Wanted: input on designing sleep lab

I had my first sleep study and my titration on a SelectComfort bed-- having some control over my sleeping environment did put me more at ease.

The thing that gave me the most trouble falling asleep (besides the 498 electrodes glued to my scalp with wires plugged in to a board hanging on the wall next to the bed tugging at my head) was the red light on my finger for the oximetry sensor. I sleep with my hands near my head and the darn thing was so bright, it was really annoying. Like sleeping with Rudolph in the room on Christmas Eve. Could you put a dark glove tip or opaque tape over it to block out the light , please?

A nice cup of chamomile tea to sip while getting reading or watching tv for a half hour or so would be nice, too.

CLOCK WITH LIGHTED FACE

Optional night light

Comfortable bed

Choice of pillows (hard, med or soft) The thing they gave me was so soft it wasn't even useful.

More than one pillow

Decent covers. I can't sleep with a sheet and thin blanket, I need some weight

Having worked in a lab, I have a few suggestions. Make the hookup room seperate from the patient room and the hookup room comfortable and relaxing as humanly possible.

Here is a big one.. No metal hospital beds Metal picks up noise and can distort the EKC and brain waves terribly.

Each room needs a really good fan, if not a celing fan directly over the bed. Some people sweat at night and that can goof up a recording.

Serve good coffee in the morning in a real cup. Perhaps a tiny kitchen so the patient can have a snack or juice and coffee in the morning.

These are just off the top of my head, I am sure if I think long enough you will get more ideas.

Ted

TV's that work regardless of height
Select Comfort or Tempurpedic mattresses
Self controlled light level and room temperature
Recliners
Handouts; different machines and masks, list of resources that includes cpaptalk.com

My most irritating obsevation about the sleep lab I went to was the annoying little metal sensors that goes in your nose and hangs in front of your mouth plus the tube that goes in your nose to see if you use your nose or mouth to breathe while sleeping.That thing is ITCHYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Ugggghhhhh!!!!!Worse than Chinese Water Torture!I wanted to rip them out and throw them across the room!!!!!How can they possibly expect you to breathe at all with all of that shoved in your nose?

I would have also liked an eye mask,a room that was not boiling hot and a warning to use the bathroom first before getting 1,000 pounds of what looked like thin copper telephone wire glued all over my face and head with goop resembling cake frosting.

The night table was so cluttered up with junk/crap I had a hard time finding a place for my contact lenses and my back up (coke bottle )glasses.This made me nervous.You don't place a person with a -7.50 prescription (20/750)for nearsightedness in a room to sleep with strangers caring for her unless she can reach the eyeglasses.

I didn't like the communal shower in between rooms either.I had my boyfriend lock the other door that opened into the shower adjoining my room and I reopened it the next day before I left.I was paranoid all night that some stranger would come through the door when I was asleep and unable to move from the wires.That really creeped me out and made me have a hard time sleeping.

1st sleep lab was out of a MASH movie.
2nd one was setup similar to a hotel room! Each room (5) was decorated differently, carpet, wallpaper, nice-looking beds and covers, night stand. Comfortable looking - and private closet, toilet and sink. Two communal showers.
As suggested earlier, a "Sleep Number" bed would be ideal! I brought my own sheets, memory foam, pillow and blanket. Still not the same - mattress was too hard.
They had a 'community room', with fully-stocked kitchen! Snacks, bread, toaster, microwave, cereal, milk, and coffee machine. A large table for eating, reading, whatever. Adjacent to this "great room" was a large TV, leather sofa, and nice lounger. I was the last one to leave in the morning! I had brought my own coffee though, and took advantage of the 'hospitality'. There was no tv in the bedroom. I doubt they would ever put a clock in - sleep docs are against clock-watching. Except for the bed, regardless of all my attempts, it was a nice experience...considering.

How about a preview video, so one would know fully what to expect. How about info on machines and masks before the DME gets into the act. Tell the patient about options to bring your pillow, or whatever else makes one comfortable. In short, a little more pre-test interacion.

Here is the info on the SPAMMER above:

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for the alias domain (same person):

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My sleep lab was nice. Double beds with comfortable mattress. Nice sheets and comforters. All the rooms were decorated nicely. Shower in the bathroom (shared bathroom). Fan to use in case a/c was not enough. Breakfast in the am and lunch if you had to stay and do naps (I did). The only few things I did not care for was the common sitting area which is where the tv was. This meant that you either sat in there and had to conversate with 3-4 other people or go to your room with nothing to do. I didn't like sitting there with my pj's on with 80 million wires coming out of my head. A little uncomfortable for me. Also, all those wires, make it a little difficult to use the bathroom facilities. I didn't like all the time I had to wait after my initial study and the MD appt which is where I had to get my results. This took almost a month! Not to mention after I kept harrassing the lab, the RT there told me one thing and my MD told me another.

Yes the bed sucked, it must have been -10F in there, the room where they did the wiring was NOT private...... But what made such a difference wasn't any of these things. It was the tech. When I came there I was scared. Sucidal. Nancy comforted me, told me they WOULD find out what was happening. She let me call my husband (cell phone signal is a + too) she let him wait with me as long as she could. When she saw I was upset, she came into the room, gave me tissues, patted my leg, tucked me in. I wouldn't have made it thru the experience w/o her being so incredible. The next time (titration study) the tech wasn't MEAN per se. Just.... Clinical. She couldn't have cared less how scared I was. She did her job, and nothing more. In the middle of the night I woke up suffocating (rain out, BAD) she didnt seem to care. I was having panick attacks and she wouldn't let me take the mask off for 5 min to calm down. I left the study as soon as I had just enuf data to get my machine. So I could have lived w/o the bathroom so close, w/o the tv. It was the sleep tech that made all the difference. Choose them with care. Congrats on the new sleep lab.

PS: nancy (the good tech) has OSA too.

NO HOSPITAL BEDS!!! (too small, uncomfortable and too many negative associations/experiences!!!)
Select Comfort mattress would be great, as you could adjust as needed!!!
TV with pillow speaker and sleep timer
Ceiling fans Most everyone has one in their bedroom!
Reduced noise!!! (Attention to AC noise, workers shuffling around and conversing, parking lot noises, etc...)

My room had a selectcomfort bed, but they only told me in the morning that it could have been adjusted. I also would have loved computer access and web browsing and e-mail for the full day MSLT part, I was one of those cases with narcolepsy scare who had to stay till 6:00 p.m. the next day and would have loved to catch up on work related e-mail. I thought they could also include a treadmill or exercise cycle for that day... would add an interesting added potential for sleep during the nap test.
Quiet in the room would have helped, mine was right next to the door of the tech's room. i slept anyway, fell asleep in four minutes, despite the fact that the tech had allowed my oximeter wires to pin my shoulder uncomfortably. the night light didn't work...
most of us would not book a room at a hotel without private shower and bathroom, why shouldn't we get the same in a $3000 night?
Maintenance is very important too, and why dry crackers and yogurt offered as snacks instead of fresh fruit and herbal tea?
And couldn't we have books and magazines related to the sleep issue instead of old Newsweeks.
Techs who can talk a bit about the subject without being frightened that they may be perceived as giving out medical advice without a license.

My first studies 3 years ago when I was diagnosed and when my cpap pressure was determined and the re-test of cpap pressure earlier this year were the same place -- the Ottawa General Hospital.

Skinny little hospital bed -- most people with sleep apnea are overweight so why not have larger beds? I was afraid of falling off
Bright parking lot lights shining into the window with cheap curtains that didn't close (next time I'll find an eye mask to bring)
Bright red light on the oxygen thingie on my finger
Luckily I brought my pillow because theirs was so flat
Luckily I remembered to go to the bathroom before getting wired up since it never occurred to the tech to tell me first time round
Once I had to share a bathroom with several other rooms -- the other times I had my own bathroom (much better!)
I normally go to bed around 9-10 pm but my appointment was 10:30 pm so I took a nap in the afternoon to manage to stay up late (knowing that with a 10:30 pm appointment, they'll only finish wiring me around 11:30) -- naps disrupt sleep so I had that bothering what would already have been a difficult time to sleep with all those wires
Leg monitors kept coming off so tech kept coming into the room to wake me up to retape them

Miserable time!
France

My sleep study room was pretty bare walls basic (some of the ideas on this thread are superb). But - my polysomnigraphic technologist was excellent and made the whole experience tolerable. This person's bedside manner was what made me comfortable. Plus, the two Ambian I brought with me...

Forgot to mention because I was ok with it during my sleep studies but I agree with Rapunzel111 -- need space on the night table to put glasses. My prescription is -10.50 so I also don't feel comfortable having my contacts off in a strange place unless my glasses are easily accessible.

I also agree with whoever mentioned that the night table needs space for my water bottle.

France