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Think Twice About At-Home Sleep Studies

Joanna Galezowska, MD, Neurologist and Board Certified Sleep Specialist

Posted: April 1, 2008

Americans are getting less sleep than ever before, averaging fewer than 6.7 hours per night rather than the recommended 7.5 to 8 hours. And recent studies have proven that the effects of sleep deprivation can be detrimental.

It’s estimated that 40 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, insomnia, narcolepsy and restless legs syndrome. Typically, people who suffer from a sleep disorder have problems falling and staying asleep or problems staying awake, and trouble adhering to a regular sleep schedule, or they experience sleep-disruptive behaviors. Untreated sleep disorders can reduce daytime productivity, increase people’s risk of accidents, and put people at increased risk for illness.

New at-home sleep studies may seem like a less expensive, time-saving alternative to undergoing a traditional overnight sleep study in a clinic setting, but people should be aware that these studies oftentimes fail to detect a sleep disorder. In fact, research has shown that 20 percent of at-home sleep studies provide inaccurate results.

Unlike a traditional sleep study conducted at a clinic, where a technologist observes the patient from a satellite room, people who opt to undergo an at-home study are left unattended and often are required to apply the electrodes that monitor their sleep themselves. This practice can lead to a significant rate of failure.

Although an at-home sleep study may seem like a convenient alternative, the accuracy and technology of these tests are greatly limited. Unless a sleep disorder like obstructive sleep apnea presents severe symptoms, at-home sleep studies often return inconclusive test results and fail to motivate people to get the medical attention they need.

Since it opened in 1984, Columbia St. Mary’s accredited Milwaukee Regional Sleep Disorder Centers in Milwaukee has conducted more than 10,000 overnight sleep studies. That number is indicative of the growing awareness of sleep disorders and society’s realization of the impact that poor sleep can have on overall health and daily living.

Study after study has shown that insufficient sleep can have both physical and mental consequences, compromising people’s immune systems, impairing their ability to think, to handle stress and to moderate their emotions.

Although research indicates that the brain tries to compensate for lack of sleep, its function is quickly compromised. People who don’t get adequate rest have a harder time concentrating and remembering things, and their decision-making and problem-solving skills are impaired. Researchers also found that sleep-deprived people are more prone to mood swings – going from short-tempered to giddy in a matter of seconds. Eventually, insufficient sleep can cause people to hallucinate.

Over time, sleep deprivation can lead to:

• Depression
• Heart disease
• Hypertension
• Irritability
• Tremors

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