A home sleep study tests for obstructive sleep apnoea while you sleep in your own bed. A small monitor records breathing, oxygen, heart rate and position for one or two nights, and a sleep specialist reads the result with you at a follow up consultation. It costs £695, and a sleep consultation first is £450.
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Any of these needs to be seen the same day. If you are severely unwell, go to your nearest emergency department or call 999.
Obstructive sleep apnoea happens when the throat narrows or closes during sleep, stopping breathing for ten seconds or more, many times an hour. Each pause ends with a brief waking that you rarely remember, so sleep is broken all night.NICE NG202, 2021
It is very common and mostly undiagnosed. One worldwide estimate puts the number of adults aged 30 to 69 with it at close to a billion, around 425 million of them with moderate or severe disease.The Lancet Respiratory Medicine Benjafield, 2019
Loud snoring, pauses in breathing that a partner notices, waking unrefreshed, morning headaches and sleepiness during the day are the usual signs. Excess weight, a thick neck, being male, drinking alcohol in the evening and a small jaw all raise the risk.NICE NG202, 2021
A short questionnaire called STOP-Bang scores snoring, tiredness, observed pauses, blood pressure, weight, age, neck size and sex. A score of 5 or more points to a high chance of moderate or severe sleep apnoea.Chest Chung, 2016
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For adults with typical symptoms and no major heart or lung disease, a home test is a reliable way to confirm sleep apnoea. If the home test is normal but the symptoms are strong, a full study in a sleep laboratory is the next step.Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine Kapur, 2017
The result is given as the number of pauses and shallow breaths per hour. Five to 14 is mild, 15 to 29 moderate and 30 or more severe, and the number is read alongside how sleepy you are during the day.NICE NG202, 2021
Daytime sleepiness is measured with the Epworth scale, eight questions scored from 0 to 24. A score above 10 suggests more sleepiness than normal.Sleep Johns, 1991
Weight, alcohol and position
Losing weight, avoiding alcohol in the evening and not sleeping on your back can reduce or resolve mild sleep apnoea.NICE NG202, 2021
A mouth guard
A custom splint that holds the lower jaw forward during sleep. An option for mild sleep apnoea, or for people who cannot manage CPAP.NICE NG202, 2021
CPAP
A small machine that blows air through a mask to keep the throat open. The most effective treatment for moderate and severe sleep apnoea, and for mild sleep apnoea that affects daily life.NICE TA139, 2008
Treated sleep apnoea usually means better sleep and less daytime sleepiness within weeks. CPAP takes some getting used to, and the first month is when most people either settle with it or give up, so early follow up matters.NICE NG202, 2021
Weight loss can improve sleep apnoea a great deal, though it does not cure it in everyone, and some people still need treatment after reaching a healthy weight.NICE NG202, 2021
Score yourself on the Epworth scale, where anything above 10 out of 24 is worth mentioning, and ask whoever shares your room what they notice, such as snoring, gasping or long pauses. Their account is often more useful than yours, because you are asleep when it happens.Sleep Johns, 1991
If you drive for work or have had a near miss through sleepiness, say so at the start. You must not drive while sleepiness affects your driving, and there are rules about telling the DVLA once moderate or severe sleep apnoea is confirmed.Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency DVLA guidance, 2012
A sleep tracker on your wrist or phone is not a sleep study. It can show that your sleep is broken, but it cannot measure breathing pauses accurately enough to diagnose or rule out sleep apnoea.Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine Kapur, 2017
Snoring devices and nasal strips sold online may quieten snoring without treating apnoea underneath it. Get tested first, because silencing the snore can hide the problem.NICE NG202, 2021
Step 1
A short questionnaire, or a consultation with a sleep doctor where the picture is less clear.
Step 2
Wear the monitor in your own bed for one or two nights. It records breathing, oxygen, heart rate and position.
Step 3
A sleep specialist reads the recording and goes through it with you, with a treatment plan where apnoea is found.
Ask before you book if you are not sure this is the right appointment.
A home sleep study is £695, including the monitor, the report from a sleep specialist and a follow up consultation to go through it. A 60 minute sleep consultation beforehand is £450, and sleep apnoea treatment sessions are £200 each.
For adults with typical symptoms of sleep apnoea and no serious heart or lung disease, yes, for confirming the diagnosis. A laboratory study measures brain activity as well and is better for other sleep disorders, or where a home test is normal despite strong symptoms.
Your breathing, blood oxygen, heart rate and sleeping position through the night. The monitor is small and you put it on yourself at bedtime, so you sleep in your own bed and keep to your usual routine as far as you can.
Not for a test alone. If moderate or severe sleep apnoea is confirmed and it makes you sleepy, you must tell the DVLA and stop driving until it is under control. Most people keep their licence once treatment is working.
Tiredness has many causes, including insomnia, low mood, thyroid problems, iron deficiency and shift work. A sleep doctor looks at those in turn, and some people need a laboratory study to look for other sleep disorders.
Yes. Many people snore without any pauses in breathing. It becomes a concern when there are pauses, gasping, or sleepiness during the day, and those are the people who benefit from a study.
This page is general information about a condition and it is not a diagnosis. Treatment depends on what a doctor finds when they examine you, and no outcome is guaranteed. If you are severely unwell, or if any of the warnings at the top of this page apply to you, go to your nearest emergency department or call 999.
Chest
STOP Bang questionnaire, a practical approach to screen for obstructive sleep apneaChung, 2016
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
Excessive sleepiness and drivingDVLA guidance, 2012
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Clinical practice guideline for diagnostic testing for adult obstructive sleep apneaKapur, 2017
NICE
Continuous positive airway pressure for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea hypopnoea syndromeTA139, 2008
NICE
Obstructive sleep apnoea hypopnoea syndrome and obesity hypoventilation syndrome in over 16sNG202, 2021
Sleep
A new method for measuring daytime sleepiness, the Epworth sleepiness scaleJohns, 1991
The Lancet Respiratory Medicine
Estimation of the global prevalence and burden of obstructive sleep apnoea, a literature based analysisBenjafield, 2019
Written and reviewed by the clinical team at The Wellness. Last reviewed 23 September 2026.
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