Types of Sleep Studies
To diagnose sleep-related problems, doctors may use one or more of the following sleep studies:
- A polysomnogram (PSG) is an overnight sleep study that records brain activity, eye movements, heart rate, and blood pressure. It also records the amount of oxygen in your blood, how much air is moving through your nose while you breathe, snoring, and chest movements that show whether you’re making an effort to breathe.
A PSG can be broken down into two different types of studies. The first one is a Baseline which is a diagnostic test to diagnose what type of sleep disorder. The second is the Positive Airway Pressure (PAP) Titration to determine the optimal pressure setting for a PAP device.
- A multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) is a daytime sleep study that measures how sleepy you are. It records brain activity to show various stages of sleep. It also shows how long it takes you to fall asleep.
- A maintenance of wakefulness test (MWT) is a daytime sleep study that measures your ability to stay awake. Results may be used to show whether your inability to stay awake is a public or personal safety concern or to check your response to treatment.
