This is the second sleep study I've ever had done. The previous one was over 10 years ago - a very awkward set-up in a hospital room big enough to have a tennis tournament in... and they had too much light, etc. and I had to sleep in a hospital bed.
This place was such a surprise!
Each person having the sleep study done is in their own private bedroom. Even though this is in an office building, they set up the rooms so they feel like small, luxury hotel rooms. The beds have leather padded headboards and footboards. The sheets, pillow cases and blankets are laundered between each visit (I saw them stripping beds and bagging for laundry as I was leaving). Nice, luxuriant pillows, sheets and blankets. I brought one memory foam pillow with me, but they had lots of extra pillows to use in the room for patients to use.
The bedside table had a landline phone, towels (in case I wanted to shower in the morning) and a breakfast bar for when I woke up... and bottled water.
The folks who set you up with the electrodes, etc. are very professional and make you feel at ease. They really do a good job. I wish I could remember the name of the woman who helped me - she was awesome.
The rooms each come with a wall-mounted TV with the Dish network - all channels... so I was able to mellow out before I got ready to sleep. I do not sleep well in strange places... and knowing there's a camera watching you as you sleep is creepy! But, I felt comfortable enough here that I was able to get some decent sleep.
While I had the TV on, my aide turned off the light and said goodnight - and in about 30 minutes, I had the TV off and I was out like a light myself.
My only problem with this place is the loudness of the doors when they open and close. I am a very light sleeper - especially when sleeping in a strange place. Any time another patient would open or close their door to use the restroom or whatever was going on, it would wake me up - because you could hear the heavy wood door hit the metal door frame with a loud wooden clunk.
For all the money they've invested in bedding and ambiance, they should invest in some felt padding for the door jambs and quieter door mechanisms. I was awakened at least 5 times through the night from the sound of another person's room door opening or closing.
Before hopping into the bed, I asked what I needed to do if I had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. There are at least 10 electrodes attached to you - legs, chest, head and face. They have a pulse monitor on your finger - I was told if I just took that off, they'd be in immediately to see what I needed and help me disconnect so I could use the bathroom and then come back to bed.
At about 4:30 a.m., I rolled over a bit (so I was still kinda sorta awake) and one of the attendants came in faster than greased lightning. Apparently I unhitched something when I moved, because it appeared to them that the pulse monitor had come undone. It was on and still attached to my finger. She popped in 3 separate times in quick succession because it was still giving a reading of no pulse... so even though I didn't have to go the bathroom in the middle of the night, I do know they will come in immediately if they think you need them. At this point, they said there was enough data recorded if I wanted to go ahead and leave instead of trying to sleep for another 30 minutes, so I did decide to bale at that point.
The directions I got via e-mail to this place stated that there was a parking garage. There is - but patients cannot park in there. I found this unsettling - as my appointment was at night. You have to park in the not-so-well-lit lot behind the parking garage, because every single slot in the the nearly empty garage is marked "RESERVED - WILL TOW." I don't think this is safe, especially for women - walking into a building after nightfall while carrying pillows and blankets. It so makes you a target, in my opinion. read more