How to easily interpret home sleep test results (HST)

Home sleep apnea tests are increasingly a popular option. Usually to be diagnosed for sleep apnea, you need to spend a night in a sleep lab, away from home, connected to 27 different electrodes and wires. At-home sleep tests, on the other hand, have only three connection points, and you can take the test in your own home. The results are then transmitted to your doctor wirelessly the next day.

Sleep expert Dr. Michael Breus walks you through a typical report of a home sleep test, the measurements the test takes, and what he looks for when diagnosing patients.

0:00 Why take a home sleep test
0:50 Total sleep time
1:20 Number of awakenings
1:50 Apnea, hypopnea, and respiratory disturbance
3:30 Oxygen saturation
4:10 Sleep position
5:00 Sleep stages
5:45 What is your next step?

😴 Michael Breus, Ph.D., is a double board-certified clinical psychologist and sleep expert. He's been in practice since 1999 and helped thousands of patients improve their sleep. Dr. Breus has written five books on sleep and conducted over 1,000 interviews to the press and public.

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[ankitsingh-wyvy]

Thanks Doctor for the simple and easy analysis 👍

[RituandRaj]

Extremely informative.! I’m going have the home sleep study done shortly and this gave me lots of knowledge .

[andy]

Thank you Dr Breus for this informative video on analyzing sleep test results. It’s very logical and easy to understand. I also like how you ended the video that CPAP is to get immediate relief but not necessarily the final treatment option.

[afns]

The oxygen saturation data in this case proves why in-home oximetry tests are worthless. The reason...oxygen saturation can stay at relatively normal levels in young healthy individuals when they have apnea because the heart will do all it can by beating faster to keep oxygen levels up.

Look closely at the charts at 3:57. Where the oxygen saturation drops, there is a corresponding spike of increased heart rate (red chart). This is likely the main reason untreated sleep apnea causes cardiovascular disease.

[Brinkmasterj]

Are there kits we can buy to test for this a few times a month?

[kellyk]

My in home test was so wrong it wasn't even funny. When I roll over from pain, I hold my breath. I did not actually sleep during mine but they claim I got a solid 6.5 hours. I've NEVER gotten more than 2 hours together in my life!

[speedprofessor]

Falling asleep in two minutes does not mean someone has narcolepsy. It simply means they are tired and sleep deprived in most instances. Going into REM sleep quickly is what should be used to help diagnose narcolepsy. However, sleep staging with these home testing devices is probably not reliable anyway.

[richardjanes]

I tried, this device and followed the instruction.. The instructions were very confusing. Tonight, I will try again to get this device this working.

[marcus_ohreallyus]

By using a cpap machine, you're not really "getting it fixed". I want to know how to fix the root issue because because I still feel like garbage even when using my cpap.

[agoogleuser]

Doc what is the best way to get used to a CPAP machine without losing even more sleep and having a detrimental effect on my work