A sleep study is commonly performed to investigate the following symptoms:

Un-refreshing sleep

Daytime sleepiness

Breath-holding episodes during sleep

Loud snoring (to find out evidence of sleep apnea)

Leg twisting/restless legs at night

Abnormal behaviours at night (violent and non-violent behaviour in sleep)

During sleep there are changes in the brain and body. Disrupted or poor quality sleep may affect mood changes or person has a tendency to become irritable, fatigued, unable to concentrate and usually disoriented. Performance of mental and physical tasks deteriorates. Some individuals experience paranoid thoughts and auditory visual, and tactile illusions or hallucinations.

To fully understand many sleep-related problems, we need to conduct an overnight sleep study. During the study, the sleep technician monitor and record the electrical activity of the brain and muscles during sleep, as well as eye movements, hearth rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, leg movements and body position and how they affect your sleep throughout the night.

Problems that can be diagnosed from an overnight sleep study may include:

Sleep Apnea – when a person has repeated breath-holding spells during sleep.

Other breathing problems – e.g. shallow breathing (hypoventilation)Leg movements that disturb sleep - (Restless Leg Syndrome)

Teeth grinding (bruxism) that can disturb sleep.

Behaviour changes during sleep such as sleep walking or acting out dreams.

A periodic state of rest accompanied by varying degrees of unconsciousness and relative inactivity. The need for and value of sleep is obvious, yet the explanation of why it is so effective in providing a daily renewal of a feeling of health and well-being is lacking.

Although sleep is a time of resting, some of the body systems are actually more active during sleep than when awake. Many parts of the brain controls and influence the different stages of sleep.

These sleep stages include:

Drowsiness (stage 1 sleep)

Light sleep (stage 2)

Deep sleep (slow wave sleep) and Rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep – the sleep stage when most dreaming occurs)

The sleep technologist who monitors patients determines these stages by measuring different activities of the brain and body. These activities include brain waves, eye movement and muscle tone.

Videotaping during sleep is also performed with patients consent for some sleep disorders such as sleepwalking or talking, restless limb movements or teeth grinding.

NOTE: Patient MUST sign a consent form prior to the sleep study. This is one of frequently asked questions by most patients. Malvern Sleep Clinic technologist explains about the procedures prior the sleep study in the set up room. In fact, most patients have no trouble sleeping despite wearing the electrodes and other recording equipment attached to their body.

A technologist will monitor the machines in a control room (separate from the bedroom) and will be available at all times during the night. Should you require any assistance you may press the buzzer (located on top of the headboard or right beside the bed) and the sleep technologist will unplug a device that is connected to the monitoring system and will immediately come to your room for help.

NOTE: There is a physician (sleep specialist) on call during the sleep study and will be available throughout the night in case of emergency.

On the day of sleep study patients are being advised to avoid caffeine (coffee, tea, cola and chocolate) and try not to take a nap in the afternoon. For men it is always good to shave, if they do not have a beard or moustache. Women, who usually shave their legs, may wish to do so, as there will be electrodes placed on the lower leg near the shinbone. Women should also remove their nail polish and make up.

Patient must bring any required nighttime or morning medication. Sleep Clinic are not allowed to provide or administer any medicines. Patient should also bring their own toothbrush, toot paste, (sleep clinic provides pillow) but patient may bring their own pillow for their own comfort.

Patient must wear something loose or comfortable clothing as pajamas!

Patient must bring their health card as well as list of their current medications.

Patient using positional therapy or CPAP/ BiPAP unit must bring the machine along with the mask and headgear.

Malvern Sleep Clinic is located in the plaza at 1371 Neilson Road in Scarborough, Ontario M1B 4Z8. Our telephone number is (416) 282-9119. Parking is in the front of the plaza, and is free for all during evenings. Entrance is through the doors located near the IDA Pharmacy that say "Offices" (if the doors are locked press the buzzer on the left side).

After the study, the sleep specialist will receive a preliminary morning report from the sleep technologist about your study. The recording is staged for sleep by examining the 7-9 hours of the recording in 30 seconds and scored for breathing events, limb movements, or other features of sleep disorders by a sleep technologist. The record and report is then reviewed and interpreted by the sleep specialist. Treatment recommendations will be made if evidence of a sleep disorder is diagnosed. Please let the physician know prior to your overnight sleep study if you wish to have a consultation with the sleep specialist.

Within 3 to 4 weeks your family doctor will get a complete report about your sleep study.

The Maintenance of Wakefulness Test (MWT) is used to measure how alert you are during the day. It shows whether or not you are able to stay awake for a defined period of time. This is an indicator of how well you are able to function and remain alert in quiet times of inactivity.

The test is based on the idea that your ability to stay awake may be more important to know in some cases than how fast you fall asleep. This is the case when the MWT is used to see how well a sleep disorders patient is able to stay awake after starting treatment. It is also used to help judge whether a patient is too tired to drive or perform other daily tasks.

MSLT Multiple Sleep Latency Test.

The multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) tests for excessive daytime sleepiness by measuring how quickly you fall asleep in a quiet environment during the day. Also known as a daytime nap study, the MSLT is the standard tool used to diagnose narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia.

The MSLT is a full-day test that consists of five scheduled naps separated by two-hour breaks. During each nap trial, you will lie quietly in bed and try to go to sleep. Once the lights go off, the test will measure how long it takes for you to fall asleep. You will be awakened after sleeping 15 minutes. If you do not fall asleep within 20 minutes, the nap trial will end.

Each nap will be taken in a dark and quiet sleep environment that is intended for your comfort and to isolate any external factors that may affect your ability to fall asleep. A series of sensors will measure whether you are asleep. The sensors also determine your sleep stage.