At Melbourne Respiratory and Sleep Services, sleep studies are conducted to identify conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, narcolepsy, and other sleep-related disorders. Proper diagnosis through sleep studies enables tailored treatment plans to improve sleep quality and overall health.

Sleep studies can be either performed in a controlled environment where patients are observed overnight or during specified naps, or at home.

The type of study appropriate to you will be arranged following consultation with your treating specialist.

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Sleep Studies

Sleep studies

  • A home sleep study involves having monitoring equipment fitted by one of our trained scientists before taking it home for the night, ensuring that you can sleep in a familiar environment with the assurance that everything has been fitted properly.

    The equipment includes electrodes on the head to measure brain and muscle electrical activity, small cannulae in the nostrils for airflow as well as bands to measure breathing effort.

    We also monitor your oxygen levels and heart rate.

    The data is recorded on a small device and the following day the equipment is removed and returned for analysis by our scientists and your treating specialist.

  • A hospital based sleep study involves an admission overnight to a hospital sleep laboratory for monitoring. This has the advantage of overnight staff to assist with any of your needs and to ensure the quality of the study is maintained.

    The equipment includes electrodes on the head to measure brain and muscle electrical activity, small cannulae in the nostrils for airflow as well as bands to measure breathing effort, as well as leg electrodes, heart rhythm and oxygen levels. There is also video monitoring to assist with accurate measurement of sleep position.

    Typically admissions is around 6:30-7PM, with discharge the following morning at around 7AM.

    The results will then be analysed by a sleep scientist and your treating specialist.

  • A multiple sleep latency test is used to assist with the investigation of excessive sleepiness not explained by nocturnal factors, including the diagnosis of narcolepsy.

    This test involves an overnight sleep study, followed by the opportunity to nap on four or five occasions at two-hourly intervals the following day. The average time it takes you to fall asleep as well as the type of sleep, particularly focusing on the presence of REM (rapid eye movement sleep) is recorded.

    The data are then analysed by sleep scientists and your treating physician to assist with your diagnosis and management plan.

  • A maintenance of wakefulness test (MWT) is a daytime sleep test which is performed to assess your ability to remain awake in a non-stimulating environment.

    Four 40 minute sessions are typically performed spaced at two-hourly intervals across a day.

    This may be preceded by an overnight sleep study.

    A MWT is commonly used to measure alertness and ability to stay awake during the day, and can be used to assess the severity of sleepiness as well as to monitor the effectiveness of treatment of sleep disorders.

  • Your treating specialist will analyse the data from your sleep test and use this information combined with the clinical assessment to come up with an individualised treatment plan for you.