Sleep Apnoea Test in Agartala

Loud snoring with daytime exhaustion is the pattern that most often leads to a sleep study. A polysomnography study records a full night of sleep so the question can be answered with measurements rather than impressions.

What the study records

Several things at once, through sensors placed on the skin before you settle:

• Brain activity, so the stages of sleep can be identified.
• Breathing — airflow and the effort of the chest and abdomen.
• Blood oxygen level through the night.
• Heart rhythm, and movement of the legs and eyes.

Read together, these show whether breathing is interrupted during sleep, how often, how long each interruption lasts and what it does to your oxygen level — which is what separates ordinary snoring from something that needs treating.

Who is usually referred

People who snore heavily and wake unrefreshed; people told they stop breathing in their sleep; people falling asleep during the day despite a full night in bed; and those with morning headaches or unexplained daytime fatigue. A study may also be arranged where another condition is being assessed and sleep is part of the picture — see sleep studies.

We do not decide this from a webpage. Book a consultation and the study is arranged if it would actually answer the question.

How the night goes

You arrive in the evening and the sensors are attached — this takes time but is painless, and none of it goes into you. You then sleep. Most people sleep less well than at home and worry that this ruins the study; it usually does not, because a representative sample of the night is enough.

Come showered, with clean, dry hair and no oil or heavy cream. Bring your usual night clothes, your medicines, and anything that helps you sleep in an unfamiliar room. Avoid tea, coffee and alcohol that evening, and skip the afternoon nap. In the morning the sensors come off and you go straight to your day.

Availability and the report

An overnight study occupies a room and staff for the whole night, so it is scheduled rather than walked into — ask about current availability when you book. The recording is reviewed by our specialist and the report shared with you or your referring doctor.

Where sleep and seizures are both in question, a video EEG may be the more useful study, and your neurologist will say which. What an overnight study costs, and why, is explained in test prices and what is included.