Pesky, I've never had one done, but I don't think you need to worry about noise and lights. The hospital in which I gave birth had a sleep study area at the end of maternity floor (cause and effect? :)) and when walking there for exercise, we were told to be very quiet. It was more like a hotel setting and the rooms had blackout curtains, big normal beds (not hospital-style) and soft furnishings. The whole idea is for you to get to sleep so they can see how you do, so they want you to STAY asleep for a good night. The only thing is that you'll be connected to the monitoring machines by wires, so you'd have to get used to being connected as you fall asleep. I'm sure if you Google "sleep study" you'd find out more.

I've never had one done, but have accompanied someone else to give them a ride, so I was able to see the room and some of the explanation, and my MD wants me to have one (but I'm putting it off, I already know why I don't sleep so well. ;) At our local hospital the room the study is done in is made to look like a room in someone's home. A bit cozier than a hotel. It's actually rather nice. TV, bathroom, shower, books, etc. Nice bed, not like a hospital bed. Techs hook up electrodes to monitor activity and are able to observe visually IIRC (but patient can't see their monitor screen, so it's not disruptive). As it was explained to when I was there, no one is coming in every few hours to check on you. IIRC it's done via remote monitoring because the objective is to monitor as typical-for patient night of sleep as possible, rather than disturb it. It's not like a typical hospital stay as if you were an inpatient where they're bugging you at all hours for BP or blood draws!

Did I hear Sleep Study?! Oh man do I love sleep studies! That's one of the things that I miss when I was the MA for a Pulmonoligist/ Sleep Dr.

We had a sleep lab where each room was separate and 'hotel' like so no interuptions or anything like that. You pretty much got wired up and went to bed. Pretty much just like Moonshadow described.

Sometimes we would prescribe a bit of a sleep aid in case someone was to apprehensive to fall asleep but typicall it wasn't ever a problem. Often the lab techs and Dr. only needed a few hrs. to get a decent report and we would go from there.

If you are not having a split study done and it is determine dthat you do have Sleep Apnea then you will schedule to go back to the lab another night to determine the proper setting for a sleep apnea machine.

If it's determined early on in your initial Sleep Test that you do have Sleep Apnea it is not uncommon for them to just begin th enext test so that you don't have to go back to the lab for a second night.

I'd really like to go back to work solely in the sleeb lab on a part time basis.

Yes, twice. Once to test for sleep apnea, and after the diagnosis returned second time- to test mask and the cpap machine - they adjust it remotely from their console while you sleep in order to find the pressure that stops the apnea.
They ONLY come in if an electrode falls off or if you have sleep apnea so badly they put a mask on you right away.The techs always knock and turn the light on if they have to come in.
The electrodes are stuck on your head with sticky goo( washes right out) and electrodes are on your chest and back-sticky pads)
Hey medusa was a good look!
My husband has had sleep studies too.
DHs doc was associated with one hospital and mine with another.
It was totally worth it to sleep.
No worries.

Oh thanks for the feedback all. I'm pretty sure I don't have sleep apnea...but they want to do the study anyway. It'd be interesting to see why I don't sleep at night (I have a good idea...DH bed hog, fans on all freaking night, stuffy room, clickclickclick of dog nails on the floor outside our bedroom, hereditary early waking insomnia, overactive mind, allergies & dry sinuses, badly arthritic knee, inability to relax...I could go on, but stopping breathing is not on my list)

There have been studies to show that there may be genetic links to how well you sleep or don't sleep!

I have had 2 sleep studies, the first one was 2 years ago in a hospital. The last one was just last week. The hospital recently moved their sleep study lab to a wing in a nearby Marriott hotel. It was a very comfortable setting. Yes there are lots of wires but I need to take an Ambien before in order to sleep through the procedure. I never in a million years thought I had sleep apnea, but apparently I have a severe case. I'll be getting my cpap machine shortly. I tried one 2 years ago for six months but I couldn't adapt. I really need it so I'm trying again. It sounds like you have many of the same sleep (or not sleep) issues that I have. arthritis pain, worries, and an 18 yr old who thinks shes 25. But underneath all of that I stop breathing over 40 time an hour and don't ever realize it. Get the sleep study, you might find out that there are more things going on than you realize. Hopefully you'll come out fine. Good Luck, it's not that bad.

I was surprised to find out I had sleep apnea- I lost a bet with my DH on it too. Mine is not as severe as Judiegals or my DHs . Now with my cpap,when I sleep, I sleep- I dont wake myself up over and over again all night- which is what apnea does to you and is bad for your heart.
It occurs in young, thin healthy kids/ young adults too. The worst thing was walking into 7/11 with pigeon poop looking stuff in my hair for a cup of coffee for the 20 minute ride home, But hey it was 5:30am( they dont keep you long) and it was only me and the cashier and I wanted that coffee.

I beat you all - I've had five. (DH has had one.) Facilities vary DRASTICALLY so you may wish to visit the facility you will be going to before your study; SleepHealth Centers (a privately owned chain that many hospitals contract their sleep studies out to) had BY FAR the best facilities IME: incredibly comfy beds, TVs, reading materials, sound/lightproof rooms (or nightlights if you wanted them), an evening snack and light breakfast (muffins, etc.), and adjustable times if you are like me and don't fall asleep until 4am instead of the convenient-for-THEM 9-10pm.

The sleep studies I had in two hospitals (Portsmouth Regional in NH and Brigham & Womens in Boston) sucked - hard beds, noise, no TVs, nothing to read, shared bathrooms. B&W was especially awful because they forced me to sleep flat on my back, on a flat bed, with a flat pillow. (I NEVER sleep on my back - four sleep studies proved it - and was in agony when I got up in the morning.) They wouldn't let me take my pain or sleep meds because supposedly it would "mess up the results". Halfway through the night the tech came in insisting I had "terrible" sleep apnea and started sticking CPAP masks on my face and expecting me to get right back to sleep while I felt like I was suffocating from this forced air and on the verge of panic attacks. It was pretty bad. I sent their results, along with the other four studies, to another sleep specialist and he was like "WTF? You don't have sleep apnea. You do have a crapload of other sleep dysfunctions, but you most definitely NOT have sleep apnea under your typical sleep conditions.")

I advise buying a tube of Prell shampoo to get the goop out of your hair, especially if you have longer hair, although if your hair is colored Prell will strip/dull the color. Personally, I just found it preferable to slap on a hat and go home to my own bathroom, since it can take a few washings (and some digging with your nails) to get it all off - I think they use one kind of goo in some areas and another kind of goo in others, because in some spots it came right off and others it was waxy and hard to remove.

I think the most embarrassing part was that you have to call the tech every time you had to go to the bathroom because you had to be detached from some of your rigging and if you forgot and got up yourself all kinds of alarms went off. I go about every hour at night (interstitial cystitis) and it was a pain to get the tech, and I could just hear them thinking "again?!. LOL

Well, sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder and much more common than people think. It does sometimes seem genetic, however itâÂÂs not confirmed. The tests conducted at Riverview Medical centerâÂÂs sleep center in NJ are quite thorough. They have rooms specifically designed to create an ambience of calmness. They play soft music and have TV sets to make the person feel relaxed, while at the same time they have you attached to sophisticated machines, which monitor your heart beats, movements, blood pressure, etc. They can usually give you results after just one session.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sleep Center NJ

Tammi that sounds like the hospital based sleep centers here in Baltimore.
So Pesky- how did it turn out??