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Home Sleep Apnea Testing

Home Sleep Apnea Testing

extracts from Remy Thiery

Sleep Apnea Guide

You can use a method for sleep apnea testing at home. With this simple method you can discover if you have obstructive sleep apnea, where snoring, apnea episodes, gasping and snorting are the main symptoms during your sleep.

However, you already know that the most efficient test is done at a sleep laboratories, not at home. So, you can do this sleep apnea test, but please speak with your doctor to refer you to a sleep study for sleep apnea diagnosis.

Now, here is what you can do for obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis in your own house:


  2. Get an MP3 player/recorder
    You will need an audio device which can record your sleep sounds for many hours. You will need data for at least 2 hours of sleep.

    This audio recorder should have a USB connection (or other types) for your computer, to upload the mp3 file.

    RCA VR5220 512 MB Digital Voice Recorder (Black) is a a great recorder for the 29 dollars spent. It's simple to use and is also compatible with Mac.

    If you want the best recorder, then Olympus LS-10 Linear PCM Recorder can be what are you looking for, but I don't think you need the best gadget in world to record your sleep apnea events. You should better spend the money on a good CPAP mask, if you will have a treatment with CPAP machine.


  3. Upload the file into your computer.

    The next morning, connect your mp3 recorder to your computer and upload the file. You can listen to the sound of your sleep, to find if you have a loud and irregular snoring, or your stop breathing in sleep.

    But you are very busy and you don't have time to listen all that noise. So, I recommend to use an audio software where you can see and analyze your mp3 file.

    Fortunately, there is a free software to use, free MP3 manipulating program called Audacity. Just dowload the program and install it to your computer.

    Once into Audacity, hit:

    • edit,

    • then select all,

    • then effects,

    • then amplify

    • then UNcheck the dont allow clipping box (audio idelity is not at all important here)

    • and finally enter 15 in the amplification (db) window.

    • Then hit ok.


  4. Analyze your sleep

    You can easily see each breath (or snore) displayed in the graphical Audacity form, by clicking on the magnify (+) key a couple of times.

    If you have a normal sleep pattern, your graphic detail should look the same throughout the entire recording. However, if you stop breathing in sleep, then...you will see unusually long gaps between breaths.

    If you find a long gasp in your graph, select the beginning of it and hit play. You will hear nothing, then a snort or a gasp for air, and snoring

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mike on October 2, 2010 at 5:41pm
interesting idea to quickly and cheaply screen for OSA. that said, can probably count on my two hands the number of people who would actually go through all this effort to do it. seems like a lot of steps and a bit complex for the Average Joe.
Permalink Reply by 99 on October 2, 2010 at 5:46pm
you are probably correct in your assumptions but thought it was interesting

Mike said:
interesting idea to quickly and cheaply screen for OSA. that said, can probably count on my two hands the number of people who would actually go through all this effort to do it. seems like a lot of steps and a bit complex for the Average Joe.
Permalink Reply by Mike on October 2, 2010 at 5:56pm
i felt the same way about it. If you have an iPhone, there are a few apps that rely on the same principles as this, but do more of the work for you -- more user-friendly.

xxx said:
you are probably correct in your assumptions but thought it was interesting

Mike said:
interesting idea to quickly and cheaply screen for OSA. that said, can probably count on my two hands the number of people who would actually go through all this effort to do it. seems like a lot of steps and a bit complex for the Average Joe.
Permalink Reply by Mary Z on October 3, 2010 at 8:49am
Does anyone here have any of the iPhone apps that have to do with sleep, I think there are several?


Mike said:
i felt the same way
Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on October 4, 2010 at 1:16am
We did some experiments with this about a year back. It was pretty interesting.
Permalink Reply by Remy Thierry on October 12, 2010 at 7:03pm
If anyone wants to know, the source of this information is from Sleep Apnea Guide website. The sleep study page can give you more info.

Mike, I know that iPhone can be helpful, but I think that iPhone is not so common in many sleep apnea patients with money problems (e.g. they don't have a job because of their sleep disorder).

This home test only gives you an idea about your sleep, but the most reliable study is from a sleep center.

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