Whenever you schedule an in home sleep study, you’re looking for signs of trouble. Some people have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep. Others sleep through the night and still wake up fatigued. This could be related to things like iron or other nutrient deficiencies. If you’ve ruled these problems out and still experience fatigue, it could be sleep apnea. Sleep apnea happens when patients stop breathing during the night. Episodes could last seconds or minutes, and they could happen hundreds of times each night. When the body recognizes this, it jolts you partially awake. For many patients, the jolt isn’t enough to fully wake them up.

Sleep apnea patients don’t just experience fatigue. If left untreated, it can also contribute to things like heart disease, diabetes, and hearing loss. Many patients come in knowing it might be sleep apnea because they’ve been told about their snoring. They still need the test to confirm and a test to calibrate their sleep apnea machine.

For some patients, this process can be combined into one night. Half the night is spent testing for sleep apnea. The other half is spent calibrating a CPAP machine for future use. This cuts down on costs for patients. For those with a particularly busy schedule or patients who are always on the road, this is much more convenient. Normally, patients would bring different parts of their sleep routine with them to a lab. With in-home studies, you can have sleep technicians come to you in a familiar environment.

How Does a Split Night at Home Sleep Test Work?

When your sleep specialist is confident you have obstructive sleep apnea, they can order a split night study. How would doctors know for sure? They would look at any risk factors you might have for sleep apnea. They might’ve also seen signs on a previous HSAT. In these cases, sleep technologists observe your test in real time to see if you’re ready for treatment. The criteria used are established by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). Once technologists identify sleep-breathing episodes, a sleep specialist will then start CPAP therapy.

The sensors you wear stay throughout the whole night. Specialists continue to measure key vitals with different levels of air flow. At the end of the night, you’ll be “unhooked.” A sleep specialist will then discuss their recommendations with you in a separate appointment. Unlike other sleep tests, the patient is obligated to provide a certain amount of proof they qualify.