POLYSOMNOGRAPHY

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, polysomnography- PSG is the “gold standard” in diagnosing OSA.
Polysomnography (PSG) is an in-depth test of your sleep to confirm the diagnosis of sleep disorders. This method is often performed in hospitals, especially Sleep Screening Clinic – SleepFi. (Find out more)

Polysomnography is very important because sleep disorders, if not treated promptly will greatly affect daily life such as daytime drowsiness, headaches and fatigue, reducing work productivity. , falling asleep at work can cause accidents in traffic. In the longer term, it will contribute to diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, or even stroke.

Polysomnography is a combination of electroencephalogram and polygraphy to provide parameters during sleep:
– Breathing airflow
– Blood oxygen saturation
– Heart rate
– Electroencephalography (EEG)
– Electrocardiogram (ECG)
– Leg electromyography (EMG)
– Eye electromyography (EOG)
– Chest and abdominal movements
– Sleeping position
– Snoring

PURPOSE OF THE POLYSOMNOGRAPHY

Sleep goes through 2 main stages:
– Non-rapid eye movement (NREM): Starting from falling asleep to deep sleep. At this time, our body relaxes and brain waves also occur slowly.
– Rapid eye movement (REM): Also known as the dream sleep stage. At this time, the brain, eye muscles, and breathing muscles will be more active. Brain waves will occur faster like when awake.

The NREM and REM stages occur alternately and form a cycle lasting about 90 minutes. Typically, a person will go through 4-5 cycles in one night. And sleep disorders will disrupt this process.

Polysomnography is often prescribed by doctors to:
🔹 Diagnose Sleep Apnea Syndrome
🔹 Diagnose Periodic Limb Movement Disorder, when your legs or arms move when you’re asleep. Sometimes, this condition is combined with Restless legs syndrome.
🔹 Narcolepsy, is when you feel excessively sleepy during the day and suddenly become uncontrollably sleepy.
🔹 REM sleep behavior disorder, is when you will make violent actions during a loss of REM sleep atonia.
🔹 Diagnosis of other sleep-related disorders.
🔹 Diagnosis of conditions that cause insomnia, difficulty falling asleep, or poor sleep.
🔹 Monitoring the effectiveness of treatment with continuous positive airway pressure in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

WHO NEEDS A POLYSOMNOGRAPHY?

Doctors often indicate polysomnography in subjects with symptoms of sleep apnea that are:
🔸 Excessive daytime sleepiness with no explanation for the cause.
🔸 Loud snoring.
🔸 Waking up many times during the night.
🔸 Waking up from choking, panting.
🔸 Fatigue, headache after waking up.
🔸 Difficulty concentrating and thinking.
🔸 Daytime fatigue.
🔸 Nocturia more than once per night.

The following at-risk subjects should also have polysomnography done:
❗ People who are obese or have a large neck circumference.
❗ People with respiratory diseases: chronic obstructive pulmonary inflammation (COPD), asthma, chronic respiratory failure.
❗ People with cardiovascular disease: uncontrolled hypertension, heart failure.
❗ People with chronic overactive tonsillitis, and jaw and facial structure abnormalities.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF THE POLYSOMNOGRAPHY

🔸 ADVANTAGES
– It is an accurate and very effective in-depth technique for diagnosing sleep disorders.
– Is the gold standard for diagnosing sleep apnea.
– Non-invasive, painless.

🔸 DISADVANTAGES
– The cost is quite high.
– Time-consuming (one evening).
– Not all medical facilities have polysomnography.
– Difficult to perform in young children, mainly due to the child’s lack of cooperation.

WHERE SHOULD THE POLYSOMNOGRAPHY BE MEASURED?

Polysomnography is a technique that requires expensive equipment and is difficult to use widely, so not all medical facilities are equipped with this equipment, most of which are only available at higher-level hospitals. But now SleepFi – Sleep Screening Clinic is one of the pioneers in providing polysomnography services, equipped with polysomnography machines and a team of trained doctors and technicians who specialize in sleep. The polysomnography room is located separately, equipped with a soft bed and soft lights, creating the most comfortable feeling for the patient, and giving the patient the best sleep.