Sleep Clinics – Haven for Insomniacs
Insomnia is a sleep disorder characterized by the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep at night. This in turn creates the feeling of having insufficient sleep and often causes fatigue during the day. Over one-fifth of Americans are afflicted with insomnia, and rates are even higher in France and Germany. If you are troubled with the symptoms of insomnia, or any other sleep disorder, it is best to see a specialist.
In order to diagnose the sleep disorder fully, your doctor may recommend you to go to a sleep clinic. A sleep clinic is a center with medical facilities that administer tests and report results associated with sleep patterns. In America alone, there are over 900 sleep clinics one can choose from.
A sleep clinic may be located in a hospital, university or private center. It is best to choose one which is in close proximity to your physician and your home. A sleep clinic usually has a supervising physician but most of the procedures are done by technicians. Experienced technicians almost always handle the routine tests administered to patients. The supervising physician will then interpret the results and report them to the patient.
Before any procedure is done, you will be asked to fill out a detailed history of your sleep patterns and problems. A list of your current medications and information on whether you use tobacco, alcohol, and caffeine will also be needed. Although you may already have gone over this with your physician, this step is still necessary for you to have a record of your medical history in the clinic. Furthermore, filling out forms will enable you to assess once more your situation and discover other things about your habits in relation to your sleep disorder.
Most sleep clinics would require a patient to spend at least overnight at the center. Apnea and narcolepsy, for example, can usually be diagnosed in one night, while insomnia would often require several nights. In these cases, however, the patient is allowed to leave during the day to carry out his usual schedule.
A standard procedure normally includes attaching of electrodes to various points of your body. This is not so different from the instruments attached during an electrocardiogram, or ECG. But aside from the chest area, the electrodes are also attached to the patient’s head, eyes, and chin. These electrodes then collect information about your sleep during the night. They are hooked to a computer that records the patient’s brain waves, eye movements, and breathing patterns- factors that establish the phases of sleep. Electrodes also help record the presence of muscle tensions. Most sleep clinics also invest in a camera and audio recorder to help technicians monitor the patient with minimal disruption.
When the results of the test have been gathered and analyzed by the supervising physician, it is necessary to follow this up with another visit to your own medical doctor to report the findings to him. He will then make the necessary recommendations and prescriptions, if needed.
It is important to remember that sleep clinics do not cure one’s sleep disorder. Instead they diagnose the disorder and in most cases, confirm a previous diagnosis.
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