As you read this, more than 70 million Americans are living with sleep disorders. These conditions affect your sleep quality, duration, and timing, but the cascading effect doesn’t stop when the sun comes up. From work performance and mental health to relationships and even the development of chronic diseases, sleep disorders can impact nearly every aspect of life. Yet these conditions often go undiagnosed and underrecognized — keeping millions of Americans from experiencing the all-around health benefits of sound sleep.
“Not all sleep complaints can be solved with over-the-counter products. Some sleep problems need to be looked after by a doctor or other qualified healthcare professional,” said Roy Raymann, Ph.D., vice president of sleep science and scientific affairs at SleepScore Labs. “Studies published in the Academic Journal of Sleep Medicine showed 85% of people with sleep apnea go undiagnosed and untreated and only 13% of people with insomnia ever consult a healthcare provider for their sleep problem.”
Prolonged periods of poor-quality sleep can be frustrating, exhausting, and even disheartening. But here’s a silver lining: If you struggle to get a good night’s sleep, new digital tools can help you assess your risk for sleep disorders. Powered by SleepScore™, the Sleep.com app’s CheckUp and Sleep Report features give you everything you need to identify potential sleep issues and start a meaningful dialogue with your doctor.
Assessing your risk for sleep issues with the Sleep.com app
There are more than 80 types of sleep disorders, each with different characteristics, symptoms, and treatments. However, the vast majority can be diagnosed using a single tool: polysomnography.
Better known as a sleep study, polysomnography records your blood oxygen levels, brain wave patterns, heart and breathing rates, and body movements. This in-depth analysis is considered the gold standard for diagnosing many of the most common sleep disorders, including:
- Chronic insomnia: a long-term pattern of difficulty sleeping that affects between 10% and 30% of U.S. adults
- Sleep apnea: a condition that impacts more than 20 million U.S. adults, causing brief but frequent pauses in breathing throughout the night. Up to 90% of people with sleep apnea go undiagnosed and, as a result, untreated.
- Restless leg syndrome: a nearly irresistible urge to move the legs that impacts roughly 5% to 10% of U.S. adults
To be tested and treated for most sleep disorders, your doctor will need to check your symptoms and then prescribe a polysomnography. The Sleep.com app’s CheckUp feature is an easy way to start the dialogue with your physician.
When you enable the app’s CheckUp feature, algorithms designed by sleep scientists at SleepScore Labs will analyze your data for potential risks of sleep issues. If we identify a pattern of poor sleep quality, we’ll ask you to answer a quick set of clinically validated questions designed to help your doctor properly diagnose your sleep challenge. When your self-assessment detects signs of a sleep disorder, CheckUp works seamlessly with another app feature — Sleep Report — to generate a comprehensive analysis that you can share directly with your doctor. Think of CheckUp and Sleep Report as your two-part sleep disorder screener.
Designed by seasoned sleep advisors, the Sleep Report provides detailed insights into your last 30 nights of sleep data. Within the report, you’ll see data on your SleepScore, total sleep time, number of wake periods, and other sleep metrics that speak to your overall sleep quality. You’ll also see the results of your self-assessment paired with your risk levels for common sleep disorders including sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, and insomnia.
Delivered via email as a downloadable PDF, your Sleep Report is structured similarly to the document you’d receive after a sleep study. By providing metrics your doctor can find helpful in discussing your sleep health, this 30-day report is a powerful first step in getting the treatment you need — and the better sleep you deserve.
CheckUp and Sleep Report are available for Sleep.com Premium accounts via our streamlined mobile app. To start using CheckUp, tap Sleep Screener on the Solutions page and use the toggle bar to enable the feature. You can access Sleep Report on the same Solutions screen by tapping Sleep Report.
Getting proactive about sleep issues
The research is clear: When you effectively treat sleep disorders, the benefits extend to countless other aspects of your life. And while you can’t diagnose a sleep disorder without the expertise of your doctor, you can use tools like the Sleep.com app’s CheckUp and Sleep Report features to start this important dialogue.
“While home solutions from consumer sleep technologies cannot yet replace clinical sleep diagnostic tests, certain features currently available may help guide users to better understanding their own sleep patterns and take decisive action to get the help that they need,” says Elie Gottlieb, Ph.D., applied sleep scientist at SleepScore Labs.
Understanding your sleep patterns is the first step to improving them. Whether or not your screening identifies a potential sleep disorder, you’ll gain key knowledge that empowers you to be proactive about your sleep health. Your body and mind will find countless ways to thank you.
Are you ready to Unjunk Your Sleep for good? When you download the Sleep.com app from the App Store or Google Play, you get a free seven-day trial of Premium that unlocks CheckUp, Sleep Report, and other premium features that can enhance your journey to better sleep.
