Does a sleep study generally take the entire night?

I occasionally have insomnia and night terrors and I would like to have my conditions examined. The problem is that I have two jobs and I only have four hours to spare for sleep. Would it be possible for a sleep study to be done in this time or would they need the entire 8 hours?

Doctors Answers (2)

SomnoDiagnostics, Inc.
Answered on: 12/23/2013

The entire 8 hours. You should allow a reasonable amount of time to complete a quality test allowing for adequate data collection. Most sleep labs should be willing to work around your schedule and see patients most nights of the week.

Robert C. Jones, M.D.
Answered on: 12/18/2013

By definition a sleep study must include six hours of recorded data. This does not have to be actual sleep time, but you must be hooked up and monitored by the sleep technologist for a minimum of six hours. More importantly, however, you should consult with a sleep disorder specialist to discuss your symptoms and the effects of only having four hours of sleep on a nightly basis.