Find Out if You Have Sleep Apnea – At Home

 People with sleep apnea experience cessations in breathing during sleep, and the condition is associated with a range of serious side effects and illnesses. It used to be that you had to go into a sleep lab to have polysomnography, or a sleep test, in order to diagnose sleep apnea. In fact, having the test done in a sleep lab is a highly accurate method of diagnosing sleep apnea. However, the Aviisha Medical Wellness Institute now offers the new Stardust II ultra-portable sleep test unit online, so you can take the test discreetly, in the comfort and privacy of your own home. The process is door-to-door, meaning you can order the sleep test kit online, receive it and take the test overnight, and return the device, free of charge via Aviisha’s courier, to the sleep lab for evaluation. In a few days, you’ll have your results. In addition to telling you if you have sleep apnea, the sleep specialists at Aviisha will provide you with a recommended treatment report and suggestions for sleeping and feeling better.

The Stardust system itself is very easy to use. It only requires 5 to 10 minutes before bedtime to assemble. The device is small enough to hang around your neck at chest level, without bothering you while you sleep. There’s a respiratory effort monitor to place around your chest, and an airflow sensor for your nose. The device also has sensors for blood oxygen levels, body position, and night wakeups. All sensors are attached directly to the recorder worn on your chest. This way, you don’t have to be attached to anything outside of your own body, allowing you total freedom of movement while you sleep. A video explaining how to use the Stardust II can be found on the Aviisha website.

If you’re not sure if you need to have a sleep test, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale might help you decide. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale is a useful measurement of daytime sleepiness that doctors use to initially evaluate patients for sleep disorders. The Aviisha Health and Wellness Institute offers a “Sleep Well Quiz” based on the Epworth Sleepiness scale, and it can help you determine if your sleep is healthy or if you might need to be tested for a sleep disorder. If the results of your sleep test are clear and you do have sleep apnea, your doctor will probably have you try Continuous Positive Airway Pressure or CPAP, the most effective treatment available for sleep apnea.

If the results are unclear, your doctor may recommend you attend a sleep lab for a more comprehensive study of your sleep patterns. Either way, the Aviisha Medical Wellness Institute and Stardust II partnership represents a new generation of discreet, convenient testing for sleep apnea in the comfort of your own home.