Sleep Testing for Seniors

Do you or your loved one have trouble sleeping at night and want to know why? Here are a few things you may want to consider about sleep testing but didn’t know to ask.

Getting older doesn’t have to mean being less productive, and no baby boomer I know wants to accelerate their natural decline in health, but a steady routine of sleep disruption or insomnia has dire consequences. So when counting sheep only makes you think of Bo Peep, Bo Peep makes you think of children’s books, children’s books make you wonder if your children are coming to Thanksgiving dinner, and Thanksgiving dinner makes you get up to double-check your grocery list, it may be time for sleep testing. Knowing why you can’t sleep, using proven sleep-testing methods, can help you learn what you can do about it.

Sleep Testing for Seniors

If you can’t sleep, or wake up tired and fall asleep during the day, maybe it’s time to consider sleep testing. To distinguish between simple sleep disruption and serious health concerns, take the research you’re doing today a bit further:

1. Schedule an appointment with the family physician. Ask for routine, preventive tests and blood work.
2. Keep a daily journal. Write down the how, what, where and when of your week, and enlist the help of your sleep partner or loved one; for example,
1. How long did you sleep and how did you feel when you woke up?
2. What time did you go to bed, and what did you eat and drink just before bed?
3. Record, with the help of your sleep partner or loved one, your snoring habits each night (frequency, volume, and any gasping for breath)
4. If you napped, list where and when.
5. Were you active? (All activities count, including sex!)
6. Who did you see or do things with each day?

You may find a pattern that’s easily correctable (“I ate a heavy meal that included a cup of caffeinated coffee, snored moderately, and I woke exhausted.”), or you may be shocked by a repeated entry (“My wife said I snored loudly, I woke twice to go to the bathroom, and I didn’t fall back to sleep for over an hour.”). In any event, if your sleep disruption persists for more than two to three weeks or you become concerned that lack of sleep is affecting your health, talk to your doctor about sleep testing. Sleep testing can help root out the primary cause of your sleeplessness or wakefulness.

Sleep Professionals

Your family physician may be able to help you right away, but if they suspect a more complicated diagnosis, they could refer you to a certified sleep professional or registered polysomnographic technologist (RPSGT) who will take a full history and make an initial evaluation. Your journal, plus any telling results from the routine exam, can point the way to better health.

Testing Methods

Home sleep tests are relatively simple tests prescribed at home. Testing is inexpensive (about $1300 for testing and diagnosis), often covered by health insurance, and a common tool when sleep apnea is suspected in healthy patients. (Are you the DIY kind of person? Believe it or not, you can even order the test and diagnosis online!)

A polysomnogram is a more comprehensive test, conducted in a lab environment, and you can expect to pay about four times the cost of the home sleep test. However, in-lab testing is recommended if you’re suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), congestive heart failure, restless leg syndrome, or other diseases and may require more advanced monitoring and follow-up.

Equipment varies, but essentially, sensors in the polysomnogram collect information about how you breathe during sleep. They measure your oxygen levels and monitor your heart rate. A certified technician reviews and interprets this data. They will work with your family doctor to recommend the best treatment for your condition.

About half of the 40 million of us who suffer from a sleep disorder are diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, which causes us to stop breathing while we sleep. Being deprived of oxygen is certainly reason for concern, and testing today can be done at home.

Expected Outcome or Remedies

Snoring Arousal: Snoring usually disrupts your partner first. In fact, you may not even realize you’re doing it, but snoring can wake you out of restful sleep — with or without a nudge from your partner. If snoring is what’s irritating your partner and arousing you, a mouthpiece may be the solution.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea: 50 percent of those with sleep disorders have some form of sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is most common, and remedies include everything from mouthpieces and continuous positive airflow pressure machines (CPAP) to surgery to correct the obstruction.

Where Can I Get More Help?

Speak with your family doctor first about what you’re experiencing. They can review your history and do a routine exam to eliminate many serious health concerns that could be contributing to the fatigue, irritability, or confusion you or your loved one may be experiencing. They can also confirm that medications are not contributing to sleeplessness or wakefulness. Your family physician is also trained to recognize dangerous side effects of sleep disorders, like depression, and will suggest specialists.

Sleep specialists can take the study further to confirm and eliminate sleep disruption contributors like obstructive sleep apnea. Psychologists can help you with meditation and biofeedback to control anxiety or chronic pain; physical therapists can assist with exercises to alleviate pain due to misalignment or injury; nutritionists and personal trainers can guide you to the diet and exercise program that will improve your mobility and flexibility, and set you on the path to a better night’s sleep.

Regardless of the testing, make sure to schedule a follow-up discussion with your family doctor or sleep specialist. Any treatment you undertake should be re-evaluated at least annually. Simple adjustments to a routine or prescription can make the difference between a bad night’s sleep and a great one.