What to Expect During Your Sleep Study

You will be asked to come to the sleep lab in the evening, usually around 8 pm. You will be assigned to your own room with a private bathroom; no other patients will be in the room with you. You will be given time to make yourself at home in your room.

The technicians at LUNA Sleep Center will try to make you feel relaxed. To start your study, a technician will gently place sensors on the surface of your skin and scalp tape and paste. These sensors are attached to wires that transmit information to a computer. The wires are long enough to allow you to move around and turn over while in bed. To make sure the sensors are working, you will be asked to move your eyes, clench your teeth and move your legs.

Your oxygen levels will be tracked by a small probe that is placed on your finger. Your airflow will be monitored by placing a thin, plastic tube outside your nose. Your breathing effort will be observed by wrapping elastic belts around your waist and chest.

You can read or watch TV until your normal bedtime. The lights are then turned out, and it is time for you to try to fall asleep. A technologist will monitor your sleep data from an adjacent room. She/he will have to enter your room if a sensor comes loose. Your technologist will also enter your room to temporarily disconnect you from the monitoring equipment if you need to use the bathroom.

The polysomnogram is not a test that you can fail. Nearly everyone falls asleep during the study. However, most people do not sleep as well as they do at home. This usually does not affect the results of the study. In most cases, you do not need to sleep for a full eight hours to find the source of your problem.

If your sleep data suggests that you have severe sleep apnea (interruptions in breathing during sleep), you will likely be started on a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine during this first study. Your sleep technician will awaken you to fit you with a mask and begin treatment with a CPAP device, a system that pumps air into your airway. (Please see “CPAP Titration Study” below.)

In the morning, you will test the sensors again, and then they will be removed. This will complete the study, and you will be free to go. Most studies are finished by 5:30-6am, but you can notify your technologist if you need to leave earlier. You may be tired if you did not sleep well during the night. Otherwise, you can return to normal activities on the day after a sleep study.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are excessively sleepy, then have a relative or friend drive you to and from the sleep laboratory. If this is not possible, then use a taxi or a safe means of public transportation.