Most people will not have a “normal” night’s sleep when they spend a night in a sleep lab for testing. However, a sleep study provides important information about what occurs during sleep and is designed to identify factors that cause sleep disruption. Typically, a study is done to identify breathing problems or limb movement problems during sleep. Once asleep, being hooked up to the wires does not prevent these types abnormal events from occurring. However, it is important that a person falls asleep during the test. If a patient has difficulty falling asleep in my sleep centers, we give them a short-acting sleeping medication to help them sleep and ensure that we get the information needed to establish a proper diagnosis. The medications we use do not cause abnormalities during sleep. It is important to mention that a sleep study is not designed to identify causes for difficulty falling asleep. If a person’s main sleep problem is difficulty falling asleep, treatment can be initiated without a sleep study, but does require a detailed assessment by a Medical Doctor, Nurse practitioner or Physician Assistant who understands the issues of Sleep Medicine.
