Here's What You Need to Know About Your Home Sleep Study

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common type of apnea, affecting millions in the United States. OSA causes pauses in breathing that can affect your physical health and mental well-being in many ways, from increased risks of heart disease to daytime fatigue and difficulty concentrating.

A sleep study provides essential information about your level of OSA, which ranges from mild to severe, offering details your provider needs to design an effective treatment strategy.

Pulmonologist Dr. Chuan Jiang in Flushing, New York, specializes in conditions that affect your respiratory health. His services include the convenience of home sleep studies, making it easier than ever to obtain information about how OSA affects your breathing and sleep patterns.

Read what Dr. Jiang’s team says about home sleep studies versus the traditional type.

Sleep study basics

A traditional sleep study involves overnight monitoring in a sleep center or lab. Various sensors measure and record your heart rate, breathing patterns, muscle activity, and oxygen levels as you sleep.

Sleep studies are considered the gold standard in diagnosing and determining appropriate treatments for OSA. A home sleep study collects much of the same data but takes place in your home.

Benefits of a home sleep study

A home sleep study offers many benefits, including:

Early intervention for obstructive sleep apnea

Detecting and addressing OSA early is crucial for preventing potential health complications linked to sleep apnea. Left untreated, OSA increases your risk of heart failure, hypertension, diabetes, depression, and other chronic conditions.

Convenience

Traditional sleep studies require a night in a sleep center, which can be inconvenient and disruptive to your routine. On the other hand, home sleep studies allow you to undergo testing in the comfort of your own bed.

This convenience eliminates the need for travel and overnight stays, making the process much more manageable for individuals with busy schedules or mobility limitations.

Natural sleep environment

Sleeping in a new environment, such as a sleep center, can be challenging. The unfamiliar surroundings and equipment may disrupt sleep patterns, potentially skewing the results of a traditional sleep study.

Home sleep studies mitigate this issue by allowing you to sleep in a natural environment, more accurately representing your typical sleep patterns and potential sleep disorders.

Accessibility

Sleep centers have limited availability, which can delay evaluation and treatment. Home sleep studies increase your accessibility to sleep assessment services.

Reliability

With the rise of telemedicine and remote monitoring technologies, home sleep studies offer an accurate and reliable evaluation of sleep patterns. Real-time data on various sleep parameters enable Dr. Jiang to diagnose the severity of OSA and more accurately tailor treatment strategies to your needs.

What to expect during a home sleep study

Dr. Jiang’s team provides professional guidance and support throughout the process, ensuring you experience the benefits of early diagnosis and intervention for OSA.

The study typically involves wearing portable monitoring devices that measure various parameters such as airflow, respiratory effort, blood oxygen levels, and heart rate. The specific devices used may vary but often include a small device worn on the chest, a finger probe for measuring oxygen saturation, and sometimes a nasal cannula.

Our team provides instructions on setting up the equipment at home. This may include attaching sensors to the body and ensuring they’re positioned correctly for accurate data collection.

Typically, home sleep studies span one night of sleep, although some may extend over multiple nights to gather more comprehensive data.

Take control of your sleep today. Schedule an appointment at Chuan Jiang Medicine by phone or request a visit online.