All patients meet with one of our sleep medicine or breathing disorder clinical providers to formulate a diagnostic and treatment plan based on your specific needs and goals. Your UT Southwestern Medical Center sleep physician may prescribe a sleep study, also known as a polysomnogram (PSG), to help accurately diagnose your condition.
In addition to our clinic and exam area, our facilities include a sleep laboratory for overnight studies. The laboratory features private bedrooms and bathrooms in a comfortable and spacious testing center that includes equipment to monitor brain and cardiac activity, breathing pauses and snoring, oxygenation, chest and abdominal activity, and limb movements.
For the study, a sleep technologist places several small sensors on your scalp, face, chest, abdomen, and legs. This is a painless, noninvasive procedure. Once the sensors are in place, you go to sleep in a private room. The technologist monitors and digitally records your sleep patterns throughout the night from a separate room within the lab.
These measurements can help determine whether any medical conditions are interrupting sleep and causing fatigue during the day. The record is invaluable for helping your physician determine the source of a condition and how to treat it. Our sleep specialists will send a report to referring physicians within a few days of the study, outlining the findings of the diagnostic evaluation and any treatment recommendations.