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Sleep study (polysomnography) in Coimbatore — testing for sleep apnoea

Overnight (in-clinic) or 1 night (home)

A sleep study (polysomnography) records your brain waves, breathing, oxygen levels, heart rate and body movements through the night to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), central apnea and other sleep-related breathing disorders.

We offer both attended in-clinic studies and convenient home sleep testing, followed by CPAP/BiPAP titration and long-term therapy support.

Who is this for?

  • Loud habitual snoring with witnessed pauses in breathing
  • Excessive daytime sleepiness or morning headaches
  • Resistant hypertension, atrial fibrillation or stroke
  • Obesity with breathlessness on exertion
  • Pre-bariatric surgery evaluation

What happens during your visit

  1. You arrive in the evening; sensors are gently placed on the scalp, face, chest and finger.
  2. You sleep through the night while a technician monitors signals.
  3. In the morning, sensors are removed and you go home as usual.
  4. A consultation follows within 3–5 days with results and a treatment plan.

Why this test is performed

  • To confirm or rule out obstructive sleep apnoea in someone who snores, gasps in sleep or is sleepy through the day.
  • To measure how severe it is — the Apnoea-Hypopnoea Index (AHI) and how far the oxygen level drops.
  • To separate obstructive apnoea from central apnoea and from nocturnal hypoventilation, because the treatment differs.
  • To establish the pressure a CPAP or BiPAP machine will need before any device is bought.

How to prepare

  • •Keep your usual sleep and wake timing on the day; do not nap in the afternoon.
  • •No coffee, tea or alcohol from the afternoon onwards, and no sedative unless we have prescribed it.
  • •Wash and dry your hair without oil or gel so the sensors stick, and bring loose night clothes.
  • •Bring your medicine list, and continue your regular tablets unless told otherwise.

What it feels like

  • •Soft sensors are taped to the scalp, face, chest, abdomen and one finger — none of them break the skin.
  • •You sleep in your own room and can turn over, use the bathroom and call the technician at any time.
  • •Most people sleep less than they would at home; the study still gives a valid result because it captures every sleep stage it needs.
  • •For a home study, a smaller set of sensors is fitted at the clinic and you sleep in your own bed.

Overnight (in-clinic) or 1 night (home)

Safety and limitations

  • •There is no risk beyond mild skin irritation from the tape and a broken night's sleep.
  • •A home study measures breathing but not brain waves, so it can under-read mild apnoea — where the picture is unclear, an in-clinic study is the more reliable test.

Results and reporting

  • •The night is scored and interpreted, and you are seen within a few days to go through the AHI, oxygen levels and sleep architecture.
  • •The consultation ends with a plan — weight and position measures, CPAP or BiPAP, dental or ENT referral, or reassurance where the study is normal.

When to consult a pulmonologist

  • Your partner has seen you stop breathing, or your snoring is loud and interrupted.
  • You fall asleep at traffic lights, in meetings or while reading.
  • Blood pressure stays high on two or more medicines, or you have atrial fibrillation or have had a stroke.
  • You wake with a dry mouth or morning headache, or you have unrefreshing sleep despite adequate hours.

How Lung Care helps

  • •Both attended in-clinic polysomnography and home sleep testing are offered from the RS Puram clinic, so the right level of testing is chosen for you.
  • •Diagnosis and treatment stay under one roof — the same team then handles CPAP or BiPAP titration, mask fitting and follow-up.

Dr. Arun Gangadhar’s expertise

  • •Dr. Arun Gangadhar practises as a sleep physician alongside pulmonology, and holds MBBS, DNB (Pulmonary Medicine), MNAMS, IDCCM and EDARM.
  • •Studies are reported by the same doctor who then sets up therapy, which avoids the gap between a report and treatment that patients often run into.

Ready to book?

Reserve a consultation with Dr. Arun Gangadhar at our RS Puram clinic.