A doctor will schedule you for a sleep study when they suspect you have a sleep disorder. This shall reveal more info about what you are suffering from. There is a wide range of sleep disorders out there, from the mild ones such as snoring to the more serious ones such as obstructive sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, and sleepwalking.
The sleep study shall involve you wearing a sleep recorder that shall monitor brain activity, heart activity, breathing patterns and any stoppages, blood oxygen levels, limb movement, seeping position, and so many other factors. This study usually happens in a specially designed lab at the hospital, with a sleep scientist there to observe you overnight. We now have portable diagnostic recorders people use at home. This allows you to sleep at home as the devices keep monitoring you. This is the more affordable, more approachable, and more accurate way to test for sleep disorders.
They shall collect the recorded data and study it. You will thus be told of the nature and severity of any sleep disorders you may have. This also gives the right treatment for the condition. It is normally a heavy moment for you to learn of such issues about yourself. To learn what happens when you are asleep can be a scary event. An example is finding out you have obstructive sleep apnea. In this condition, the soft tissue of the upper airway shall collapse, thus not allowing in air as it should. You will not manage to for about ten seconds or even longer. This can happen about thirty times every hour you are asleep. The diminished oxygen levels will cause the sympathetic nervous system to wake you with micro arousal. This awakening shall be enough for you to start breathing, but not so that you are fully awake. When you wake up in the morning, you will feel tired, no matter the fact that you were in bed for a reasonable amount of time. What happened instead was they had a series of short naps, not a proper restful night’s sleep. Learning this is understandably a terrifying moment. The normal reaction is to ask for immediate intervention.
Whenever you suspect there is something wrong with how you sleep, you should get tested. A sleep study in non-invasive, and for the most part comfortable. The only thing that will be different will be you wearing the recording equipment. When they collect data from your sleep cycle, they will tell you more accurately what you are suffering from. There is also no better way to give you the right treatment.