Jeffrey Kopita, M.D., pulmonologist and sleep medicine specialist on the medical staff at Baylor Medical Center at Garland, talks about sleep disorder diagnosis and treatment.
Q: What is the difference between simply not getting enough sleep and having a sleep disorder?
A: For many reasons, people often don't get the recommended eight hours of sleep. A hectic daily schedule, erratic sleep-wake habits and poor sleep hygiene are big culprits. But when someone reports continued difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep—or is getting adequate sleep, but is still excessively fatigued—then sleep is not restorative, and that reflects a sleep disorder.
Q: What's the first step in finding the cause of a sleep problem?
A: A good medical history and lifestyle evaluation are very important to determine what could be affecting someone's sleep quality. Not all people with sleep problems require a sleep study. Often, making a few behavioral changes such as removing the TV from the bedroom or eating dinner earlier is sufficient to improve the situation.
Q: What is involved in a sleep study?
A: For a sleep study, or polysomnography, patients check into our Sleep Center for a six- to eight-hour period. A technologist connects the patient to various monitors, which document what is going on during sleep by recording brain activity, heart rate, breathing and blood oxygen levels, eye and leg movements, and more. The brain activity, measured by electroencephalography (EEG), is the core of any sleep study because it indicates the occurrence, type and quality of sleep.