The Sleep Labs at CHOP perform a variety of polysomnography studies including overnight sleep studies, multiple sleep latency tests and inpatient studies.

All Sleep Labs are staffed by licensed/registered experts who are trained at CHOP. The labs are all equipped with the same state-of-the-art polysomnography equipment and all studies are read by board certified sleep physicians.

What is a sleep study?

During a sleep study, a sleep technologist monitors your child throughout the night for the quality and quantity of their sleep.

A sleep technologist will place sensors on your child's skin to monitor your child's breathing and body movements during sleep. These sensors will be placed on your child’s head to measure and record the electrical activity of your child's brain during sleep to assess stages of sleep. In addition, we place special sensors near your child's nose, chest and abdomen to measure her breathing. We also place sensors on your child's legs to measure movement during sleep.

Each of CHOP's sleep laboratories is equipped with low-level, infrared lights that allow the room to be dark while your child is monitored and observed. Specially mounted cameras are used to record your child's activities while sleeping.

This detailed monitoring helps us diagnose and treat disorders of breathing during sleep as well as movement disorders and other problems.

An overnight sleep study can help uncover the full extent of a medical problem. We help with the evaluation and management of children with obstructive sleep apnea, as well as chronic lung diseases, neuromuscular disease, hypoventilation syndrome and respiratory control disorders.

Our staff assists in making recommendations about supplemental oxygen, noninvasive ventilatory support in the form of CPAP or BiPAP, and mechanical assisted ventilation during sleep.

Helping children feel comfortable during a sleep study

Your child can bring a toy, teddy bear or a favorite blanket from home to help her feel more comfortable. A parent or guardian must stay with the child. This will help your child feel more comfortable during the study. For your convenience, each room has an extra bed and a television. Our facility also has a bathroom with shower, microwave and refrigerator.

Find more tips to help you prepare for your child's sleep study.