Sleep apnea checklist: what to bring to the doctor

The short answer

For a snoring and sleep apnea appointment, bring the times when you snore, whether anyone has seen you stop breathing, and a note of the everyday situations in which you doze off. Your doctor may hand you a short sleepiness questionnaire at the appointment. Add your blood pressure, weight, alcohol habits and a list of every medicine you take. Your family doctor, an ENT doctor or a sleep specialist can start the process. A questionnaire cannot diagnose sleep apnea, a sleep study can (PMID 28162150). A phone app cannot either.

Write this down before the appointment

A doctor can do more with "I snore from about midnight on most nights and my partner counted two pauses" than with "I snore". Fill in what you can. Blanks are fine, and a few accurate answers beat a long guess.

Notes for the doctor

Snoring: which nights, and at what times of night
Breathing pauses: has anyone seen you stop breathing, choke or gasp? How long did it seem to last?
Daytime sleepiness: in which everyday situations you tend to doze off, and how often
Mornings: headache, dry mouth, waking up unrefreshed
Blood pressure: recent readings, and whether you take medicine for it
Weight and height, and any recent change in weight
Alcohol: what you drink in the evening and how late
Sleep schedule: usual bedtime, wake-up time and naps
Family: close relatives who snore loudly, have sleep apnea or use a CPAP mask

What to bring

In the bag

Recordings or clips with the time of night, from a snore recorder app or your partner's phone. How to find out whether you snore explains how to get a usable recording.
A few lines from the person who hears you sleep: what they hear and when. Pauses and gasping are easier to describe from the outside. If you are a woman, the list of signs of sleep apnea in women is worth a read first.
A list of your medicines and supplements with doses, including sleeping pills, painkillers and any opioid
Earlier results: sleep studies, ECG, blood pressure records, hospital letters
A referral letter or insurance card, if your health system asks for one
This sheet, with your notes filled in

What the doctor will ask

One common first question is how sleepy you are in the day. Doctors often use a short questionnaire for it, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (PMID 1798888). It describes eight everyday situations. For each one you rate the chance that you would doze off, from 0 (never) to 3 (high chance), and the ratings add up to a total from 0 to 24. A total above 10 counts as raised. You fill the questionnaire in at the appointment. What helps beforehand is a note of the everyday situations in which you tend to nod off.

In the original study of 180 adults, 30 healthy controls and 150 patients with sleep disorders, the total separated healthy people from patients with obstructive sleep apnea, narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia. Patients who only snored scored like the controls (PMID 1798888). The score measures sleepiness, not snoring, which is why the doctor also asks about breathing pauses, mornings, weight, blood pressure and medicines. How the total is read, plus how the STOP-BANG screening questionnaire works, is explained on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale page.

Expect a few follow-ups: how long the snoring has been going on, whether it is louder on your back or after alcohol, whether you wake with a dry mouth or a headache, and whether you have ever nodded off while driving. The last answer matters most. Say it even if it is uncomfortable.

Which doctor to see

Family doctor. A sensible first stop. They can ask the basic questions, check blood pressure and weight and refer you on.
ENT (ear, nose and throat). Looks at the nose, palate, tonsils and tongue base. Most useful when a blocked nose or the shape of the throat is the suspected cause of the snoring; the overview in how to stop snoring shows which fixes are worth trying first.
Sleep medicine. A sleep specialist or sleep clinic orders and reads the sleep study. Some health systems let you book this directly.

Not sure whether your snoring is the simple kind? The article on snoring and sleep apnea sorts out the difference.

What happens in a sleep lab

Polysomnography records sleep stages, eye movements, muscle tone, breathing and the heart's electrical activity at the same time (PMID 33251088). The American Academy of Sleep Medicine calls it the standard diagnostic test for adults when sleep apnea is suspected (PMID 28162150).

For adults without other major conditions who show signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea, the same guideline accepts a home sleep apnea test with a technically adequate device. If a single home test is negative, inconclusive or technically inadequate, it recommends polysomnography. It also prefers polysomnography over a home test for people with significant heart or lung disease, nerve or muscle weakness that affects breathing, long-term opioid use, a history of stroke or severe insomnia (PMID 28162150). That is why the medicine list and your earlier results belong in the bag. Our guide to testing for sleep apnea at home explains what a home test measures.

The guideline also suggests a split-night protocol rather than a full-night one when it is clinically appropriate, and a second polysomnogram when the first is negative but the suspicion remains (PMID 28162150).

What SleepTrace can add

SleepTrace runs on iPhone and Android and listens through the phone's microphone overnight. In the morning it shows clips of snoring, coughing and sleep talking, each with the time and a decibel peak, and it marks possible breathing pauses as a time of night. That gives you the times for the first item on the list and something concrete to play in the consulting room. It does not track movement or position. Heart rate and HRV come only from a watch via Apple Health. It is a wellness app, not a medical device. The diagnosis stays with the doctor. A snore recorder app only helps you describe your nights.

Sources

Johns MW. A new method for measuring daytime sleepiness: the Epworth sleepiness scale. Sleep 1991;14(6):540-545. PMID 1798888
Kapur VK, Auckley DH, Chowdhuri S, et al. Clinical Practice Guideline for Diagnostic Testing for Adult Obstructive Sleep Apnea: An American Academy of Sleep Medicine Clinical Practice Guideline. J Clin Sleep Med 2017;13(3):479-504. PMID 28162150
Markun LC, Sampat A. Clinician-Focused Overview and Developments in Polysomnography. Curr Sleep Med Rep 2020;6(4):309-321. PMID 33251088

SleepTrace is a wellness app, not a medical device. This page is general information, not medical advice. If you stop breathing in your sleep, fall asleep while driving or feel unwell, see a doctor.