An overnight Sleep Disorders study — a polysomnogram — sounds more clinical than it feels. You arrive in the evening, you go to bed, and equipment records what your body does while you Sleep. Ours happens in our own accredited Sleep Disorders center, so you are not sent to a lab somewhere else and back.
What to bring
- Whatever you normally Sleep in, and your own pillow if it helps.
- A list of your medications, with doses.
- Toiletries and a change of clothes for the morning.
- A book or a tablet — there is usually time before lights out.
Skip caffeine from the afternoon onward, and skip the afternoon nap. Both change what the study records. If you normally take something to help you Sleep, ask beforehand rather than deciding on the night.
Setting up the sensors
This is the part people picture and dread, and it is the least dramatic part of the evening. A technologist attaches small sensors with paste and tape. None of them break the skin, and none of them hurt.
- On your scalp and face. Small discs that record brain activity, eye movement and chin muscle tone. Together these show which stage of Sleep you are in.
- On your chest. A few stickers to record your heart rhythm.
- Around your chest and abdomen. Two soft elastic belts that detect the effort of breathing.
- At your nose and mouth. A light sensor that measures airflow.
- On a finger. A clip that reads the oxygen level in your blood.
- On your legs. Sensors that pick up leg movements during the night.
Setup takes around 45 minutes to an hour. You can read, watch something or talk while it happens.
“But I will never Sleep with all that on”
Almost everyone says it, and almost everyone sleeps. The wires are gathered into a single bundle behind you so you can turn over. You can get up to use the bathroom — you call the technologist, they unplug the bundle at one connector, and plug it back when you return.
You do not need to Sleep well for the study to work. A night that feels broken to you still records the information the study is looking for. What matters is that you Sleep the way you normally do, not that you perform.
Somebody is watching, and that is the point
A technologist monitors the recording all night from another room, on camera and microphone. If a sensor comes loose they come in and fix it. If a study protocol calls for a treatment to be started partway through the night, that is explained to you before you go to bed.
The morning
You are usually woken between 5 and 7 am, the sensors come off in a few minutes, and the paste washes out of your hair. Most people are out of the building before the working day starts.
Results are not read on the spot. A full night generates hours of recording that a qualified scorer works through afterward, so the study team will tell you when to expect an answer.
Daytime studies
Some Sleep Disorders protocols add a test the following day — a series of short nap opportunities at set intervals, used in Narcolepsy and Hypersomnia research. If a study includes one, you will know before you agree to take part, and you should plan not to drive yourself home.
This article explains how clinical research works in general. It is not medical advice, it does not describe any specific study, and it is no substitute for a conversation with your own doctor. Eligibility for any study at CRIGA is determined only after informed consent and screening.