Accuracy of home sleep tests regarding positions
A friend told me that the home sleep tests aren't good at distinguishing between stomach sleeping and back sleeping. Is this true? After my sleep test where I was diagnosed with moderate apnea, the sleep tech said I had most of my events while sleeping on my side and none (or maybe she said almost none) while sleeping on my back, and that this was very uncommon. Now I'm thinking maybe I was sleeping on my STOMACH that night, and that perhaps I don't really need the cpap while stomach sleeping. I plan to contact them tomorrow to ask more details about this.
One thing to back this theory up is that whenever I sleep on my stomach, my events effectively go down to zero.
RE: Accuracy of home sleep tests regarding positions
If your sleep test was an actual in-lab polysomnography, they monitor you via video feed all night long and record relevant and known factors that could affect a reading or event that takes place concomitantly. IOW, they watch to see what you do, when you do it, and see if it correlates at least temporally with a recorded apnea/hypopnea/arousal. If the associations are consistent and reliable from event-to-event, they know how you're likely to react when you are NOT being monitored and do those things. From there they can prescribe you a suitable treatment regimen and equipment.
All that to say that I don't believe a home sleep kit can tell if you are sleeping on your side or on your stomach. It CAN tell if your blood oxygen saturation changes, and it can give a rough estimate of what the actual content is at any one time. You'd have to have someone watch you all night long and keep a log of times and durations for ways you slept, and then go back and look at the index timeline of the data and match any events to the changes of your sleep behaviours.
RE: Accuracy of home sleep tests regarding positions
My home kit had a sticker disc thingy (as I remember it) that I put on my chest which they said tracked my position.
RE: Accuracy of home sleep tests regarding positions
Whilst apnoea changes based on position I don’t see why anyone would want to force themselves to lie in a particular position when the APAP machines can provide appropriate treatment in any position. I know it’s my opinion but I think extra things to keep me lying in one position would be worse than using the APAP machine.
RE: Accuracy of home sleep tests regarding positions
I agree, but unfortunately sleeping on my side with the cpap causes air to go into my stomach, even at low pressures. I haven't heard of anyone else with this particular position causing this. Laying on my back gives me events averaging between 1-2 an hour, very acceptable. Stomach sleeping leads to almost zero events. So I'm thinking maybe when I roll onto my stomach (Usually around 4am), I might be able to just take the mask off at that point. Not sure though which is why I started this thread.
RE: Accuracy of home sleep tests regarding positions
(09-02-2018, 11:21 PM)MrZennie Wrote: My home kit had a sticker disc thingy (as I remember it) that I put on my chest which they said tracked my position.
I can't think of any reason why a sensor properly attached to your chest wouldn't be accurate in determining the difference between prone (stomach) and supine (back) sleep. They use the same kind of positional sensors found in most cell phones and a difference of 180 degrees is not subtle.
09-03-2018, 10:39 AM
(This post was last modified: 09-03-2018, 10:39 AM by Stom.)
RE: Accuracy of home sleep tests regarding positions
(09-03-2018, 12:21 AM)jaswilliams Wrote: Whilst apnoea changes based on position I don’t see why anyone would want to force themselves to lie in a particular position when the APAP machines can provide appropriate treatment in any position. I know it’s my opinion but I think extra things to keep me lying in one position would be worse than using the APAP machine.
One can look at that from the opposite direction as well. For many people apnea can be **much worse** depending on body position, and require way higher CPAP pressures, which can cause discomfort, mask leakage, and swallowing air, which can lead to GERD and also inhalation of stomach contents (aspiration). And even with all that, higher CPAP pressures may not work as well as changing sleep positions. There are lots of reasons why many people would want to make their CPAP more effective by sleeping in a position that is more conducive to breathing. So this is really a very individual thing.
RE: Accuracy of home sleep tests regarding positions
Great point, Stom.
I do get aerophagia symptoms when I sleep on my left side (but not my right). I read here on this board that it's due to how our anatomy is inside (and angles at which air can easily be trapped in certain areas).
I also get those symptoms if I sleep on my back, unelevated. So I've put a few pillows under my shoulders and head, and it has reduced my symptoms.
All that to say that I agree with Stom - it is worth it to me to make these little changes (elevate, and don't sleep on my left side) so as to help the process be a more pleasant experience for me.
P.S. About a home test... I witnessed one, and wondered how they can determine a position of sleeping. But wow, the sticker on the chest has that sort of technology?! I don't know if that's awesome or creepy. LOL
