Sleep Apnoea can be thought of as an extreme form of snoring. But unlike snoring, which is mostly a relationship or quality of life issue, Sleep Apnoea is a disease with significant health implications. Snoring and Sleep Apnoea both result from vibration of soft tissue in the throat. When we fall asleep, our muscles relax, and as we breathe through the relaxed tissues in the throat, they tend to vibrate. If they vibrate a little, we snore a little. If they vibrate a lot, we snore a lot. Sleep apnoea is when they vibrate enough so that the tissue actually blocks the airway.
Sleep Apnoea is dangerous because it prevents you from getting normal, restorative sleep. Every time your airway is blocked, your brain awakens you (very briefly) to re-open the airway. This disrupts normal sleep patterns and cycles. In addition, the stop breathing episodes can cause dangerous decreases in blood oxygen levels, robbing your brain and vital organs of the oxygen they require. Sleep apnoea increases your risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, obesity, erectile dysfunction and even depression and anxiety. As such, Sleep apnoea must be treated.
Did your doctor tell you to get a sleep study? Are you concerned that your snoring may be interfering with your sleep quality or that it could be a symptom of a more serious issue? A home sleep study is a convenient and affordable way to get the facts.
Snore Solutions International now offers home sleep studies. Performed in the comfort of your own home, our sleep studies are more convenient, less expensive, and more representative of your true sleeping habits.
A lab-based sleep study, also known as polysomnography (PSG), is a study used to diagnose sleep disorders. While you sleep, electronic equipment monitors your heart rate and rhythm, breathing patterns and other bodily functions.
Traditional sleep studies involve spending the night at an unfamiliar sleep lab, with various electrodes and wires connected to your body. While accurate, these tests are expensive, inconvenient and many patients have difficulty getting a good night’s sleep in the unfamiliar environment.
Our home sleep studies use a simple device that you take home and wear to bed. Just bring it back the next day so we can evaluate and interpret the data to discuss the best treatment options for you.
To undergo a sleep study at home, patients are evaluated by our medical staff and sent home with a portable device that is worn to bed for one night. The simple device fits on your wrist like a watch and connects to the fingertips. You simply push a button and enjoy a good night’s sleep.
The device can be returned the next day, and the data is immediately available for interpretation by our board certified ear nose and throat doctors and can be acted upon in the same visit.