What to Expect During a Sleep Study

• Arrive for the sleep test by 7:30 p.m. unless you were told otherwise.
• Your child’s hair and skin need to be clean and dry with no hair products or lotions.
• Your child should eat a regular evening dinner prior to arriving at the study and avoid sweets or caffeine during the day. Pack snacks/drinks.
• A parent/guardian must be present for the entire study.
• Only one parent/guardian is allowed. No siblings, please.

Parking and Directions

Please reach out to the Sleep Study Scheduling office if you are unfamiliar with the location of the sleep study. Patients coming to our main campus lab in the Bolwell building should park in the UH Drive parking garage and enter the hospital through the first floor of Lerner Tower. (Find a campus map here.)

Patients coming to our Beachwood Marriott Residence Inn location should park in front of the hotel and check in at the front desk.

Most children have numerous questions and a variety of feelings about what to expect with the sleep study. That is why it is important to talk openly with the child before the day of the sleep study.

Parents should explain the sleep study in a child-friendly way. They will go to the “sleepover” together. The stickers do not hurt. Share information about the study in ways that the child will understand. Parents can also help to make the experience better by doing the following:

• Planning together
• Packing suitcases together
• Bringing the child’s favorite comfort items
• Continuing the usual bedtime routines at the sleep study

Parents should pack everything the child might need during the time spent at the sleep center. Items to bring include:

• Two-piece pajamas and change of clothing for the morning. No onesies or footies.
• Toiletries, toothbrush, and if needed, diapers
• Special pillows or blankets
• Stuffed animals or books
• Medications, formula, bottles or food items that the child may need. We do not administer medications.
• Other medical equipment used by the child, including suction equipment, portable ventilator or feeding equipment
• If doing the daytime testing, plan activities to keep your child busy during the day such as reading books, playing with toys, homework, electronics or games
• Meals, snack and drinks (a cafeteria is available if your study is conducted at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital)
• Insurance card and ID

After you arrive for the “sleepover”, we will weigh your child, measure their height, take their blood pressure and look in their throat to assess their tonsils. If your child is staying the next day for a nap study, we will collect a urine sample. Meanwhile, you will complete a questionnaire regarding your child’s health and sleep behaviors. Next, your child will get ready for bed and we will start the set-up.

To conduct the child’s sleep study, sticky patches or sensors that look and feel similar to stickers are placed on the child’s legs, chest, head, scalp and face. Prior to applying the sensors, different areas on the child’s skin will be cleaned with a lotion. The sensors look and feel like stickers, which may make it fun for children. A few other sensors will be placed on the child’s fingertip or toe, around the belly and chest, and under the nose. Discussing this part of the sleep study with the child is important so he or she knows what to expect.

Each sensor or sticker has an attached wire or string that connects to a small monitoring box placed near the child’s pillow. Throughout the night, the sleep technician will observe the child from a nearby room via a video camera. The sensors will record important information. It takes about one hour to put the sensors on the child’s body. Then both parent and child will stay overnight in the room at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital or the nearby hotel.

We will turn off the lights in your room between 9:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. (or earlier or later depending on the planning of the study times). Once the lights are turned off, we will begin to monitor your child from outside the room. The stickers and sensors we attached earlier in the night tell us how your child is sleeping. Also, we will monitor a video feed and a microphone to make sure your child is safe.

The parent/guardian must be very quiet during the night so they do not disturb the child’s sleep. Please silence or turn off your cell phone. The sleep technician will likely enter the room at various times during the night to get a closer look at your child or to fix any loose sensors.

When your child wakes up in the morning, we will gently remove the sensors with a liquid sticker remover, and you will be free to go home, unless a daytime nap study is also planned. Let us know the night before if you would like to take a shower in the morning so we can plan ahead.