Diagnostics
Restful sleep is key to physical, mental and emotional health. There are around one hundred different types of sleep disorders, many of which are very common, and they should be taken seriously. How do we monitor sleep quality at Park Igls? Our mobile sleep labs are part of Carina Gollmayer-Vuga's field of work. The medical assistant has been supporting our guests for eighteen years and explains what we need to know about sleep analysis.
It has two major advantages: firstly, a familiar, comfortable sleeping environment; and secondly, no waiting time. Why? The sleep analysis is carried out in the hotel room – very easy. People usually sleep better or at least more normally in a familiar environment than they would in an inpatient sleep lab unit that they don’t know. We also have no waiting times for appointments, which is really worth its weight in gold.
It's actually quite simple. You are wired up before going to bed. I attach special sensors which measure various sleep parameters. This allows our doctors to draw conclusions about aspects such as breathing, the time it takes to fall asleep, sleep duration, night-time waking times, deep sleep or dream sleep phases, and behavioural abnormalities while sleeping. The whole equipment fits into a small box. It’s basically a computer not much bigger than two large smartphones that we hang around your chest for analysis. People are often concerned that they won’t be able to sleep with the technology attached, but it usually works without problems, so it's nowhere near as bad as some might assume.
Sleep disorders are caused by a variety of physical and psychological environmental factors.
We use electrodes to measure brain activity during sleep, from which we derive a sleep EEG. We also monitor and measure eye movement, muscle tension, oxygen saturation in the blood, breathing, snoring noises and heart activity as well as body position, respiratory effort and leg movement. All these parameters provide a comprehensive picture that allows us to draw informed conclusions about sleep quality. The results are available the next day and our consultant physician Jörg Duftner discusses them with the guest as soon as possible, usually during their stay with us.
We all know what it feels like to not be able to fall asleep, to not sleep through the night or to not feel rested and fit in the morning. It's completely normal for this to happen from time to time. However, if you experience episodes like this frequently and over a longer period of time, you should talk to a doctor. Significant breathing interruptions at night, which are often noticed by a partner, are a sign of apnoea. You should really try to get to the root cause of the problem.
Sleep disorders are caused by a variety of physical and psychological environmental factors. Stress, an unhealthy lifestyle or excessive strain very often lead to disturbed sleep. Undiagnosed conditions can also be the cause. Sleep analysis helps to find out.
Somnography
Somnography is carried out as an additional diagnostic service at Park Igls. We also offer in-depth pulmonological consultation if required. Our consultant in this medical field is the renowned pulmonologist Dr Jörg Duftner.
More ParkZeit articles
ParkZeit Editorial
Hormones in the spotlight
Time for Myself
Gut with brains
Fit not fatigue
