Sleep disorder test and sleep apnea

Two years ago my wife began to complain to me about my excessive and loud snoring.  At first I didn’t think much of it, until it began to be a recurring problem.  I ran my wife out of our bedroom many nights because she could not sleep with my snoring. To give you an idea of the severity, my house is 50 feet long with my master bedroom at one end and guest room at the other end with living room in the middle. My wife could hear me snoring if I was sleeping in the master bedroom and she was in the guestroom with the door closed.  I talked with my doctor about it and was sent to a sleep specialist. There they set me up for a sleep disorder test. I showed up on the scheduled day around 6:30 to 7:30pm. I met the gentleman who would be administering the test and then the interesting part started.  They attach sensors to just about every part of your body. The largest ones were on my legs and chest. I felt like someone’s mad science experiment. The technician said they have to monitor all of your body functions to get an accurate picture of what my body does when it sleeps. After that they take you to your room. It’s set up like a nice hotel room with TV, DVD player and a radio. Then they bring in the CPAP and mask. First you have to find a breathing mask which fits comfortably over your nose. If you breathe through your mouth when you sleep, you will probably have to use a mask which covers both your nose and mouth.

What happens during the sleep study?

There is actually two parts to a sleep study. The first part focuses on gathering information on what your body does when you sleep. They monitor your heart rate; oxygen intake level; breathing rate; rapid eye movement; the number of times you wake up at night; how loud you snore; and how many times you stop breathing.  After they have this information they start increasing the air pressure from the CPAP to your mask. Most snoring is caused by a flap in the throat which vibrates during sleep. In severe cases this flap can cutoff air intake to the lungs. Pressurizing the air coming in forces this flap to stay open and not vibrate. The technicians will increase the air pressure until they get a normal sleep pattern.  A few days later you meet with the sleep doctor and discuss the results.  I was diagnosed with a mild case of sleep apnea.  Different people have varying degrees of sleep apnea.  

P.S. One more thing, when removing those large sensors, I recommend doing it in the shower.