Who Needs a Sleep Study?
If you often feel very tired during the
dayeven though you spent enough time in bed to be well restedtalk
to your doctor. This is a common sign of a sleep disorder. A number of sleep
disorders can disrupt your sleep, leaving you sleepy during the day.
Other common signs of sleep disorders include the
following.
- It takes you more than 30 minutes to fall asleep
at night.
- You awaken often during the night and then have
trouble falling back to sleep, or you awaken too early in the morning.
- You feel sleepy during the day and fall asleep
within 5 minutes if you have an opportunity to nap, or you fall asleep at
inappropriate times during the day.
- Your bed partner claims you snore loudly, snort,
gasp, or make choking sounds while you sleep, or your partner notices your
breathing stops for short periods.
- You have creeping, tingling, or crawling feelings
in your legs that are relieved by moving or massaging them, especially in the
evening and when you try to fall asleep.
- You have vivid, dreamlike experiences while
falling asleep or dozing.
- You have episodes of sudden muscle weakness when
you're angry, fearful, or when you laugh.
- You feel as though you can't move when you first
wake up.
- Your bed partner notes that your legs or arms
jerk often during sleep.
- You regularly feel the need to use stimulants to
stay awake during the day.
Describe your signs and symptoms to your doctor.
It's important to note how tired you feel and whether your signs and symptoms
affect your daily routine. Early signs of sleep disorders aren't easy to detect
during routine visits. There are no blood tests for sleep disorders, and the
doctor isn't watching you sleep.
If you've had a sleep disorder for a long time, it
may be hard for you to notice its impact on your daily routine. Using a sleep
diary, such as the one found in
"Your
Guide to Healthy Sleep," may be helpful.
Your doctor can decide whether you need a sleep
study. A sleep study allows your doctor to observe sleep patterns and to
diagnose a sleep disorder, which can then be treated.
Certain medical conditions have been linked to sleep
disorders. These include
heart
failure,
coronary
artery disease,
obesity,
diabetes,
high
blood pressure, and
stroke or
transient ischemic attack (TIA, or "mini-stroke"). If you have
one of these conditions, talk with your doctor about whether it would be
helpful to have a sleep study. |