Why you may need a home sleep testing device
Have you ever had a prolonged duration of a week or more when you were waking up feeling more tired than when you went to bed? Do you drink, smoke or are obese or overweight? These are just a few issues that sleep apnea sufferers may have while others may have no obvious issues at all. A home sleep testing device may be the best way to diagnose sleep apnea.
Types of sleep apnea
There are three types of sleep apnea with the most common being obstructive sleep apnea where typically the neck muscle above the throat becomes relaxed and pushes on the throat, blocking it until the sufferer wakes up slightly and clears it. People with larger necks or smaller diameter throats can have a problem with this without necessarily excessive weight playing a part. Some weight trainers suffer from the same process as obese people due to the extra mass in that area.
If you smoke, drink or do drugs or have an illness such as tonsillitis you can get sleep apnea as the throat is inflamed with sleeping again providing relaxed muscles helping obstruct the suffers throat.
The sufferer does not normally notice the snoring and gasping those partners observe and so for single people it can be very difficult to figure out what is causing their tiredness. Sometimes suffers assume it is the pillow or mattress they were using and change these as an unnecessary expense and wonder why they still have the same issue. A home sleep test may quickly point out the issue.
In addition to obstructive sleep apnea there is also a sleep apnea that is due to intermittent signals caused due to diseases such as Parkinson’s that can impact the lung muscles. In addition to this you can also get a complex sleep apnea which is where the sufferer has both obstructive and nervous system issues. Thankfully these cases are much rarer as they are difficult to treat but a home sleep test device for monitoring can be useful to help relieve issues, possibly by recognizing problematic sleeping positions.
Hard to reach specialist analysis
A major challenge is that if you live in countries like the US, you will find it exceptionally difficult to get a referral to a sleep apnea specialist. If you are seen by them, you will have a remote chance of being put in a specialist institution for overnight observation. Typically, these institutes use 1970’s equipment that gets strapped and stuck to you extensively; making it very difficult to sleep in how you normally would at home. This is a major problem as it invalidates a lot of testing time, meaning you may never be diagnosed due to lack of assessment time or cost your insurance company more money which gets passed on to you in one form or another.
What is the solution?
Before treatment you need to know what you are suffering from and thanks to modern technology you can closely approximate specialist testing through home sleep testing kits (also called HSATs). These home sleep test devices are mass-produced, low-cost devices that has been recognized by insurers to help assessment for a low cost and thus recommended as the first step in diagnosis prior to anything more costly; this is because they are backed by medial bodies that also see home sleep tests as a shorter, more appropriate way of conducting diagnosis. This helps free up sleep specialists for more difficult to diagnose cases. A home sleep test can monitor oxygen in the blood, body position and if you are getting enough REM sleep along with a host of other key markers; if you suffer from sleeping problems, why not talk to your healthcare professional about trying a home sleep test to help identify the issue.
