What is a Polysomnography Sleep Study?
Polysomnography (PSG) is a sleep study when a patient is attempting to sleep, falling asleep, or during sleep. The doctor will monitor a patient’s sleep patterns and record the data with respect to sleep. It can be performed in a sleep center or hospital.
Sleep technicians screen various functions during polysomnography. Some of these include breathing effort/rate, oxygen levels in the blood, heart rate, electrical activities of muscles, body position, EEG brain waves, eye movement, and airflow of lungs during breathing. Doctors can bill for the sleep study by using CPT code 95810.
How Should You Prepare for a Sleep Study?
Before booking an appointment:
- Do not consume alcohol or other drinks that disturb your sleep.
- Stay awake and avoid naps during the day
- Do not wear lotions, gels, perfume, makeup, etc
- Follow regular diet
- If a patient is on any medication or supplement, consult the doctor, and avoid them temporarily on or before sleep test day.
Get the following while coming to the appointment:
1. Things required for normal bedtime routine in order to prepare yourselves for sleep
2. Sleepwear
What is the test procedure?
During the Test
You will be asleep most of the time during the sleep test, but it is important to know that you should be normal so that the results are accurate.
Pre-Test
You will set up an appointment with a doctor after arriving for a sleep test. There will be paperwork like a consent form and you will have to show a health insurance card and copay if you have one.
The sleep technician will take you into a sleeping lab where you can place your things. The sleep technician will spend around 45 to 60 minutes setting you up for sleep study. Timings may exceed if there are any complications.
If a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) method is followed then at the night you will be given a mask. Before you go to bed, a sleep technician will set a nasal cannula in the nose. It measures airflow while sleeping. A thermistor can be used to measure temperature changes.
Once everything is set up you are left alone which means you can listen to music, watch tv, etc. It is necessary to fall asleep at your usual bedtime. Keep the sleep technician informed. He will support you by connecting a wired box to a computer so that you can be monitored from another room.
There will be a 2-way speaker and a small infrared camera in the sleeping lab. This is necessary to ask for help if you wake up in between.
Just before you fall asleep, the sleep technician will need to examine the equipment. For this, he will test you by asking you to take breaths, snore, move arms and legs, open and close your eyes.
Sleep Aids
Unable to sleep is a general concern for people undergoing sleep study tests. Most of them find it difficult to sleep in an environment where there are wires and other equipment attached to their body.
It is very rare that someone is unable to fall asleep completely. If it is a serious concern then consult a doctor so that he might recommend a medication that doesn’t interfere with the tests known as sleep aids.
Throughout the Test
Once you are asleep, equipment monitors sleep stages, brain waves, breathing patterns, etc. The sleep technician will have a close watch on you from another room. In case if you need to visit the washroom or wake up for some other reason you can contact the technician for help.
If sleep apnea is observed, CPAP is opted to find out the appropriate pressure to improve breathing.
Post-Test
The sleep technician will make sure that you wake up at your regular time. Devices will be removed quickly which takes 10 minutes or so. You might be questioned about your night’s sleep.
Interpreting Results
After reviewing your results the sleep doctor will come to a conclusion that takes time. Sleep study reports might have 5-page data or 100-page data about your sleeping stages heart rate, snoring, muscle movements, oxygen levels, etc
An appointment is fixed with a doctor to review the following aspects of sleep evaluation and discuss the possible treatments. Some of the common entities presented in the report are:
- Sleep efficiency
- Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI)
- Oxygen Desaturation Index (ODI)
- Heart rate
What can You Expect During a Sleep Study?
Daytime sleep studies are more common than overnight sleep studies. So you will sleep at night in the sleep lab or sleep center or hospital. The room is private, quiet, dark, and has an attached bathroom like a hotel room.
Data is collected by a sleep technician in the presence of a small sensor that is attached to the body with an adhesive, low-light camera, a mini sound system that helps you and the technician to communicate and hear with you. The readings are noted and will be evaluated by the physician in the later stages to know how sleep is affected.
The sleep technician may carry a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine. This machine delivers a stream of air constantly to keep airway passages open while the patient falls asleep.
What Can You Expect After a Sleep Study?
After the test, set up an appointment with a physician to check the results in order to decide about further treatment.
Are Sleep Studies Covered by Insurance Plans?
Most of the insurance plans do not cover sleep study expenses. In order to know about the plans check with the respective insurance companies.
How much does a sleep study cost Near Me?
An in-center sleep study test can cost from $500-$3,000, depending on the type of clinic or provider, the geographical location, and the type of provider. With insurance, your co-pay may range from $0-$150, on average.
An out-center sleep study test can cost from $300-$600, depending on the type of clinic or provider, the geographical location, and the type of provider. With insurance, your co-pay may range from $0-$50, on average.
Sleep disorders cause troubling signs that affect energy level, mood, and general health. Sleep study test is important to identify early as it gets tougher over time. Hence, polysomnography detects the oxygen levels in the blood, records brain waves, breathing and heart rate, leg and eye movements during the sleep study.
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Reference:
Polysomnography
Sleep Study Cost