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Sleep Apnea  (Expert Forum)
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sleep study question
Answered by
Steven Y Park, MD - sleep-breathing disorders
Private Practice New York - NY
Questions in the Sleep Breathing Disorders Forum are being answered by Dr. Steven Y. Park.

sleep study question

by kcr01, Mar 22, 2009 04:49PM
How are SOREMPs defined during nocturnal polysomnograms?  
I had a full-night sleep study in which I did not reach REM for a considerably long period, almost 3.5 hours, but my sleep prior to reaching REM was extremely, extremely fragmented (with no explanation for the severe arousal index, but I am going to look into the possibility of UARS).
I am curious though, at about 3.5 hours it shows me being in stage W for several minutes.  I then went into stage N1 sleep for about 3 minutes and then into REM for about 15 minutes, back to W for one minute, then to N1 for 5 minutes and then another 10 minutes of REM.  
The next period of REM after the first one was nearly two hours (just before final awakening), and it was similar.  I was in stage W, then N1 and N2 for a total of eight minutes and then REM for 20 minutes.  I then went back to stage N1 for 20 minutes, then stage W for a few minutes, stage N1 for a few minutes and back into REM - when the tech came in to wake me I was dreaming but also felt half awake and conscious of where I was, etc, and awoke very easily.
Would these be considered SOREMPs, or how are SOREMPs defined?  

by Steven Y Park, MD, Mar 23, 2009 09:53PM
SOREMP is the time that it takes you to reach your first REM stage (typically about 90-120 minutes). Usually, it you're chronically sleep deprived, you will take a shorter time to reach stage REM. Narcoleptics go into REM sleep too quickly.

In your case, it took a bit longer, possibly because you remained awake in the beginning. It sounds like you had very fragmented sleep. Without looking at the full study, it's hard to say, but in light of your high arousal index, UARS is a good possibility. Take a look at my article on UARS.
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