Should I have a sleep study?
If you have a combination of these symptoms, write them down and share them with your doctor who may refer you for a sleep study.
Sleep Apnea – Apnea is the cessation of breathing for 10 or more seconds. Sleep apnea can occur if your brain does not signal your respiratory system to breathe (central sleep apnea), or more commonly, there is a blocked or partially blocked airway during sleep (obstructive sleep apnea). Blocked airways are marked by noisy breathing, snoring, and snorting. Apnea periods are silent so may go unnoticed. Sleep apnea can be mild to severe. Sleep studies confirm the diagnosis of obstructive and central sleep apnea. These are symptoms to tell your doctor about
- Excessive Daytime Sleepiness – How likely are you to fall asleep when sitting and reading or watching television? Asses your sleepiness by answering the Epworth Sleepiness Scale questions.
- Memory or concentration problems
- Loud snoring, Gasping or snoring in your sleep
- Waking up with morning headaches
- Choking sensation
- Sleep apnea makes you more likely to develop or worsen certain health problems such as high blood pressure, heart attack, irregular heartbeat such as atrial fibrillation, heart failure, stroke and sexual dysfunction.
Parasomnia - Parasomnias are sleep disorders that involve sleep interruption caused by unexpected physical movements, behaviors, dreams, and sometimes walking and talking behaviors. These events may occur while falling asleep, sleeping, between sleep stages, or during arousal from sleep. These events can be disruptive to the patient and to the bed partner.
- Bedwetting (enuresis Confusional Arousals REM Sleep Behavior Disorder Sleep Eating Disorder Sleep Paralysis Sleep Terrors Sleepwalking
Circadian Rhythm Dysfunction – We each have a biological clock that regulates when we feel sleepy and when we wake up. This is your circadian rhythm that alternates our sleepiness and wakefulness typically every 24 hours in humans and animals. The term circadian is derived from the Latin "circa diem" meaning "around a day." Common disruptions to our circadian rhythm are shiftwork and traveling across different time zones. Proactively maintaining a consistent bedtime and following sleep hygiene rules help to maintain a healthy body clock.