- People with suspected OSA who are not appropriate for HSAT
- People with negative/inconclusive HSAT despite ongoing suspicion
- People with complex parasomnias, movement disorders or other sleep-specialist questions
Standard of care
TEST PASSPORT · REVIEWED JULY 2026
In-lab polysomnography
The full overnight diagnostic standard for complex sleep questions.Polysomnography records brain activity, eyes, muscles, airflow, effort, oxygen, heart rhythm and more. It can evaluate sleep apnea and selected movement, behavior or hypersomnolence disorders.
ACCESSClinic / performance labMultichannel overnight recording
TURNAROUNDSeveral days to 2 weeksProvider and location dependent
RELATIVE COST$$$–$$$$Total downstream cost matters
COMMERCE STATUSFacility pathwaySleep-specialist referral + accredited lab booking
HOW TO USE THIS PAGE
Decide whether this test deserves a place in your plan.
- 01Confirm the question
Be clear about what decision the result would change before ordering.
- 02Check fit and preparation
Review who it helps, who should pause and how to protect the quality of the signal.
- 03Plan the response
Know what you will do with a normal, abnormal or unclear result.
01 / WHO SHOULD TAKE IT
Fit the test to
the person.
Testing is useful when the result can change a real decision. These are educational selection criteria, not a diagnosis or personal order.- Routine optimization of wearable sleep scores
- Replacing a clinical sleep history
02 / SIGNAL VS. STORY
What it tells you.
What it cannot.
01
Sleep stages and arousals
02
Apneas/hypopneas, oxygen and breathing effort
03
Limb movement, position and heart-rhythm context
01
One laboratory night may not represent every night
02
The unfamiliar environment can affect sleep
03
Data need specialist scoring and clinical interpretation
03 / MARKERS + RANGES
Read the panel
without chasing flags.
The report should show its own method, units and laboratory reference interval. Clinical decision thresholds may be different from a lab interval. We do not invent a universal “optimal” range where authoritative guidance does not support one.Use the laboratory unit and method, then interpret with symptoms, trend and the decision this marker can change.
Use the laboratory unit and method, then interpret with symptoms, trend and the decision this marker can change.
Use the laboratory unit and method, then interpret with symptoms, trend and the decision this marker can change.
Use the laboratory unit and method, then interpret with symptoms, trend and the decision this marker can change.
Use the laboratory unit and method, then interpret with symptoms, trend and the decision this marker can change.
Use the laboratory unit and method, then interpret with symptoms, trend and the decision this marker can change.
MEN, WOMEN + LIFE-STAGE CONTEXT
The correct range is personal context—not pink versus blue numbers.
Where biology differs, we call it out. Clinical interpretation should also reflect organs present, hormone therapy, pregnancy, age, medications and health history.
Insomnia-predominant symptoms and life-stage changes can affect referral and interpretation.
Classic snoring/witnessed-apnea presentations are common, but symptoms and comorbidities—not sex alone—select the test.
04 / PREPARATION
Protect the quality
of the signal.
The best assay cannot rescue the wrong timing, wrong specimen or wrong question. Follow the ordering clinician and laboratory instructions when they differ from this general guide.Ask the sleep center whether any medicine should be adjusted; do not stop prescriptions on your own.
Follow caffeine, alcohol, nap, hair and skin instructions.
Bring usual sleepwear and prescribed PAP equipment if instructed.
REPEAT CADENCEOnce to answer the diagnostic question; repeat for unresolved symptoms, selected titration needs or major clinical change.
05 / AFTER THE RESULT
Turn the number
into a next step.
- 01
Review diagnosis and severity with a sleep clinician
- 02
Match therapy to the disorder
- 03
Track symptoms and treatment adherence rather than repeating studies reflexively
DO NOT WAIT ON A CONSUMER TEST
Dangerous driving sleepiness
Nocturnal chest pain, severe breathing distress or prolonged abnormal behavior
06 / MODERN BIO SELECT
Built for a responsible purchase path.
The site can sell navigation and qualified booking—not commoditize a complex study.In-lab polysomnography
- Future format
- Sleep-specialist referral + accredited lab booking
- Price position
- Facility / insurance dependent
- Before checkout
- Eligibility · method · privacy · total cost · interpretation · abnormal-result routing
07 / SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION