Polysomnogram

Please review 48 hours prior to your study

About the Polysomnogram Study:

A polysomnogram is an overnight observational study utilized to evaluate a variety of sleep disorders, including obstructive sleep apnea, periodic limb movements of sleep, narcolepsy, and excessive sleepiness, unusual nocturnal behaviors, and insomnia. You should arrive at the lab at 9 pm and plan on remaining until about 6:30 am the following morning. Please notify the staff in advance if this does not correspond to your usual sleep-wake schedule. Monitoring devices will be placed to measure your respirations, chest movements, eye movements, limb movements, blood oxygenation, heart rate, and brain waves. Despite the monitoring equipment, most patients do not find it to be as difficult to fall asleep as they expect.

Note: If you are unable to get in and out of bed on your own, a hospital setting may be more appropriate.

Before the Study:

1. Wash your hair well within 36 hours prior to testing.

a. Do not apply hair products or body lotion.

b. You may shower in the laboratory before leaving in the morning.

2. Please eat a regular dinner before coming into the lab.

3. Limit caffeine to 1 beverage before noon on the day of the test. If you drink more than 2 caffeinated beverages / day, it is advisable to wean yourself off over several days to avoid rebound headaches.

4. Avoid all alcoholic beverages for 24 hours prior to your test

5. Please bring pajamas, toiletries, a good book, a favorite pillow, an iPad or kindle, and any other items that will make you feel more relaxed and enhance the possibility of recording a representative night’s sleep. We do have Wi-Fi for you to use.

6. Please don’t forget your referral and any co-payment; you will be informed if you have an out of pocket expense greater than $50.

Note: Please give us at least 24 hours notice if you must cancel your appointment. There is a long list of patients who need studies. We appreciate your cooperation. A late cancellation fee of $375 will be assessed if you fail to cancel.

PLEASE call and schedule a follow-up appointment with your referring physician to go over the results of your study. Your physician will have the preliminary results 5 – 10 working days following your study.

Please arrive at 9:00 PM

If you are not parking in the Barlow Building Parking Garage, please enter through the front of the building to check in with the security guard.

Barlow Building Parking can be accessed from the back of the building and closes early, 8:30 PM, on the weekend