Polysomnogram (Sleep Study)

A polysomnogram is a painless, noninvasive study of an individual's sleep patterns. Lasting a minimum of six hours, a sleep study is used to determine if you have any respiratory-related sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, which can contribute to dilated cardiomyopathy.

Choose another disease or condition... Allergic Rhinitis Allergies, Food Allergy & Asthma Center Alzheimer's Disease Anxiety Aortic Aneurysms Arrhythmia Arthritis, Osteo- (OA) Arthritis, Rheumatoid (RA) Asthma Atopic Dermatitis Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Back Pain Brain Tumor Bones, Joints & Muscles Center Breast Cancer Brain & Behavior Center Brain Tumor Cancer Center    Brain Tumor    Breast Cancer    Cancer Prevention    Clinical Trials    Colorectal Cancer    Endometrial Cancer    Living With and Beyond Cancer    Lung Cancer    Prostate Cancer    Skin Cancer Cardiomyopathy Cataracts Cholesterol Control Clinical Trials Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Colorectal Cancer Congenital Heart Disease Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) Crohn's Disease Depression Diabetes Center Diabetes, Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Digestive Disorders Center Eczema Endometrial Cancer Erectile Dysfunction (ED) Eye & Vision Center Fibromyalgia Food Allergies Gallstone Disease Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) GERD Glaucoma Hay Fever Headache Heart Center Hepatitis A Hepatitis B Hepatitis C High Blood Pressure Hypertension Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) Impotence Insomnia Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Living With and Beyond Cancer Losing Weight Lung Cancer Macular Degeneration Memory Loss Osteoarthritis (OA) Osteoporosis Parkinson's Disease Peptic Ulcer Prediabetes Prostate Cancer Respiratory Disorders Center Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Sexual & Reproductive Health Center Sinusitis Skin Cancer Sleep Apnea Sleep Center Stroke Type 1 Diabetes Type 2 Diabetes Ulcerative Colitis (UC) Weight Control View All Diseases and Conditions More information on Cardiomyopathy is available at these websites recommended by the U.S.News & World Report Library. What is your heart risk? Use our calculator to find out. See the top five online resources for heart information Cardiomyopathy-Related Clinical Trials Information Email this page Print this section

The polysomnogram uses electrodes attached to your body to collect data on your general sleep behavior and physical state during the different stages of sleep as well as microphones to record noises. Body position and movement, heart and respiratory rates, eye movement, brain waves, blood oxygen levels, muscle tone, and amount of snoring are usually recorded.

A sleep study is usually performed at night in a laboratory equipped with monitoring equipment that is attached to your head, abdomen, and chest. After the technician attaches the monitoring equipment and verifies it's working properly, the lights will be turned off and you will be left alone to sleep. Perhaps surprisingly, most people are able to sleep with this equipment attached. During the study, you will be monitored continuously and always able to speak to the technician.