Don’t lose good days to bad nights

Get back your energy and your lust for life. Take a quiz to find out if you have sleep apnea*.

Screening and diagnosis

Take the sleep quiz to evaluate your risk of having sleep apnea.

After taking your medical history, the sleep specialist will determine the best screening or diagnostic test for you. Screening devices can be used to determine the likelihood of having sleep apnea. You may need to be referred for further tests to determine if you have Central or Mixed sleep apnea. To obtain a definitive diagnosis, an overnight sleep study (polygraphy/polysomnography) should be carried out, either in the comfort of your own home or at your nearest sleep centre. This overnight study is safe and painless and monitors your sleep, respiratory parameters and heart activity.

Top tips:

A sleep specialist will typically spend 30 minutes with you to get your medical history.
It's always helpful if a partner or other family member can be included in the conversation as they can give some additional observations on how you sleep, if you snore loudly for example.
Once they have a good background, the sleep specialist will usually recommend a sleep study to confirm the diagnosis and the severity of your condition.

Overnight pulse oximetry

A simple screening tool which you wear on your finger whilst you sleep. It measures the level of oxygen in your blood, as well as pulse rate variation.

Polygraphy

A portable sleep diagnostic device that records your breathing, heart rate and blood oxygen levels throughout the night, so that pauses in breathing can be identified. You can wear this device on your chest and over clothing for your comfort. This test can take place at your sleep centre in the hospital or at home.

Polysomnography

This is a much more comprehensive test, carried out in the hospital for more complicated sleep disorders, such as Central Sleep Apnea.

What do my results tell me?

The number of apneas and hypopneas during sleep will indicate the severity of your condition. This will assist the sleep consultant to determine the most appropriate treatment option for you.

The Apnea/Hypopnea Index (AHI)

Number of events per hour, calculated as:

Apneas (no airflow for 10 seconds or longer)

Hypopneas (shallow breathing where airflow reduced by at least 50% + lasting 10 seconds or longer)

A diagnosis of sleep apnea is based on:

AHI 5-15 - Mild Sleep Apnea
AHI 15-30 - Moderate Sleep Apnea
AHI >30 - Severe Sleep Apnea

*Also known in the UK as ‘Apnoea’