Sleep is essential for the optimal functioning of our bodies. Poor sleep can affect physical and mental performance and even cause mood alterations.

If one experiences excessive day time sleepiness, constant snoring, and tiredness even after eight hours of sleep or is facing prolonged difficulty staying asleep, they could be suffering from sleep apnea.

Durdans Hospital Sleep Diagnostic services focus on helping patients improve their lives by resolving factors that are related to disturbed sleep.

Sleep apnea symptoms may include loud snoring, stopped breathing for brief periods, gasping for air during sleep, difficulty staying asleep, daytime sleepiness, awakening with dry mouth, difficulty in concentration, and morning headaches.  Poor blood pressure and blood sugar control despite vigorous treatment, increased heart and brain diseases and even social issues (family or partner disruption, academic and job related) could be long term adverse outcomes of chronic sleep apnea.

There are two types of sleep apnea: Obstructive apnea and central sleep apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common, occurring when the muscles relax in the back of your throat in the night compromising the airway. Oxygen levels in the blood are lowered leading to abrupt brief arousals; so brief that you might not recall them. When this pattern repeats itself several times during sleep it disrupts ability of reaching deep restful phases of sleep.

Rare central sleep apnea is usually secondary to chronic heart and neurological conditions.

Excessive periodic leg movements during sleep, sleep behaviour abnormalities and epileptic episodes are other uncommon causes of disturbances to your sleep.

One of the best ways of diagnosing sleep apnea or other sleep disorders that you may have is to conduct a sleep study. This sleep study will analyse your stages of sleep overnight and monitor brain activity, eye movements, body movements, heart rhythms, measure breathing pattern and oxygen levels in the blood.

The Sleep Clinic at Durdans Hospital provides a standard clinical environment that is calm and quiet allowing you to fall asleep even if you are away from your familiar environment.

A preliminary assessment is done to uncover risk, then depending on findings, one or more sleep tests will be administered by the doctor. Thereafter, treatment will be given, which may be in the form of a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) device.