Should I get a sleep study?
I’m 13 years old and have been constantly tired for almost a year now. I’ve been tested and i don’t have anemia or any thyroid conditions. I don’t snore even though both of my parents do, and i was wondering if a sleep study would help me find out what’s wrong. Also, I would like to know what happens during a sleep study.
Thank you!
Tagged with: 13 years • anemia • parents • sleep • sleep study • thyroid • thyroid conditions
Filed under: Sleep Apnea Symptoms
What a sleep study does is analyzes your sleep stages, how efficient your sleep is, and how well you breathe at night while you sleep. This is done by placing electrodes on your scalp, chin, chest, and legs. Usually, there is a small microphone placed on your neck to see if you are snoring. A technician will monitor and record events while you sleep and will generate a report to send to a sleep doctor for a diagnosis.
I have been working in sleep centers for the past year or so. Go to your regular doctor and ask if he can refer you to a sleep doctor. The sleep doctor should meet with you and they usually interview you to see whether its your sleep hygiene that is making you excessively tired or something else.
He or she may send you for a sleep study. Usually this is a one night diagnostic procedure where the data is collected and presented to the doctor. If you test positive for a potential sleep disorder, you might have to return for a second night or potentially an entire day (to test for hypersomnolence- which is being excessively tired and falling asleep during the day).