When you choose a sleep specialist at Ascension sites of care, you get a doctor who is part of an integrated national network of care – sharing best practices in sleep medicine and research on how sleep disorders can affect your heart, lungs and brain. Our doctors bring a multispecialty approach to sleep disorder care for:
- Brain and nervous systems conditions (neurologists)
- Dental conditions (dentists and maxillofacial surgeons)
- Ear, nose and throat conditions (ENT doctors)
- Lung and breathing conditions (pulmonary medicine)
- Mental health conditions (psychiatrists and psychologists)
- Pediatric sleep disorders (pediatric sleep specialists)
Your specialist starts by listening to better understand you and your sleep concerns. Then, we work with you to create a personalized care plan that helps improve your quality of sleep. Our respiratory therapists and sleep study technicians have advanced training to deliver diagnostic tests that help your doctor diagnose and treat sleep disorders.
Effects of sleep disorders on other health conditions
Sleep helps your body renew your mental and physical health. The most common symptoms of a sleep disorder include excessive daytime sleepiness, chronic snoring, problems getting to sleep, restless legs, sleep walking or other disruptions during sleep. Talk to your doctor about any symptoms you are experiencing. If left untreated, a sleep disorder increase your risk for:
- Depression
- Diabetes
- Heart attack
- Heart rhythm disorders, including atrial fibrillation
- High blood pressure
- Obesity
- Stroke
Diagnosis and treatment for for all types of sleep disorders
Each appointment starts with a conversation about you and your concerns. Your doctor and care team work with you to deliver a personalized care plan that’s right for you. At Ascension sites of care, our sleep specialists deliver advanced care for many types of sleep disorders:
- Central sleep apnea, brain doesn't signal muscles that control your breathing
- Obstructive sleep apnea, upper airway obstruction partially blocks airflow during sleep
- Insomnia, inability to sleep
- Narcolepsy, inability to stay awake
- Parasomnia, such a nightmares, sleep walking, and sleep-related eating disorder
- Periodic limb movement disorder, repetitive cramping or jerking of the legs
- Restless leg syndrome, urge to move legs especially when resting
- Snoring
Your care team connects the dots for you – from helping you schedule a sleep study, to referring you to other specialists, if needed, to help treat the cause of your sleep disorder.
Sleep tests for different types of sleep disorders
Your specialist provides a comprehensive evaluation to understand how your sleep may be affecting your health. Sleep studies (called polysomnography) are used to monitor brain, heart and breathing patterns, leg movements, and blood oxygen levels while you sleep. This information is used to diagnose sleep disorders and other neurological conditions. Diagnostic tests include:
- All-night sleep study
- Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) titration
- Multiple sleep latency testing
- Neurodiagnostic tests and epilepsy monitoring
- Split study, half diagnostic and half with the CPAP device
- Wakefulness testing
At-home sleep apnea evaluations
Talk to your doctor about at-home sleep apnea monitoring. Your sleep medicine specialist and care team provide the sleep study device and instructions. Once you complete the sleep study, return the device to our sleep center to be analyzed. A diagnostic report is then sent to your doctor.
Comprehensive care for sleep disorders
At Ascension sites of care, our goal is to deliver care for the whole you – your physical and emotional health. Your doctor will coordinate your care with other specialists, such as your cardiologist, to improve the quality of your sleep with treatment, such as:
- Insomnia treatment using cognitive behavior therapy
- Lifestyle and dietary changes
- Medication management
- Relaxation skills
- Sleep apnea devices
- Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)
- Removable tongue neuromuscular stimulation device
- Sleep apnea implant device
As part of your follow-up care, your sleep medicine team helps connect you to services that support your overall health and wellbeing.
