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Do I Need A Sleep Study?

Thu, Mar 24, 2011

A sleep study, or polysomnogram, is the first step toward getting professional treatment for a sleep disorder.  Your family doctor will refer you for a sleep study if he or she notices the symptoms of an underlying sleep condition.

Typically, a sleep study is appropriate and recommended when you exhibit a multiple of the following conditions:

  • Snoring;
  • Waking tiredness;
  • Frontal headaches;
  • Fatigue;  and,
  • Daytime sleepiness

  A sleep study is definitely recommended when the prior conditions exist and the following conditions are also noted:
  • Large neck circumference;
  • Hypertension;
  • High Body Mass Index;
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Loss of libido or impotence;and,
  • Acid reflux.

If you exhibit these symptoms and your doctors doesn't refer you for a sleep study, make a specific request for a sleep study. 

Very often people with sleep disorders are treated for the evident condition or symptoms, rather than the underlying sleep disorder.  A sleep study will confirm whether a sleep disorder exists and will determine the nature and severity of the condition at the same time.  An appropriate form of treatment can then prescribed and progress can be monitored thereafter against the initial sleep study results.

For more information on sleep studies, click here.