Things to Know About Home Sleep Testing Devices
Posted by Milu Balan on
Sleep is reduced mental and physical activity followed by dynamic changes in the body and consciousness. It comprises different phases, and as you move through them, your breathing, blood pressure and body temperature drop and rise. The muscle tension usually stays the same as when you are awake - except during the REM phases, representing up to a quarter of your sleep. During these, most major muscle groups decrease significantly. But if the throat muscles relax too much, the airways collapse and become blocked, resulting in obstructive sleep apnea.
Your air supply gets constantly disrupted due to sleep apnea, which causes blood oxygen levels to fall. Then you're coughing, gasping, breathing. This can happen hundreds of times a night, and the ill effects are severe because our body tries to pump blood quicker to counter the lack of oxygen. Fluctuating levels of oxygen often increase plaque in the arteries and raise the risk of cardiovascular disease., hypertension, and stroke.
Then there is the fatigue of never getting a full night's sleep coupled with the loss of memory, anxiety, and depression. Lack of sleep also leads to traffic accidents that can lead to inattention. If you have symptoms of sleep apnea, your doctor may ask you to do a sleep apnea test called a polysomnography. You can perform this test in a sleep disorder centre or even at home with the help of a sleep tracker or sleep study device.
A polysomnography - or sleep study - is a multi-component test that electronically transmits and records specific physical activity. In contrast, you sleep with the help of sleep test machines or sleep trackers. A qualified sleep specialist reviews recordings to determine if you have apnea or another sleep disorder.
If sleep apnea is determined, you may be asked to perform further tests to determine the best treatment option.
What to Expect During a Sleep Study
On the night of your sleep study, if you are in a sleep centre lab, you will be assigned to a private room in the sleep centre or hospital. Near the bedroom, there will be a central monitoring area, where technicians monitor sleeping patients.
You are connected to sleep test machines that seem uncomfortable initially, but with time, most people fall asleep with little to no difficulty.
More portable home sleep testing equipment for determining sleep apnea is available at TenTabs to help you get your diagnosis at home, especially for less complicated cases or situations.
List Of Best Selling Home Sleep test Machines
Philips Alice PDx Portable Sleep Diagnostic System
The Alice PDx portable diagnostic recording sleep study device tracks diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea in polysomnography and sleep disorder studies. Patients can be tested with this equipment at the hospital or at home.
Philips Respironics Alice Night One
The Alice NightOne is an easy-to-use home sleep study machine that offers the confidence of sensors that meet recommended industry standards and help patients perform the study correctly the first night.
Bmc Yh-600b Polywatch Cpap Sleep Apnea Testing Device
YH-600B Pro is a sleep apnea testing device that records the following data: nasal airflow of the patient, snoring, saturation of blood oxygen, pulse, breathing, location of the body and movement of the wrist during sleep. It can also be connected to a CPAP system to record and display continuous positive airway pressure. The unit uses such recordings to produce a report that can help diagnose sleep-disordered breathing or further clinical research. The intention of this sleep test machine is for the supervised hospital/institutional environment and unsupervised home environment for adults.
During the sleep study, surface electrodes of sleep study devices are mounted on the face and scalp, and the measuring device collects registered electrical signals. These signals, generated by brain and muscle activity, are then digitally recorded. The belts will be placed around your chest and abdomen to measure your breathing. A bandage oximeter probe will be placed on the finger to measure the amount of oxygen in the blood.
Other Tests And Sleep Study Devices For Sleep Apnea
- EEG (electroencephalogram) to measure and record brainwave activity.
- EMG (electromyogram) to record muscle activity such as face spasms, teeth grinding and leg movements, and to determine the presence of REM sleep on the stage. During REM sleep, intense dreams usually occur when the brain undergoes intensified activity.
- EOG (electro-oculogram) to record eye movements. These movements are important in determining the different stages of sleep, particularly in the REM stage.
- ECG (electrocardiogram) to record heart rate and rhythm.
- Nasal airflow sensor to record airflow.
- Snoring microphone to record snoring activity.