I will explain how it worked for me.

When you first get there....I think I had to be there at 7:00 pm. They show you the room...just like a motel room, it had a double bed, great bedding, room darkening curtains and a sound machine! I sleep with a fan going 31, so I was really happy to see the sound machine.

They asked me to wear a loose t-shirt and pajama pants. They took me into another room, and explained to me all what was going to go on. Showed me all the monitors that they keep track of me on. Then they gave me a sleeping pill, and started hooking me up. There were (I believe) 16 connectors that they placed all over my body and head.

They then took me to bed...okay, this is like 8 in the evening, I figured for SURE I couldn't sleep at that time of night....I did. lol They woke me up about 5:30 in the morning and got me all cleaned up from the connectors. I went home, took a shower and got ready to go to work. (which I had already taken the day off of, figuring I wouldn't have been able to sleep)

I was Very comfy with the whole thing! I don't sleep hard until about 3 in the morning, so I ended up having to go back in another night with the CPAP on to be recorded, I slept even better that night! =)

I LOVE my CPAP! story: Dean and I went on a 4 day get-away in Sept. The first night, I was reading before going to sleep, Dean was already fast asleep. I went to put my CPAP on...nothing!!!!! We had to use an extension cord on it, I thought maybe that was it...nope. Long story short. I was ready to go and buy a new one ANYPLACE the next day! When my laptop was on battery while being on the extension cord, we realized it was a light switch outlet!!! I haven't been so relieved in a LONG time! LOL

Okay, here's my story, just a little different....
Same up to the "they took me to bed" basically. I got there around 9. Here they do a, I think it's called a split night study. If after 1/2 the night they determine you need the CPAP, they hook you up and figure out what pressure you need. Anyway they hook you up to these wires..some on the head to record how deep asleep you are/are not, some on your legs to see if you have restless legs, some on your jaw to see if you clench your teeth or grind them. Some by your eyes I think to tell when you're in REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. I had a sleep number bed even. VERY COMFY. Went right to sleep. About midnight or so, they woke me up and asked me to sleep on my back as i was NOT having any episodes. So I tried sleeping on my back. Well I didn't get a CPAP, didn't need one...so I had to stay the next day for a "nap" study. They would have me lay down every 2 hours for a 1/2 hour to see if I could fall asleep. I'm thinking ya right, I got a pretty good nights sleep, there is NO WAY I can fall asleep, not 4-5 different times. I fell asleep each time within 8 minutes. So although I don't have apnea, I do breathes very shallow, and maybe stop breathing for a bit once or twice a night.

So don't be embarrassed, use this as an excuse to by a nice pair of PJ's (not a nightgown), and bathrobe. And think of it as spending the night at a hotel.

When DH had his, they started trying the CPAP pressures after about 1 1/2 hours, his was so bad. He got to bring one home that next day, I had to wait a couple of weeks. We have two different kinds. If you need one, be aware too that it may take a while to find out what kind of face mask I'll call it, you will need. Make sure what ever kind you get, it works good for YOU. They will tell you that most people do NOT breathe through their mouth, and so you'll only need a nose one. What they don't take into consideration is those people like me who clench their teeth, but leave their lips open, nose ones don't work for me, I need my nose and mouth covered in order to get the benefits of my CPAP (Okay I actually have an APAP, but didn't want to confuse you)
Vickey-MN

This is interesting--I'm glad you posted, Susan. Because of my ongoing "air hunger" I suspect I've started having episodes of apnea. I'm not sure, but it seems like a possibility. Also, I have an appointment with a lung specialist later this month who also happens to run a sleep study unit. So I wouldn't be at all surprised if he (she?) orders a sleep study for me. I, too, am not crazy about this idea. But neither do I want to stop breathing in my sleep.

Vickey, did they give you a sleeping pill like they gave Sandy? Is it optional? I would be very wary of taking a sleeping pill--first of all because I avoid all medications whenever possible because I tend to react to them, and secondly because I imagine sleeping pills would depress the nervous system and increase the odds of apnea.

If I have trouble sleeping, I usually fix it with a small amount of melatonin (a naturally occurring hormone).

Keep sharing your experiences, people!

Alisande, I asked about the sleeping pill. I figured it would not give your 'normal' results. The kind that they used, he said didn't interfere. I really questioned them about taking the sleeping pill, and they had research and all kinds of things that explained this to me.

I was asked if I wanted a sleeping pill. I told them that I take a bunch of meds, and I wasn't sure if I should. They said that it would be all checked out before they would give me anything.

When I went to...and I think most places are like this now...a Sleep Center. A special area in the hospital set up almost (room service..but no food! LOL) like a hotel. There were no 'hospital' noises at all. Very comfy!

I would have LOVED a fancy bed like Vickey's! LOL

My experiences were pretty much like everyone else's above. Be sure to wear loose comfortable PJ pants and top. It was a nice hotel type room. I arrived around 9:30PM. They put on all the wires after I changed into my PJs. I stayed up and read till I was drowsy. I took the pill because I was too nervous to sleep. Don't remember anything after I went to sleep until they wore up at 7AM the next morning.
Clare

No sleep meds for me (remember I found out I can fall asleep in 8 minutes). DH said that the 2nd half of the study was harder for him to sleep because they were adjusting the pressure of the CPAP and that would wake him up, BUT he also got one of his best nights sleep...if that makes any sense.

Vickey-MN

When I went...they didn't tell me to wear PJ's...I took a muu-muu type nightgown.Loose and non see through!LOL!
I didn't think I'd sleep with all the wires either but I did.I even had the TV on low all night.I always sleep with the TV on.I don't think they "see" you.You're hooked up to a computer that they watch and they can hear you.I was sorta leery about going but then I thought"Oh well,they've probably seen and heard it all by now! LOL!"I'm sure there are people out there that snore worse than I do.
That's their job,they're used to us snorers!I'm excited to go tomorrow night to get the machine on..I don't remember what it's like to sleep all night!I can't wait!I'm looking forward to feeling better on Saturday morning!Mine is in a hotel....they have the whole floor for the Sleep Study.I'm going to the Raddison,they also have one at the Hilton but it's farther away from home.I get a free breakfast in the morning.OH and Larry is allowed to stay with me(there's 2 beds) and they are the Sleep Matics.I can't wait til tomorrow night! LOL!

When hubs and I had our sleep studies done, it was on the same night, but they put us in different rooms. As has been said, you're hooked up to all sorts of monitors, but they're not watching you through a camera or anything. At the place where we had ours done (a wing of a hospital yet the rooms looked like hotel rooms or a guest room in someone's home), they could talk to you over a speaker in your room -- though I never did see the speaker itself because it was well hidden.

We were not given or offered any sleeping pills.

Oh -- hubs and I each use a body pillow, and we were allowed to bring those with us; as well as our "head pillows." They want you to be comfortable and relaxed.

Well I went for mine but didn't get offered a sleeping pill. Just told to watch tv until I was tired. By 11 p.m. I still wasn't tired so they came in and shut off my tv and told me to try and sleep.

I never did get into a good sleep.....I kicked at least twice every 30 seconds and they said that the light way I sleep I hear every noise and that all anyone has to do is walk into my room and I am wide awake. I didn't need a sleep study to tell me that! Sometimes I wake up more exhausted in the morning than when I go to bed.

First let me say, "get the sleep study done!" My hubby finally listened to me and went and had it done, sure enough he has sleep apnea. He uses the cpap machine every night, what a difference it has made! He wakes up in the morning raring to go, he sleeps so much better now! No more wanting to take a nap at 2 in the afternoon, I can't say enough about how wonderful that machine is!!!

Glad for all of this factual info from you peeps who've had a study done. Friend of my son's told my DDIL that he spent the night in a camper with my son a few nights ago at deer camp and he said he quit breathing several times during the night. He's so stubborn that I may have problems talking him into even going and having a study done. I'm gonna try and use the the old "you have young children to raise and you don't need to have a heart attack" routine.