Sleep Study

Get a Good Night’s Sleep!

If you’re struggling with sleep issues, let the MidCoast Health System team help you get the rest you deserve.

Sleep Apnea Basics

Sleep Apnea is a disorder of breathing during sleep. Typically it is accompanied by loud snoring. Apnea during sleep consists of brief periods throughout the night in which breathing stops. People with sleep apnea do not get enough oxygen during sleep.

There are 2 major types of sleep apnea:

  1. Obstructive Sleep Apnea is the most common type and is due to an obstruction in the throat during sleep. Bed partners notice pauses approximately 10 to 60 seconds between loud snores. The narrowing of the upper airway can be a result of several factors including physical characteristics, excess weight, and alcohol consumption before sleep.
  2. Central Sleep Apnea is caused by a delay in the signal from the brain to breathe. With both obstructive and central apnea you must wake up briefly to breathe, sometimes hundreds of times during the night. Usually there is no memory of these brief awakenings.

Should You Schedule a Test at MidCoast?

The most common symptoms of sleep apnea include:

  • Loud Snoring
  • Waking up non refreshed and having trouble staying awake during the day
  • Waking up with headaches
  • Waking up during the night sometimes with the sensation of choking
  • Waking up sweating
  • Being overweight
  • Having been observed holding your breath during sleep

MidCoast Health System can also help treat insomnia.

While it varies from person to person, most people need 7 to 9 hours of sleep to feel alert during the day.
Insomnia comes in many different forms. They include difficulty falling asleep, no problem falling asleep but difficulty staying asleep (many awakenings) and waking up too early.

There are three basic types of insomnia:

  1. Transient Insomnia – lasting for a few nights
  2. Short-term Insomnia – two or four weeks of poor sleep
  3. Chronic Insomnia – poor sleep that happens most nights and last a month or longer.

Difficulty sleeping at night is only one of the symptoms. Daytime symptoms include sleepiness, anxiety, impaired concentration, impaired memory and irritability.

Narcolepsy

Some people, no matter how much they sleep, continue to experience an irresistible need to sleep. People with narcolepsy can fall asleep while at work, talking, and driving a car for example. These “sleep attacks” can last from 30 seconds to more than 30 minutes. They may also experience periods of cataplexy (loss of muscle tone) ranging from a slight buckling at the knees to a complete, “rag doll” limpness throughout the body.

Narcolepsy is a chronic disorder affecting the brain where regulation of sleep and wakefulness take place.

Should you get tested? Symptoms of narcolepsy are:

  • Excessive sleepiness.
  • Temporary decreased or loss of muscle control, especially when getting excited.
  • Vivid dream-like images when drifting off to sleep or waking up.
  • Waking up unable to move or talk for a brief time.

MidCoast Treats Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS)

Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a discomfort in the legs which is relieved by moving or stimulating the legs.

This feeling is difficult to describe and commonly referred to as crawling, tingling or prickling sensation.

Medications have been found to be useful. Most likely situations for symptoms to occur are riding in a car, watching TV, reading, inactivity, sitting (in a movie theater for example) and lying in bed trying to fall asleep.

One variation of RLS is Periodic Limb Movements in Sleep (PLMS). PLMS are characterized by leg movements or jerks which typically occur every 20 to 40 seconds during sleep, causing your sleep to be disrupted. The MidCoast team can help diagnose and treat restless leg syndrome.

Let MidCoast Help You Get A Good Night’s Sleep

There are several hundred sleep disorders that people may experience, and the MidCoast team can help you with the above sleep issues and more, like:

  • Sleepwalking
  • Sleep Terrors/Night Terrors
  • Sleep Bruxism
  • Hypersomnia
  • Nocturnal Seizures
  • Snoring
  • Fibromyalgia
  • REM Behavior Disorder
  • Nocturnal Eating

If you suspect that you or your bed partner have any of the above sleep disorders consult your physician about scheduling a sleep study…don’t lose another nights sleep!

We will help properly diagnose the problem and treat any underlying problems or medical issues. Our team can help suggest specialized adaptive equipment or procedures to help ease your sleep struggles.

Sleep studies offered at: