Preparing for Sleep Study

Hi Dr. Park,

I have a split-night sleep study (polysomnogram) scheduled for exactly 1 week from now.  This is to gauge if I have sleep apnea, because I've been suffering symptoms like daytime fatigue, morning headache, dry mouth and sinus/eustachian congestion for the past several months, with no other compelling diagnosis.  Over the past 2 weeks, I have also developed insomnia, i.e. I haven't been able to fall asleep till 2 or 3 am (my normal sleep time is 11pm), and when i do fall asleep, i wake up after 4-5 hours and cannot go back to sleep. Actually, on a couple of these nights, i haven't been able to sleep more than 2 hours, and i'm very stressed about this.  I am trying to do stress reduction, good sleep hygene, and  sleep restriction, but this hasn't worked so far.

So, as you can imagine, I am quite anxious what will happen if i can't sleep well on the night of my sleep study. My question is: does insomnia affect the results of a sleep study that is being conducted to test for apnea?  If yes, what is a reasonable workaround?  Can I ask to be given an Ambien or Lunesta on that night to ensure that I get to sleep?  Is this normally allowed during sleep study? Or, should I postpone the study and just give myself time to get over this insomnia?

Greatly appreciate your advise.

thanks,

Akshay

[Steven Y Park, MD]

Different centers have different protocols for your situation. Ultimately it depends on your sleep doctor. You should contact him or her for an answer.