Sleep apnea is a disorder that causes people to stop breathing for brief periods during sleep. It affects the quality of your sleep and may lead to other health problems, such as high blood pressure and heart disease.
To diagnose sleep apnea, a doctor or sleep specialist might recommend a sleep study. A sleep study uses electrodes to monitor brain waves, breathing, and movement while you sleep.
Polysomnography
Polysomnography is a procedure in which a sleep technologist monitors and records physiologic parameters during sleep. The procedure includes an electroencephalogram (EEG), electrooculogram, electromyogram (EMG), heart rhythm, and airflow/respiratory effort monitoring.
The test may be performed at a specialized sleep center or hospital. A sleep technologist will place sensors on your scalp, face, and chest to record brainwave activity, eye movement, muscle activity, body movements, nasal/oral airflow, and respiratory effort throughout the night.
If you have signs of sleep apnea, the technologist may use a positive airway pressure machine to enhance breathing during the study. This can increase oxygen levels in the blood and help to prevent sleep apnea episodes.
The technician will remove the sensors in the morning, allowing you to leave the sleep center and continue with your normal daily activities. It could take a few days or weeks to receive your polysomnography results, which a doctor will review with you.
Medication
Modafinil is a medication that helps you sleep less during the day. Modalert 200 is used to treat excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) due to narcolepsy or obstructive sleep apnea.
The dosage of modafinil depends on your condition, severity, and medical history. It is usually taken by mouth, with or without food as directed by your doctor.
In patients with narcolepsy, Waklert 150 Australia (Armodafinil) improves subjective and objective measures of alertness and reduces sedation. Several randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies have shown that modafinil is effective in narcolepsy.
Although modafinil can help narcoleptics to wake up and stay awake, it is not a cure for narcolepsy. In fact, narcoleptics treated with modafinil may develop other symptoms of sleep disorders, such as depression and anxiety.
Modafinil has recently received attention in the field of sleep medicine due to its ability to promote wakefulness. As a result, armodafinil has the potential to be an important treatment for the excessive diurnal somnolence (EDS) that can accompany sleep disorders such as narcolepsy, sleep apnea, idiopathic hypersomnolence, and other medical conditions characterized by poor sleep quality and/or quantity.
Home Testing
If you have a health condition that can cause sleep disorders, your doctor may recommend an at-home test before going to a lab for a full sleep study. Home tests are usually less expensive, easier to schedule, and more convenient than in-lab testing.
At-home tests can be a valuable tool for identifying and treating obstructive sleep apnea. They measure bodily metrics like respiratory effort, heart rate, oxygen saturation, snoring, and body position.
These metrics help sleep specialists distinguish OSA from other sleep disorders. Often, the number of times you stop breathing while asleep is used to calculate an OSA severity score.
Depending on the device you use, you'll wear sensors on your chest, abdomen, and under your nose that monitor respiratory effort, airflow, oxygen levels, and snoring. It will also measure your body's position and movements during sleep, and the data is sent to a server that's interpreted by a sleep specialist.
In-Lab Testing
A sleep study at a sleep center or lab (also called polysomnography or PSG) is the most accurate test for diagnosing sleep apnea. In the sleep lab, a technician or other clinician attaches a number of wires to your body that monitor breathing patterns and other vital signs.
These include brain waves, eye movements, airflow, chest and abdominal movement, blood oxygen levels, and heart rate and rhythm. It's important that your doctor tells you exactly what each part of the test will be and what data is being collected, so you can understand what's going on during the test.
The average cost of a home sleep study is less than $200, whereas the cost of an in-lab test can be upwards of $1,000. If you have insurance coverage, this may help reduce the cost of the test.
Treatment
If a sleep study shows you have sleep apnea, your doctor will discuss treatment options. These treatments usually include lifestyle changes such as losing weight and avoiding smoking and alcohol use.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) occurs when muscles in the back of your throat relax too much during sleep. This condition is the most common type of sleep apnea and is typically treated with CPAP.
Other treatment options may include oral appliances, nasal devices, or surgery. These procedures can reduce tissue in the back of your throat, pull your tongue forward, or insert a nerve stimulator to open your airway while you sleep.
A CPAP machine (also known as continuous positive airway pressure) is the most commonly prescribed and widely used treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. This device consists of a mask that attaches to a machine that gently blows air into your airways while you sleep.