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Going in tonight for 24 hours of sleep study. Would anyone be interested in (very boring) play by play? (self.DSPD)

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[–]bluespacecadet 1 point2 points  (2 children)

Hey! I primarily work with sleep apnea patients in a research setting so we don’t typically ask them for sleep diaries, but it definitely is practice for anybody doing a primarily clinical sleep diary to keep at least a week or two of a log before their PSG! Circadian rhythm disorders are kind of a diagnosis of exclusion from sleep studies - they’re mainly to make sure you don’t have sleep apnea, narcolepsy, or anything else happening that’s disruptive. The sleep log is the best piece of information to point to a circadian dysfunction given the exclusion of those other diagnoses!

[–]lrq3000 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Thank you for your detailed answer!

Circadian rhythm disorders are kind of a diagnosis of exclusion from sleep studies - they’re mainly to make sure you don’t have sleep apnea, narcolepsy, or anything else happening that’s disruptive.

That's what I understood from implicit clues in the literature and feedbacks from sleep studies patients. It's unfortunate, as circadian rhythm disorders are clearly a separate clinical entity that is not mutually exclusive with the other sleep disorders investigated in sleep studies: there are several cases of comorbid DSPD and sleep apnea for example, and although treating sleep apnea certainly helps with sleep quality and overall health, DSPD seems to stay in general despite sleep apnea treatment. It's interesting circadian rhythm disorders aren't considered disruptive. Hopefully, the consensus seems to be shifting (slowly) towards this direction of considering circadian rhythm disorders as a separate clinical entity worthy of investigation independently of other comorbidities (similarly to insomnia in the past).

[–]bluespacecadet 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Totally with you on that! I work with sleep apnea patients of a whole range of chronotypes (just tonight one subject went to bed at 8 PM and the next won’t be asleep until 12 AM haha). Definitely not mutually exclusive and such a comorbidity deserves investigation!