What happens during a sleep study and should you get one?

Memes and jokes abound on social media about all the sleep you aren’t getting — along with all the sleep you wish you were getting.

It’s widely recommended that adults get seven to nine hours of sleep a night, yet a 2020 survey by the National Sleep Foundation showed that more than one-third of responding adults weren’t getting the recommended amount of sleep and felt sleepy during the day at least half the week or more.

Camelia Antoinette Musleh, MD, a neurologist specializing in sleep medicine with Endeavor Health Medical Group, is also the director of the Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital Sleep Lab. The Endeavor Health sleep medicine team includes neurologists and pulmonologists who offer consultations throughout the Chicagoland area. Sleep laboratories are located in Bannockburn, Skokie, Naperville, Lombard, Yorkville, Arlington Heights, and Swedish Hospital in Chicago.

Sleep — quality and quantity — is important for overall good health. Poor sleep can impact functioning at work, personal relationships and participation in social activities, Dr. Musleh said.

“If you have sleep apnea, disrupted sleep or poor quality of sleep, it can lead to things like fatigue or increased headaches or feeling sleepy during the day,” she said. “On top of that, if you have more severe sleep apnea, it has been linked to an increased risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.”

If you decide to meet with a sleep medicine expert at Endeavor Health, you’ll receive a consultation to discuss your sleep issues. After being evaluated at a sleep consultation, you may be asked to do one of two types of sleep studies available: a home sleep study or an on-site sleep study at a sleep laboratory.

• If you complete a home study, you will check out a device from one of the sleep laboratories and sleep at home with the device on for one night. You return the device the next day and a sleep doctor will interpret the data and make a report for you.
• If you complete an on-site study, you will report to one of the sleep laboratories for an overnight sleep study. A technician will attach various wires to you that will measure brain waves, respiratory data, oxygen levels, heart rhythm and leg movements during sleep. There is also video and audio monitoring which allows a technician to see and hear you from their monitoring area outside of the room.  

“We’re looking to see if you’re snoring, do you have sleep apnea, what does your oxygen look like, we look to see if your legs move when you sleep — that can disturb people — we’re looking to make sure your EKG looks OK,” she said.

It’s not just snoring and sleep apnea that Dr. Musleh sees during consultations, although that’s the number one complaint. “We also see a lot of people for insomnia, so trouble falling asleep and difficulty maintaining sleep,” she said.

“We see patients for restless legs, if they have the urge to move their legs before bed or in the middle of the night. We see patients for narcolepsy, although that is less common. The most common complaints are sleep apnea, insomnia and then restless legs.”

Dr. Musleh said that the sleep medicine team often works closely with other disciplines such as psychologists, dentists and ear, nose and throat specialists in order to provide more personalized, comprehensive care for various sleep disorders.