It is for varied reasons that sleep studies are carried out. Researchers want to know what causes the problems of abrupt awakening also known as Night terror. A patient in this health condition abruptly gets up from sleep, especially at night, terrorized. Tests for sleep terror disorder are usual behavioral tests. Physicians attempt to through sleep disorder tests verify the nature of a patient’s sleep disorder. Whether it is Narcolepsy also known as sleep apnea or momentary seizure as you sleep at night, tests carried out while you are actually sleeping help to show your level of 'Restless leg syndrome'.
Sleep study tests procedure for nearly all patients are normally done within a calm hotel bedchamber . 8 surface electrodes are linked to your scalp with a particular glue. The routine will show your physician the degree of sleep disorder on a very special video recording of your eye movements and brain waves. Muscle tone is read during test using Electrodes put under your chin. Some other Electrodes will be placed at the lower parts of your legs to record the degree of leg actions. The technician will also place some special Elastic bands on your chest and abdomen to record your breathing level. Your finger will also be attached to a probe to measure your oxygen level while your heart beat rate is routinely recorded using patches the techie placed on your chest. The whole process is monitored by the techie in charge with a data recording equipment from an adjoining room.
You will be given some instructions via an intercom to perform some that will tell the techie that the equipment is performing okay. It is after this confirmation that the study commences with "Good Night"! Following which you are supposed to sleep for a period of not less than six hours. To ensure unobstructed sleep the techie will fix the Continuous Positive Air Pressure (CPAP) machine, which is an interface device, on you, after he or she has collected the necessary respiratory information. CPAP is the sleep disorder care product that specialists recommend as the beginning of sleep apnea care. CPAP sends filtered air into your nostrils to ensure that the airway remains open. The cure of "obstructive sleep apnea", according to sleep specialists , has been greatly enhanced with CPAP.
The above is essentially the procedure for conducting a sleep disorder test. All necessary and compulsory precaution are usually adhered to, before fitting CPAP or BiPAP machine to you. Subsequently collection of data goes on as you sleep. The data is checked against your (RDI), respiratory disturbance index. It is expected that you should within an hour record at least 20 respiratory indications, with at least a 2 percent fall in oxygen saturation.