Do you need a Sleep Center?
A sleep study usually requires an overnight stay at a sleep center. Sleep centers are usually located in a hospital or at a college or university. Some medical professionals have opened private practices.
A sleep study helps your doctor determine the reasons for your sleep disorder. During your one night stay at a sleep center, sensors and electrodes are attached to your head, chest, arms, and legs in order to record brain waves, oxygen levels, airflow, and leg movements. Usually, a microphone and video camera are in the sleep center bedroom to measure snoring and restlessness.
Not all sleep disorders require a sleep study at a sleep center. Your doctor might be able to diagnose the cause of your insomnia without data from a sleep study.
A few suggestions: Talk to your doctor first–many sleep centers focus on sleep apnea, not short or long term insomnia. Make sure the Sleep Center you visit is fully accredited and is managed by a medical professional. Start keeping a log of your sleep activity; that is, what time you get in bed, what time you awakened, and whether you woke up refreshed.
If you decide to pursue a sleep center for your sleep disorder, then please review our list of the best sleep centers in America.
Sleep well!
[...] enough to invest in a professional sleep diagnosis from a certified sleep medicine practitioner. Sleep Centers have become more prominent over the last 10 years, and now require specific credentials as do [...]
[...] After researching middle-of-the-night insomnia, I learned of a new study that is being presented this week at the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Conference in Seattle. Dr. Alexandros Vgontzas will present a study that indicates men who sleep 6 hours or less a night are about four times more likely to die over course of 14 years of follow-up than men without insomnia who slept more than six hours at a sleep center. [...]