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Accredited Sleep Disorders
Lab
 The
Sleep Lab of Columbia, LLC has been
accredited by the
American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
Accreditation from this prestigious
organization assures quality care to
patients with sleep disorders.
What is Obstructive
Sleep Apnea?
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a serious,
potentially life-threatening condition that
affects 18 million Americans or roughly 20
percent of the U.S. adult population. For
those who have it, breathing stops during
sleep in intervals that may last from 10
seconds to a minute or longer and prevents
air from getting to the lungs. This disrupts
healthy sleep and causes a number of
short-term and long-lasting effects that
threaten the health and well-being of those
who suffer from this condition.
How is Sleep Apnea Diagnosed?
Screening evaluation includes a complete
sleep history and physical examination,
observing height and weight, structure of
the open airway, size of tonsils and
adenoids, and any signs of nasal
obstruction. The gold standard for the
diagnosis of sleep apnea is overnight
polysomnography (sleep study) carried out in
a hospital or sleep laboratory. This
procedure most clearly shows the extent and
severity of sleep disordered breathing and
helps aid with management.
What to Expect
When you arrive to the Sleep Lab of
Columbia, LLC, you will be shown to a private
bedroom. The rooms are similar to a
comfortable residential bedroom with a
nearby restroom. You will be given the
opportunity to freshen up after the study
and resume your normal daily activities at
5am.
The rooms are specially equipped to record
your sleep activity. The technician will
apply adhesive electrodes, sensors and other
monitoring devices to the skin of your head
and body. These devices are designed to be
as comfortable as possible and will be used
to painlessly record breathing through your
mouth and nose, heart rate, oxygen levels,
brain activity and muscle, eye and leg
movements during sleep. Flexible elastic
belts around your chest and abdomen measure
your breathing. A clip on your finger or
earlobe monitors the level of oxygen in your
blood and your heart rate. You may read, do
crossword puzzles or another relaxing
activity prior to bedtime. We ask that you
be asleep by 11:00pm. A family member can
accompany you to the Lab and is permitted to
stay in your room.
A camera is used to observe your sleep
throughout the night. This provides useful
diagnostic information and also acts as a
safety feature. An intercom is on at all
times to enable you to speak to the
technician in an adjacent central monitoring
room. The technician will monitor you
throughout the entire night by means of
computers, video and printouts of your
recorded activity.
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