowledge about the causes, symptoms, and treatments of sleep apnea. If you think you might be at risk, please contact Northway Family Dentistry today for an appointment and possible referral to a local sleep center.

A laboratory sleep study is considered the “gold standard” to accurately diagnose sleep disorders. In order to fully understand your sleep, various brain activities and body systems and their relationships will be observed throughout the night. After the study, a sleep specialist will review and interpret the record to help you and your healthcare professional understand your specific sleep patterns and sleep problems. Treatment recommendations will be made if evidence of a sleep disorder is found.

On the night of a sleep study, you will be asked to arrive at the laboratory about two hours before your usual bedtime. Technologists will position tiny sensors at different points on your body to record your brain waves, muscle activity, leg and arm movements, heart rhythms, and other body functions during sleep.

Each sleep disorders center has its own system of running tests, and several devices may be used to study the different patterns of breathing during sleep. These include a flexible wire probe or small plastic prongs placed at the openings of your nose and/or mouth to measure the rate at which air enters and leaves your lungs. These tests help record breathing difficulties. Stretchy fabric bands may be placed around your chest and abdomen to measure the effort you make to breathe, and a device clipped to one of your earlobes or fingers charts your oxygen level. Usually, there are no needles involved and testing is not uncomfortable.

Your sleep may be studied during the day as well, through a series of naps offered at two-hour intervals. This study, known as the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT), measures daytime sleepiness. The test may also be used to look for other causes of sleepiness, such as a brain disorder called narcolepsy. Various types of x-rays and direct examination of your breathing passage are sometimes used to provide a better picture of the throat in people with obstructive sleep apnea.

The above information is provided by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s wellness booklet, “Obstructive Sleep Apnea & Snoring,” copyright 2007.