SLEEP DISORDERS CENTRE

The Sleep Disorders Centre located at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, level 7 provides a wide range of comprehensive diagnosis and treatment services to most types of sleep disorders.

What is Sleep Disorder?

Most healthy adults need an average of eight hours of sleep a night. If you find that you have trouble staying alert in an unexciting atmosphere, have difficulty concentrating or remembering facts, or have a tendency to be irrationally impatient with co-workers, family or friends, you may have Sleep Disorder.

What are the common Sleep Disorders?

Common symptoms of Sleep Disorders are:
· Loud habitual heavy snoring (Obstructive sleep apnea)
· Chronic insomnia
· Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS)
· Excessive leg movements during sleep
· Sleep walking and other abnormal sleep behaviours
· Narcolepsy
· Nocturnal epilepsy
· Periodic limb movements
· Parasomnias

When do you seek help?

If your sleep problems lasts for more than a week and is frustrating, or if sleepiness affects the way you behave during the day, a doctor's help may be needed. But before you visit the doctor, you'll find that it is often useful to keep a diary of your sleep habits for about ten days to identify how much sleep you are getting (or not getting) over a period of time. It will also be helpful to record activities that may interfere with getting good sleep.

If the problem is the time you take to fall asleep or stay asleep, your doctor may recommend lifestyle changes to treat the problem. However, lifestyle changes alone may not be enough. Treating insomnia with medication is the most common treatment for these sleep problems. In most cases, medication is only temporary, until the real problem is treated or lifestyle changes have had a chance to work.

While many people will take over-the-counter sleeping pills to help them sleep, these should be taken with caution. Consult your doctor or pharmacist about the different types of medication available and which would be most effective for you. Alcohol, however, should not be used as a sleep aid.

Diagnosis and Treatment services available:

There are specific tests available at our clinics to diagnose Sleep Disorders. Before a test method is confirmed, a thorough history and clinical examination is carried out. Particular attention is paid to how the sleep disorder has affected daytime activities. Your sleeping partner is asked to observe your sleep pattern for a few nights and provide any feedback on abnormal sleep behaviour. Some basic blood tests, X-rays and other tests may also be taken.

If an individual is suspected of having Sleep Disorder, the overnight sleep study (polysomnography), is conducted. This test will provide more information about his sleep pattern and whether he is breathing regularly while asleep.

What is a Sleep Study (Polysomnography)?

A sleep study is designed to record your sleeping behaviour. It requires sleeping overnight at the sleep centre where you are monitored with online video and polygraphic recordings during the entire sleep period. Small unobtrusive sensors are placed on various parts of the body. These allow for the continuous monitoring of brain waves, breathing pattern, heart rate and rhythm, oxygenation of the blood and other biological data that is essential for the diagnosis of sleep disorders.

The sleep study is a painless, non-invasive test, and you will be discharged early the next morning. The recorded data is then analysed by the attending sleep specialist. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, effective and appropriate therapy is meted out.

A typical polygraph obtained during an overnight study may look something like the following simplified representation. This graph shows the drop in oxygen levels that occurs when the individual suffers an apneic episode.

Facility

MEH-CN.S Sleep Centre is located at level 7, Mount Elizabeth Hospital - Medical Centre. The sleep disorders centre offers individuals their own private bedroom while a skilled sleep technician attends to the sleep study. It offers a state-of-the-art, fully computerised sleep laboratory, for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders.

Consultative Services

You may consult your family doctor for referral, or contact us directly at MEH-CN.S Sleep Disorders Centre: - 6731 2851 for an appointment.