Sensors on your scalp, face, chest, and legs record brain waves, breathing, blood oxygen, heart rate, and movement through one night - at a sleep center, or at home for straightforward apnea screening.
The wires feel strange but do not hurt, and most people sleep enough for a valid result. The readout counts your breathing interruptions and drives the treatment decision.
What to do
Common questions
What happens at a sleep study?
A sleep study - polysomnography - records what your body does overnight to diagnose disorders like sleep apnea. At a sleep center, a technologist attaches electrodes and sensors to your scalp, eyelids, chin, chest, and legs, then you simply sleep in a private room while the equipment records your breathing rate, blood oxygen, heart rate, brain waves, and leg and eye movements. The wires feel strange but do not hurt, and most people sleep enough for a valid study even in the unfamiliar setting. For straightforward apnea screening, many people now get a home sleep test instead - a simpler kit with a breathing sensor, oxygen clip, and chest belt you set up yourself in your own bed. The results map your sleep stages, count breathing interruptions per hour, and drive the treatment decision - for apnea, usually a CPAP machine trial. Tips: skip caffeine and naps that day, bring your own pillow if it helps, and shower before arriving since the sensors stick to clean skin best. Pymander, a free AI doctor available 24/7 by text, can help you interpret a result.