Historically, testing for obstructive sleep apnea has required spending a night in a sleep laboratory, being hooked up to innumerable wires and sensors, and having your sleep “monitored” by a sleep technologist via an infrared camera. This test is called a diagnostic polysomnogram, and it remains the gold standard for obtaining the largest and “cleanest” amount of information on the changes occurring in one’s body during sleep. If the only question, however, is whether or not one has sleep apnea, and if a patient is looking for the easiest, and least intrusive testing solution to answer that question, home sleep testing may be an appropriate option. For a home sleep study Los Angeles clients trust, come to Tower Sleep Medicine.
Home sleep testing involves the patient being given a small and easy-to-use portable electronic device that typically measures only a few inches in size. These devices typically record air breathing patterns, heart rate, oxygen levels, and one or two other parameters depending on the specific technology employed. The patient wears this device in the comfort of their own bedroom for one or two nights, then returns it to our lab. We subsequently download the data, analyze it, and provide the patient with information on the presence or absence of sleep apnea.
