Sleep Testing Center Services

An HST is an overnight test (completed at home) ordered to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). OSA is a condition that causes your airway to be blocked at night. The sleep test involves a small,

battery-operated device (right) that fastens around your chest with a belt. The device records your breathing, oxygen level and snoring.

• When you arrive at the Sleep Testing Center at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital, a staff member will greet you and have you fill out some paperwork.
• The staff member will explain the test and show you how to use the device.
• You will have time to ask questions.
• You will bring the device home, wear it for one night and return it to Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital the next day.
• A 24-hour support number will be provided in the event that you have any questions on the night of your study.

• You should call the doctor who ordered your sleep test to discuss the results of your test.
• A report will summarize the findings and be discussed with you at your follow-up appointment which should be scheduled for four to six weeks following your sleep study. Results are not automatically sent to patients.

PAP titration is an overnight sleep test. The goal is to find the right mask and air pressure required to prevent your upper airway from becoming blocked and eliminate breathing pauses while you sleep.

• Bring any medicine you need at night. If you will use medicine to help you sleep you will be asked to take it at least eight hours before wake-up time. Plan for someone to drive you home the next morning if you usually do not sleep well or if you take medications that may make you sleepy in the morning.
• Once you check in, you will be escorted to your private bedroom. A staff member will put equipment on you for the test. This may take about an hour.
• Sensors are put on your head and face with a paste (which will wash out in the shower). Other sensors will be placed around your chest and finger. The sensors have wires that are long enough to let you move around in bed.
• You will be able to get up and use the bathroom during the night if needed.
• The equipment does not hurt. The staff will make sure you are comfortable for the night.
• You will be fitted with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) mask at the beginning of the night. Air will come through the mask. The pressure of the air will be changed while you sleep to prevent your upper airway from becoming blocked and eliminate breathing pauses while you sleep.
• Staff will try to have lights out as close to your normal bedtime as possible. You will be woken between 6 and 6:30 am the next morning, unless you need to get up earlier.

• You should call the doctor who ordered your sleep test to discuss the results of your test.
• A report will summarize the findings and be discussed with you at your follow-up appointment which should be scheduled for four to six weeks following your sleep study. Results are not automatically sent to patients.

A split night sleep study is an overnight test ordered to diagnose sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a condition where the back of the throat is blocked (or obstructed) when you are sleeping. If criteria are met, or enough apnea is seen throughout the first half of the night, then you’ll use a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) mask and device during the second half of the split night sleep study. The CPAP machine helps to treat sleep apnea by pressurizing air to hold open your airway while you sleep.

• Bring any medicine you need at night. If you will use medicine to help you sleep you will be asked to take it at least eight hours before wake up time. Plan for someone to drive you home the next morning if you usually do not sleep well or if you take medications that may make you sleepy in the morning.
• Once you check in, you will be escorted to your private bedroom. A staff member will put equipment on you for the test. This may take about an hour.
• Sensors are put on your head and face with a paste (which will wash out in the shower). Other sensors will be placed around your chest and finger. The sensors have wires that are long enough to let you move around in bed.
• You will be able to get up and use the bathroom during the night if needed.
• The equipment does not hurt. The staff will make sure you are comfortable for the night.
• You will be fitted with a CPAP mask at the beginning of the night. Air will come through the mask. The pressure of the air will be changed while you sleep to prevent your upper airway from becoming blocked and eliminate breathing pauses while you sleep. If you do not meet criteria, CPAP therapy will not be initiated and a second study may be required.
• Staff will try to have lights out as close to your normal bedtime as possible. You will be woken between 6 and 6:30 am the next morning, unless you need to get up earlier.

• You should call the doctor who ordered your sleep test to discuss the results of your test.
• A report will summarize the findings and be discussed with you at your follow-up appointment which should be scheduled for four to six weeks following your sleep study. Results are not automatically sent to patients.

PSG is an overnight test ordered to diagnose various sleep disorders.

• Bring any medicine you need at night. If you will use medicine to help you sleep you will be asked to take it at least eight hours before wake up time. Plan for someone to drive you home the next morning if you usually do not sleep well or if you take medications that may make you sleepy in the morning.
• Once you check in at the Sleep Testing Center, you will be escorted to your private bedroom. A staff member will put equipment on you for the test. This may take about an hour.
• Sensors are put on your head and face with a paste (which will wash out in the shower). Other sensors will be placed around your chest and finger. The sensors have wires that are long enough to let you move around in bed.
• You will be able to get up and use the bathroom during the night if needed.
• The equipment does not hurt. The staff will make sure you are comfortable for the night.
• Staff will try to have lights out as close to your normal bedtime as possible. You will be woken between 6 and 6:30 am the next morning, unless you need to get up earlier.

• You should call the doctor who ordered your sleep test to discuss the results of your test.
• A report will summarize the findings and be discussed with you at your follow-up appointment which should be scheduled for four to six weeks following your sleep study. Results are not automatically sent to patients.

An MLST is the standard test used to diagnose narcolepsy and excessive daytime sleepiness for which the cause is unknown. The MSLT immediately follows a polysomnogram (PSG), or overnight sleep study.

• The MSLT begins with a PSG in the lab.
• After you wake up in the morning, you will have a one to two hour break. You will then be asked to take a nap every two hours for a total of five naps.
• For each nap, you will lie in bed and try to sleep. You will be woken up after 15 to 20 minutes of sleeping.
• There is a chance that your MSLT will be canceled if sleep apnea is identified during the night-time part of the sleep study.

• You should call the doctor who ordered your sleep test to discuss the results of your test.
• A report will summarize the findings and be discussed with you at your follow-up appointment which should be scheduled for four to six weeks following your sleep study. Results are not automatically sent to patients.