Sleep Apnea Testing

What is an At-Home Sleep Study?
Also known as a home sleep apnea test (HST), it is a simplified version of a sleep study that you can do at home. It is specifically designed to diagnose or rule out sleep apnea, a condition in which your breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep.

You can order the test after we perform a physical screening to examine your oral anatomy. It comes with a kit with different sensors and a small recording device. You’ll need to attach the sensors as instructed before going to bed. Here are the key measurements it takes:

Airflow:
This is measured using a nasal cannula (a small, flexible tube with two prongs that gently fit into your nostrils) or a thermistor (a device that measures temperature changes). The goal is to detect any reductions or stops in airflow when breathing is partially or completely blocked during sleep.

Breathing Effort:
A belt-like device is placed around your chest (and sometimes also around your abdomen) to measure your breathing effort. It detects how your chest and abdomen move as you breathe, helping to identify periods when you struggle to breathe due to an obstruction.

Blood Oxygen Levels:
A pulse oximeter, usually attached to your finger, measures the amount of oxygen in your blood. Drops in oxygen levels can indicate compromised breathing, which is common in sleep apnea.

Heart Rate:
The pulse oximeter also records your heart rate. Fluctuations in heart rate can accompany changes in your breathing and oxygen levels, offering additional insight into your sleep health.

Snoring:
Depending on the type of kit you order, it may also include a microphone to record snoring. Since snoring can be a sign of sleep apnea, documenting the presence and intensity of snoring can provide valuable information.

Body Position:
Knowing your body position can help understand how it affects your sleep apnea. Some devices include position sensors to track whether you are lying on your back, side, or stomach, as sleep apnea symptoms can vary with different sleeping positions.

Setting up these devices is easy; you can do it independently without anyone else’s assistance. Once you have attached everything and gone to bed, the equipment does its job while you sleep, recording the necessary data for later analysis by our sleep medicine dentists. We can diagnose sleep apnea and suggest the appropriate treatment based on our findings.

Notably, if we suspect you have a different sleep-related condition or if your at-home study results are inconclusive, we might recommend an in-lab sleep study for a more comprehensive analysis.

Are You a Candidate for Home Sleep Test?

These tests are recommended when symptoms of sleep apnea are clearly present. You may be a candidate for a home sleep test if you:

• Snore loudly enough to disturb the sleep of others or yourself.
• Experience pauses in breathing or gasping for air during sleep.
• Wake up with a dry mouth or sore throat regularly.
• Have morning headaches.
• Feel excessively sleepy or fatigued during the day, even after 8-9 hours of sleep.
• Have difficulty concentrating or suffer from memory issues.
• Feel irritable, depressed, or experience mood swings.
• Wake up frequently during the night to urinate.
• Have difficulty staying asleep (insomnia).
• Experience decreased libido or sexual dysfunction.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, a home sleep study is the important next step. The reason why we insist on a physical appointment first before helping you order a sleep test kit is to evaluate your symptoms and any risk factors such as being overweight, having a family history of sleep apnea, having a neck circumference larger than average, and anatomical differences that can narrow the airway, among others. If these factors apply to you, it’s more probable that a sleep apnea diagnosis could be relevant.