5 Myths About Home Sleep Apnea Tests You Shouldn’t Trust

August 21, 2024

When it comes to addressing any health ailment, it can take people some time to work up the nerves to help relieve their symptoms, let alone the disorders they experience in private, such as sleep apnea (otherwise known as sleep apnoea). However, advancements in technology that allow you to conduct sleep tests at home make all the difference to you, your partner, and your family, ensuring you can easily collect accurate data and receive a diagnosis and treatment plan.

At NSW CPAP, our specialists have worked with many Australians looking to relieve their symptoms. To help you sleep easier tonight, our blog article will review the common myths people have come to believe about home tests and why they are easy to do yourself. Read on.

Myth #1: Home Sleep Tests Are Too Complicated.

Wrong, and it couldn’t be further from the truth. People mistakenly believe sleep trials involve connecting yourself to a series of cables and machines. At-home sleep tests, like the NSW CPAP Sleep Test at NSW CPAP, are not much larger than a USB drive and bracelet.

You only need to pair it with your phone and the accompanying app via Bluetooth to get started. Then, switch on the monitors, press start, and stop within the app to track when you go to sleep and wake. That’s it — no wires, no complex setups, no worries.

Myth #2: Sleep Studies at Home Aren’t as Accurate as Lab-produced Tests

This one is a fairly common misconception. In reality, at-home sleep apnea tests track your sleep patterns using several technologies, including:

Actigraphy
Single-channel Plethysmography (PPG)
Pulse oximetry
Heart rate monitoring

The device’s sensors will collect data through the night and transmit it to the app and your healthcare professional to ensure you can accurately observe and analyse your sleep health.

While in-clinic studies can control the environment to observe whether sleep hygiene is a contributing factor and the ability to track other sleep-related disorders such as narcolepsy, research shows that tests conducted at home can improve access to healthcare and prevent symptoms from worsening.

Myth #3: Home Sleep Tests Are Uncomfortable

Unlike lab tests, which take you away from your home and family and force you to sleep in an unfamiliar and clinical environment, home tests track your sleep using the same mattress, pillows, and bedding to ensure no variables can influence the information collected. The NSW CPAP sleep study device features wireless and lightweight wrist and finger monitors that ensure you can sleep naturally without feeling constrained.

Myth #4: It Takes Too Long to Get Results

A common concern with conducting a sleep test at home is that the results can be delayed. However, devices like the NSW CPAP Sleep Test can collect the data overnight and return the analysis from a specialist within five days. With a fast turnaround, you can easily discuss the findings with your local healthcare professional and take steps toward better sleep health.

Myth #5: The Results From a Home Sleep Test Aren’t Detailed Enough

Some might think home sleep apnea test results are too basic to diagnose appropriately. In actuality, you’ll receive a detailed report showing whether there were any recorded apnea events, blood oxygen levels and pulse rates. This gives you and your healthcare provider all the information needed to accurately assess your condition and determine the best course of action.

Discover a quality sleep with NSW CPAP

Your sleep health can enormously impact many areas of your lifestyle, so don’t let yourself get held back by a few wrong myths. To ensure you never put your sleep hygiene in the too-hard basket again, NSW CPAP offers comfortable and convenient sleep testing in Australia that is easy for everyone to use in the comfort of their homes. For questions on what to do after receiving your results, please contact us anytime.

References

Hung, C. J., Kang, B. H., Lin, Y. S., & Su, H. H. (2022). Comparison of a home sleep test with in-laboratory polysomnography in the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Journal of the Chinese Medical Association: JCMA, 85(7), 788–792. https://doi.org/10.1097/JCMA.0000000000000741