Sleep is vital to a person’s health, and because sleep is important in maintaining many of the body’s other vital functions, problems related to sleep have a large impact. Sleep disorders include difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up; breathing disruptions during sleep; abnormal movements or behaviours while sleeping; and difficulty regulating sleep or wakefulness.

Sleep disorders are diagnosed by monitoring a person’s breathing, heart rate, brain activity, eye movements, body position, and body movements during sleep – this type of test is called polysomnography or a sleep study.

This health technology assessment looked at how effective and cost-effective level 2 polysomnography (unattended, at-home sleep studies) is for diagnosing sleep disorders among adults and children with suspected sleep disorders in comparison with the current practice – level 1 polysomnography – which is performed in clinic. It also looked at the budget impact of publicly funding level 2 polysomnography for at-home sleep studies and at the experiences, preferences, and values of people with sleep disorders.