How to Prepare for an In-Lab Sleep Study or Daytime Nap Study

Blog Post #8

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If you are preparing for an In Lab Sleep Study, you are in the right place! Usually this gets approved by health insurance IF something is concerning about the results of an at home sleep study or the at home sleep study is in-conclusive. For me, personally, it was a little of both. There were some sleep apnea episodes found from my at home sleep study, but not enough for a CPAP machine. There were also many concerns about too many interruptions within only a one hour time span of sleep. Since the Sleep Specialists weren’t sure the reasoning for this, I am thinking it’s due to the dysfunction of my autonomic nervous system and all related to that.

Obviously without good quality sleep, it feels sometimes impossible to complete day to day tasks. Nevermind trying to get through a physical therapy session and the many modalities I am participating in in an attempt to feel better! Again, the less rested I feel after sleep, the higher the chances of increased pain. With more pain, there is an increased chance of worsening stress. More stress negatively impacts my sleep in return. It’s all a vicious cycle. If we could get to the bottom or root cause of my sleep issues, I am hoping other symptoms can improve. 

Now we aren’t exactly sure if all of this could be due to Dysautonomia or chronic fatigue in general. However, I do find myself dozing off on certain days while driving and found this to become concerning enough to seek more answers. Due to the excessive daytime sleepiness, my sleep specialist is interested in ruling out Narcolepsy as well. 

Due to all of the above, I proceeded forward with an overnight sleep study, Polysomnography, as well as the day time nap study, Multiple Sleep Latency Test. The MSLT tests for excessive daytime sleepiness when you should be alert and awake.During the MSLT, most patients will have 5 opportunities to nap throughout the day at 2-hour intervals. Throughout these naps, the sleep tech will be monitoring electrical activity from your brain, eyes and chin muscles. Due to this, you will have multiple wires attached to you. The sleep tech will keep track of how quickly you may fall asleep for each of these naps and how long you may have remained asleep. I was scheduled for my first nap about an hour and fifteen minutes after waking up from my overnight sleep study. Before each time I attempted to sleep (both for my overnight sleep study and each nap), there were biocals performed, as well as upon waking. The biocals consisted of: 

• Open your eyes

• Close your eyes

• Look left and right

• Look up and down

• Blink 5 times

• Grind your teeth

Prior to your Overnight/MSLT make sure to clarify a few things with your Sleep Lab: 

• How far in advance you should be stopping certain medications (this may require you to check in with your ordering physician) - some medications must be stopped 2 weeks prior to your test if you are taking any stimulant medications

• If you can take your day-time medication when you wake up during the MSLT study (again figuring out if these medications may alter any results of the sleep studies) 

How to Prepare: 

• When showering prior to arriving for your sleep study, make sure your hair is clean, dry and free of any oils, products, hairspray, gels/creams, etc (they do need to access your scalp for sensors and tape

• After the shower, make sure to let your skin dry naturally, no skin creams, lotions, face serums, sunscreen, etc. 

I am still awaiting my test results of this sleep study and everyone’s results will vary greatly. If you are preparing for an in lab sleep study and wondering what to pack, below are just a few ideas. 

What to Pack: 

• Toiletries (face soap, body wash, shampoo, conditioner)--> I personally waited until I got home to shower afterwards and didn’t have anything planned immediately once I got home. However, mine was a Friday into Saturday, so if you have Saturday plans, you will want to bring shampoo & conditioner to wash all the guck out of your hair, as well as body wash to wash all the remnants remaining from the electrode pads. 

• Comfy clothes/ pajamas

• Your favorite pillow and blanket 

• Food (ask ahead of time if they have a refrigerator) so you can prepare accordingly!

I have talked to friends who had to order food with ubereats, some type of delivery service (as no food was provided). If you have food sensitivities, definitely prepare some snacks & meal prep. If they are providing food, don’t be afraid to ask ahead of time what will be provided. (My breakfast provided was a frozen mcdonald’s sausage, egg & cheese biscuit & lunch provided was frozen french toast sticks.) Thankfully I had some high protein snacks, veggies & fruits prepared, but I didn’t think to ask what food would be provided ahead of time. 

• Things to entertain yourself if you get bored easily like me: 

Books (for fun) laptop for netflix, research papers, coloring books (for me personally, I tried to avoid too much artificial light, as the overhead light was enough to cause a headache for me. So the coloring and reading was a nice distraction & helped the time pass more quickly! 

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Stay tuned for my Sleep Study Test Results next.