Test yourself for sleep apnea in the comfort of home
• Have you ever woken up with a headache or dry mouth?
• Do you feel tired and groggy even after a good night’s sleep?
• Are you overweight, obese, or recently had a sudden weight gain?
You could have the health condition known as sleep apnea. Your body might not be getting the oxygen it needs during sleep.
Thankfully, this home sleep apnea test, is easily available. An at home sleep apnea test is as effective as staying in a sleep lab, but much less expensive. The difference with a sleep apnea home test is you’re in the comfort of your own surroundings, so the readings are more likely to be accurate.
Let’s discover how a sleep apnea test at home can help quickly and expertly diagnose the condition:
What is Sleep Apnea?
This is when the muscles of your upper airway relax while you’re asleep, narrowing the airway so you don’t get enough oxygen during the night. This results in breathing that pauses for more than 10 seconds during sleep – until your reflexes kick in and you start to breathe again.
• If you’re waking up with a dry mouth, this is due to sleep apnea. This condition causes you to breathe open-mouthed, which in turns dries out your saliva.
• Your headache might be caused by high carbon dioxide and low oxygen levels as you sleep.
• If you snore, this can also be a sign of sleep apnea (Bear in mind that you can snore loudly and not have sleep apnea, and you could even have this condition without snoring).
Sleep apnea can also be a red flag for other underlying health conditions such as:
• Type 2 diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Stroke
• Heart attacks
It can have significant impact in your daily life – from falling asleep while studying and poor productivity at work, to mood swings and even car accidents. So it pays to take sleep apnea seriously.
What Causes Sleep Apnea?
Quite often, but not always, there is a link between obesity and sleep apnea. Evidence also shows a link between sleep apnea and a higher risk of diabetes, as sleep apnea can increase blood sugar levels, as well as heart rate, blood pressure and stress hormones.
How to Cure Sleep Apnea
One of the most effective ways to avoid or treat sleep apnea if you’re overweight is, unsurprisingly, weight loss. If there is accumulated fat in the upper belly, tongue and neck, there is an increased chance of sleep apnea. And for premenopausal women, with weight shifting to the stomach, the likelihood of sleep apnea becomes more of an issue too.
However, it’s possible to treat this condition with a home sleep apnea test. Let’s dive into how this CPAP home sleep test review to determine whether this method is actually effective.
Our Home Sleep Apnea Test Review
Product Specifications:
The kit comes with detailed instructions and features:
• A simple belt to hold the portable sleep data monitor around your chest, recording your breathing attempts
• A pulse oximeter to wear on your fingertip to track your heart rhythms and blood oxygen levels
• A non-intrusive nasal cannula to capture your breathing pattern
What Does it Do?
If your other half tells you that you snort or snore, then using a sleep apnea home test can be the first step to address this issue. The kit measures your airflow, heart rate and oxygen in your blood. In other words, it measures pauses in and absence of breathing, whether you have shallow breathing and how much effort it takes to breathe.
How Does it Work?
The kit measures moderate sleep apnea using a system called the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). The AHI measures the number of breathing pauses experienced per hour while you sleep:
• Mild sleep apnea is between 5 and 15
• Moderate sleep apnea is between 15 and 30
• Severe sleep apnea records an AHI of over 30 hourly episodes
The sleep apnea home test features sensors in the pulse oximeter that you wear on your finger, measuring your oxygen levels. The other sensors are in the portable sleep data monitor that you wear around your chest to measure how you breathe. The nasal cannula is a mask with tubes that you insert in your nostrils and fix around your ears. Think of it like an oxygen mask which also analyses your breathing patterns.
Who is This For?
• If you or your partner have any of the following symptoms:
• Interrupted sleep
• Grogginess, headache or dry mouth on waking
• If you or your partner are overweight or obese
How to Use This Kit
To use the sleep apnea test at home:
• Follow your night-time routine and get yourself ready for bed.
• Then fit the adjustable strap around your chest so that it’s secure and won’t move during the night.
• Fix the portable data monitor onto the chest strap, so that the connection to the nasal cannula is facing upwards towards your face.
• Then plug in the nasal cannula into the top of the data monitor.
• Carefully put the nasal cannula loops behind your ears and the cannula opening into your nose.
• Put the heart rate sensor on your finger tip and tape the wire to the back of your hand. The data monitor unit will record for a few minutes and then turn off. The recording starts when you plug in the chest strap, and finishes when you unplug it the following morning.
Need to visit the restroom during the night? Just leave the chest strap plugged in and unplug the other sensors if needed. Remember to plug them back in on your return.
How to Get the Most Accurate Reading
For the most accurate home sleep apnea test reading, it’s best to have time sleeping on your back. Sleep apnea is worse when you’re on your back, but lessens once you turn onto your side.
What Happens Next?
Your results will be reviewed by a sleep technologist who will keep your doctor updated. If your symptoms persist, they may recommend a stay at a sleep lab for further detailed analysis.
How Do I Purchase the At Home Test Kit?
It’s easy to get hold of a sleep apnea home test. Just order the test, and a dedicated Aeroflow Sleep Specialist will work with you and your doctor to issue a prescription. Then the sleep apnea home test is shipped to you direct for use that very night.
Pros
• Cost-effective, as a third to a fifth cheaper than staying at a sleep lab
• Covered by health insurance
• Fast delivery
• You only need to do the test for one night
• Conduct the test in the comfort of your own home
Cons
• You’ll need a prescription from your doctor before receiving the test
• It won’t completely rule out sleep apnea
• Further analysis may be required
• A sleep lab will detect over 80 different types of sleep disorders
Verdict – Is The Home Sleep Test Worth It?
The at home sleep apnea test won’t solve things straightaway, but is a key first step in addressing the issue. This home sleep apnea test via Cheap Cpap Supplies is available quickly with your doctor’s prescription, and is light and easy to use. You just need to commit to using it for one night and the kit will do the rest.
Once you have the results, your doctor or sleep physician can plan the next steps based on your diagnosis. If you’re at risk of heart disease, your doctor may treat you for even mild sleep apnea. However if you present with severe sleep apnea, your doctor could insist on treatment even if you don’t feel sleepy.
The first choice of treatment may be a continuous positive airway pressure machine (CPAP). This pumps humidified air through the nose, creating enough air pressure to keep your throat open while you’re sleeping. This will prevent pausing during breathing. Regular use helps to reduce blood pressure and increase your alertness during the day. Plus, you’ll have lower blood glucose, lowered risk of stroke or heart attack, and an overall better quality of life.