Posted on

7 Frequently Asked Questions on Home Sleep Apnea Test (HSAT) Answered For You!

Home Sleep Apnea Test Sleep Clinic Ohio

Have you been to a sleep specialist and found out that you need to undergo a sleep apnea test? If yes, and you are keen to go for an HSAT (Home Sleep Apnea Test), you may have some queries on how to take the test and what kind of results can you expect. We asked the board-certified sleep specialists and they have answered the frequently asked questions on HSAT right here for you –

Question 1: What does an HSAT do and how is it useful?
Answer 1: A HSAT is a test that will collect the data regarding your sleep pattern on the day you take it. It is also very convenient as you can take it right in your home.

Question 2: What should you do before taking the test?
Answer 2: Ensure that you follow your regular pattern of work, diet and sleeping. But avoid taking caffeine in the afternoon and alcohol in the evening.

Question 3: Can you take your regular medicines?

Answer 3: It is best to check with your sleep physician if you can avoid the medicine you take regularly on the day of taking the test.

Question 4: How will you get your home sleep study equipment?

Answer 4: You may have to either go to the sleep clinic to get the kit or get it delivered to your home. Also, ensure you get all the instructions to use from them in advance.

Question 5: What should you do before going to sleep?

Answer 5: When you go to sleep at your regular time, attach the sensors to your body as per the instructions. You may need to keep a sleep log or you can press a button that is there on the machine before going to sleep.

Question 6: What should you do in the morning after waking up?

Answer 6: Once you get up in the morning, simply remove the sensors and take the home sleep study equipment back to the sleep clinic or send it by mail for the test results.

Question 7: When will you get your test results?

Answer 7: The test results can take from a few days to weeks. In case there is a further need to verify the results, or if the HSAT was unable to record enough data for the diagnosis, your physician may ask you to come in for an in-lab sleep study.

If your sleep disorder is accurately diagnosed as obstructive sleep apnea, your sleep physician will let you know the next course of treatment and a recovery plan.

Posted on

7 Easy Tips to follow to sleep better in difficult times

easy tips to sleep better sleep clinic

If you are experiencing anxiety or stress due to some reason, be it work, family, or just pandemic and want to know how to sleep well in these times, read on…

How does sleep work?

Let us first understand how sleep helps us. As a part of the animal kingdom, we are always on our guard to always protect ourselves and hence vigilant to our surroundings. Hence, our brains are always working and constantly evolving to handle the dangers around us.

Despite the stress, we go through every day and the threats around us, many of us are still able to control our behaviors and reduce the impact of these challenges around us through our sleep. The reason for this is that sleep reverses our state of consciousness to our surroundings and hence better prepares us for navigating the stressful times ahead. In the long run, it also helps us boost our immune system.

How to sleep well when stressed?

Here are some important tips you can follow to manage difficult situations in your life and learn how to sleep better with anxiety –

  1. Keep your daily schedule the same: Stick to your regular schedule of getting up, eating breakfast, working time, lunches, dinners, and sleep time. Find a rhythm that works best for your body and keep these normal timings for yourself.
  2. Get some sun: Try to spend at least 20 minutes each day in the morning in the sun. Light controls your natural body clock so even if it is not so sunny, the light coming indoors is good to know for your body that it is a daytime.
  3. Work out: Do any type of exercise every day. Whether you like jogging, walking, aerobics, dancing or any other. Exercises help improve your mood as it helps in blood circulation and reduces stress.
  4. Reduce caffeine: Avoid having too many teas or coffees during the day to keep you awake and working. Rest when you need to.
  5. Avoid electronic devices at least one hour before sleep: Keep your televisions, tabs, mobiles, and laptops away at least an hour before sleeping.
  6. Minimize drinking alcohol: Although some people can sleep better with alcohol, it can also cause difficulty for many. So, avoid it as much as you can.
  7. Avoid being in bed without sleeping: One of the important tips you must keep in mind when you want to know how to sleep better with anxiety is that if you are not able to sleep, get out, read something, or walk around and then try to sleep again.
Posted on

Have you got your perfect day planned for Christmas?

sleep clinic of ohio middletown

Holidays, as it may seem, are not always relaxing, instead, they are full of hectic activities, schedules, and social obligations which can lead us to feel stressed, tired, and sleep-deprived.

Many times, on Christmas day we end up being zombies and just wait for it all to be over. Would you rather plan this Christmas day and holiday season a bit better so that you can enjoy the fun and create events that are memorable as well as enjoy plenty of rest and sleep?

Get a Kick Start to the Morning!

Although Christmas day can be quite exciting with the kids around and their excitement on opening the gifts, you may want to sleep in early the previous night, so you have completed your 7-8 hours of good night rest.

If you however do not have kids, then you can take it a bit easy to wake up and let those tired bones relax. But also, be careful do not get up at noon to let your sleep schedule change drastically either. Get up and have your dose of caffeine if you feel like and get ready for some sunshine. Enjoy the day and treat yourself to some healthy breakfast while savoring the moment with your loved ones.

Plan the Christmas Meal Well

You can also plan an afternoon with your family and friends over a Christmas meal. If you are inviting them over to your home, try to keep most of the feast ready a day before and just prep up the chicken or turkey on that day to have a fresh serve. Try to see if you can ask others to bring in their favorite dishes to save some time and anxiety. Worrying over the best recipe and a great meal for everyone can be quite stressful and unhealthy to sleep the night before.

After the heavy meal you may feel like having a sip of coffee but avoiding it and going for a brisk walk may be a better idea to shake off the sleepy feeling. It will also help you have a better sleep at night.

Chill out in the Evening

After a great day with friends and family, the tiredness of the holidays seems to start lifting towards the evening. As you can now feel that the preparation, the event of Christmas is all over now, the joy and the fun is all passe, and your body starts to feel the need for a good rest.

Take this time to look back on the positive moments of the holidays, just lean back, relax with a movie, or a book, or just have fun with family at home.

You can also dim out the house lights and let your Christmas tree lights be on. This will let you know that the nighttime is approaching, and you get a cozy feeling of falling asleep. You deserve this well-earned sleep after Christmas!

However, if you feel like hitting the bed earlier aim to go for not more than half an hour before your daily bedtime else you may risk disrupting the regular sleep schedule.

You can also choose to take a hot shower and listening to your favorite music before calling it a day!

Posted on

8 Tricks to follow this Thanksgiving to avoid a Holiday Insomnia

ohio sleep medicine, Sleep Disorder

With Thanksgiving and the holiday season approaching, it’s possible you may cram yourself with holiday shopping, cheer, and cooking. With the daily and regular activities, it can all make you lose your sleep. Here are 8 tricks that you can follow and avoid holiday insomnia.

1. Plan the holiday activities in advance

2. Prepare a checklist and learn to delegate and work with family members. It can be quite fun as well!

3. Try to maintain your sleep time and eating time same and avoid changing your bio clock.

4. Take time out to exercise and try varied types which can interest you and keep your mood levels high.

5. Avoid having snacks and heavy meals near to bed time

6. Do not indulge in too much alcohol

7. Near to bedtime avoid watching T.V. Instead spend more time with kids playing some games

8. Take a warm bath and have a calming tea before sleeping

Posted on

How is obstructive sleep apnea in women connected to cancer and why doesn’t it get diagnosed?

Women Sleep Apnea doctor sleep Clinic

In recent studies, it is observed that women above 65 years of age are seen to suffer from cancer and it also suggests that one of the top reasons could be sleep apnea. Lack of proper sleep at night which results in low blood oxygen levels in the body in cases of sleep apnea may have a large impact on the generation of cancer cells.

Some of the commonly seen symptoms of OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea) are snoring, disturbed sleep, gasping for oxygen, and extreme daytime tiredness.

It is also seen that cancer is more common with women than with men and almost 1 out of 6 women are even diagnosed with sleep apnea.

Some of the common reasons why they are not diagnosed with OSA are:

  1. Most of the women do not seek the assistance from a sleep specialist or visit a sleep center but rather speak to their medical practitioners and their symptoms get ignored.
  2. It is not very nice for women to talk about their snoring or loud sounds during sleep.
  3. They may not report the correct symptoms which should be fatigue, insomnia, mood disturbances, headaches, lack of energy, depression, restless leg syndrome.
  4. Women get prescribed more to medications rather than asked to undergo a sleep study.
  5. Men usually do not observe their bed partners as much as women do to theirs.

Hence, getting a good night’s sleep is more important than what you may think. Consult sleep apnea experts if you need to get your or your bed partner’s sleep issues sorted. Undergo a sleep disorder test at the earliest with any of the sleep centers near you. You can contact us at www.sleepclinicofohio.com to know more about it and live a better life.