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| Diagnosing Sleep Disorders | Self-diagnosis
In case if you want to find out whether you suffer from any sleep disorder, the first thing you are to pay attention at is your sleep habits and daily routine. No matter whether you want to help yourself, of if you are going to visit a doctor, anyway, it would be helpful to keep the record of your sleep habits, simply because the history of your sleep will you as well as your doctor to find the possible reason of your sleep problems.
In addition, if you keep a sleep diary, it will help you identify some definite lifestyle factors, which have to do with your sleep disorders and it will make it easier to discuss your daily problems, in case if you make a decision to see your doctor or some other sleep specialist. All information, which has anything to do with your sleep, should be recorded in the sleep diary. This information consists of the following factors:
• Time you went to bed and time you woke up – which means your total sleep hours.
• What is the quality of your sleep – like times that you were awake during the night and what did you do, for example got up, had a glass of milk, meditated, or simply stayed in bed with your eyes being closed.
• How much food, liquids, caffeine, and / or alcohol and of what quality you consume before going to bed, and how many times do you consume all / any of them.
• Your feelings and moods before going to bad: you may experience happiness, stress, anxiety, sadness, etc.
• Drugs or medications taken, amounts of drugs or medications taken and times of their consumption.
Your sleep partner, in case if there is any, can also add some useful information to your sleep diary. Remember, that every detail is important, and with the help of your sleep diary it may be revealed, that your pre – bedtime behavior is thwarting your chances for having a good night’s sleep. For instance, keeping a sleep diary for several weeks may reveal that you can not fall asleep if you had more than two alcoholic drinks before going to bed, of that you may suffer from insomnia on days, when you did not do exercises, etc.
Seeing a doctor
In case if you see that your sleep does not get better, and if you still suffer from insomnia even after you changed your lifestyle, improved sleep hygiene, then you should visit your doctor or some sleep specialist for a diagnosis. Therefore, it should be noted, that a doctor, who specializes in sleep problems would be more skilled in diagnosing and treating different types of sleep disorders. Sleep specialists may be found either in a sleep center, or they may also work independently.
There is a great number of factors, on which a medical professional can diagnose sleep disorders. Anyway, a sleep specialist usually bases his diagnosis on the description of your symptoms, your age and gender, as well as on your psychological and medical history. The doctor will look through your sleep diary, then you will have to answer to a specific sleep questionnaire, after which you will be interviewed with the aim to figure out the possible reason of your insomnia. The doctor does this all in order to find out some possible medical conditions and he may even ask you to make some definite changes either in your environment or in your behavior. This will be considered as the beginning of your insomnia treatment. In addition, you may be recommended to have a number of common analyses, which are usually used in diagnosing sleep disorders.
How sleep centers diagnose sleep disorders
It is also possible that your doctor will suggest you to visit a sleep center, where a team of sleep specialists will apply all the latest technology in monitoring you while you sleep. You will have to come into a private room, in which a technician will attach a lot of specific monitoring devices to your body as soon as you are ready to go to bed. With the help of all these devices, which will monitor your brain waves, heart rate, rapid eye movements, etc while you are asleep, sleep specialists will observe your sleep patterns. Of no doubt, that sleeping with a great number of wires, which are attached to your body might seem extremely difficult to you, however, most patients find that they fall asleep easily and without any problems.
In the morning the technician removes all the monitoring devices from your body, and you are able to go straight to work or on to your everyday activities again. The results of all these previously conducted observations will be analyzed by the sleep specialists, after that they or your referring physician sets up a time with you to go over all these results and do make a work the treatment program, in case if it is necessary, out. It is also possible that a sleep center provides you with all the equipment in order to monitor your activities, asleep, as well as awake at home.
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