You sleep at home, in your own bed
Home studies are bulk billed with a GP referral and are appropriate for the large majority of suspected obstructive sleep apnoea. Where an in-laboratory study is genuinely needed, we say so and refer you to a hospital lab.
What we test with
Two kinds of study, and which one you need depends on what we are ruling in or out.
Home sleep study
A portable device you wear for one night in your own bed. Measures breathing, oxygen, airflow, snoring, body position and effort. Appropriate for the large majority of suspected obstructive sleep apnoea. Bulk billed with a referral, or $295 without one.
- Sleep in your own bed, normal routine
- Bulk billed with a GP referral
- Results explained within a week
In-laboratory study
An overnight study in a hospital sleep lab with full brain-wave monitoring. Needed for suspected narcolepsy, complex central apnoea, seizure-related events, or where a home study was inconclusive. Referred, bulk billed.
- Full polysomnography with EEG
- Referred to a hospital lab, not done here
- We arrange it and interpret the result with you
What gets measured overnight
Six things a home study actually records.
Airflow and breathing effort. How often airflow stops or drops, and whether your chest is still trying — which distinguishes obstructive from central events.
Blood oxygen saturation. How far your oxygen falls with each event and how long it stays down.
Heart rate. Rate and variability through the night, including the surges that accompany each arousal.
Snoring volume. Recorded, which is often the first time anyone has objectively measured what a partner has been describing for years.
Body position. Whether events cluster on your back. If they do, positional therapy alone may be worth discussing.
Sleep time and arousals. How much you actually slept and how often you were pulled out of deep sleep.
Reading your result
The headline number is the AHI — how many times an hour your breathing stopped or became significantly reduced. Your report will name it, and this is what the bands mean.
Under 5, normal. If you are still exhausted, something else is going on and we will say so rather than treat a number that is fine.
5 to 15, mild. Treatment depends on your symptoms. A splint, weight loss or positional therapy is often the right first step rather than CPAP.
15 to 30, moderate. CPAP is usually recommended, and this is the range most of the machines we supply are for.
Over 30, severe. Treatment is strongly indicated, and there are licence implications if you drive commercially.
What a study actually involves
Four facts about how a study here runs, and how the referral works.
In your own bed, with your own routine.
Average turnaround from study to reported result.
Of studies scored by a scientist and reported by a physician.
Cost with a GP referral meeting Medicare criteria.
Ask your GP for a sleep study referral. They will run a short questionnaire — Epworth and STOP-BANG — which determines Medicare eligibility. Most people who snore and are tired qualify. Without a referral you can still be tested, at $295, and we will still have a physician report on it.
Home sleep studies are usually bulk billed with a referral
Ring between 8am and 5:30pm weekdays. Outside that, leave a message and we will call back the next business day.