Booking a home sleep test is taking a step in your journey towards quality sleep. Home sleep test is used to collect information about your sleep and help diagnose sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder that happens when a person’s breathing is interrupted during sleep.
A home sleep test is done through a simple diagnostic kit that can be worn by you at night in the comfort of your own home. It records important parameters with regard to your sleep.
It is the easiest and efficient way to get your sleep study done instead of staying in a hospital environment to do a hospital based sleep study, especially in this COVID era.
Who Should Take A Home Sleep Test?
Home sleep study is prescribed to those who complain of following symptoms:
-Excessive drowsiness during the day
-Waking up gasping or choking
-Chronic fatigue
-Dry mouth or a sore throat on waking up
-Morning headache
-Lack of concentration
-Mood swings
-Depression
-High blood pressure
-Forgetfulness
-Swelling in the legs
How Does The Home Sleep Test Work?
Home sleep test records your breathing pattern, pulse rate and oxygen levels in blood and this data later is analysed for cessation of breathing and its impact on pulse rate and oxygen.
Quality sleep is one of the most important prerequisites for good health. So if you have decided to take a step towards a healthy life, booking your Home Sleep Test can be a good starting point. Here are 5 things you must consider before you do a Home Sleep Test:
1. Do not sleep during the day: If you are doing your HST tonight, then it is important you are able to sleep well. Avoid your cat naps during the day. Sleeping during the day may delay onset of sleep when you hit the bed at night.
2. Do not take caffeine products after 4 pm: It is well known that caffeine tends to wake us up. Caffeine is a stimulant and delays onset of sleep. Hence avoid caffeinated drinks such as tea and coffee at least 3-4 hours before you snooze.
3. Limit water intake 2 hours before bed: HST needs to analyse your sleep and if sleep is interrupted in between then it may take some time again to go back to sleep. But you must know it is totally okay to wake up as the sensor in the device lets the technician who is reading your data know you were in an upright position for that amount of time.
4. Do not exercise in the evening: Exercise causes the body to release endorphins, increases core body temperature and increases heart rate all of which tend to cause alertness in many people. If you are one of them, you must surely avoid exercise close to bed time.
5. Do not take stress: The whole point of the test is to analyse your sleep. Hence, restrict excessive worrying and any avoidable stress.
A painless and easy-to-perform procedure at the comfort of your own home
Depending on the company you have chosen to get your HST kit, you can look for instructive videos on YouTube as to how you need to wear the device. Follow the steps and you are good to go. If you are not satisfied with one time usage of the kit, you can repeat the test again with fresh batteries.
If you or any of your loved ones are suffering from sleep apnea, please ensure to take the free sleep assessment to check on your sleep or book home sleep study to definitively identify if you have sleep apnea or not. This will empower you to take the next step towards reaching out to an expert and get therapy to treat and manage sleep apnea.
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Disclaimer: The information provided in this article in the form of text, tips, suggestions, and products, comprises general advice for consumers. It is a part of the public awareness initiative by ResMed. 1mg does not endorse any brands and is not responsible for their efficacy.
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