Logan Health Sleep Medicine offers various locations, including Kalispell’s full-service and accredited sleep lab facility, for diagnosing and treating patients with sleep-related disorders. These conditions include difficulties falling or staying asleep, breathing problems during sleep, daytime sleepiness and other abnormal nighttime occurrences.
Patients with sleep apnea have long been cared for by pulmonologists due to their expertise with breathing disorders. However, with our ever-increasing understanding of the relationship between sleep apnea and other conditions, the field of sleep medicine has become truly multidisciplinary. Recent studies have shown that nearly a third of patients in a general cardiology clinic suffer from sleep apnea. Hypertension, electrical heart rhythm disturbances, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure and pulmonary hypertension are just some of the conditions that have been associated with sleep apnea.
Since treatment of sleep apnea can increase survival and improve quality of life, offering complete diagnostic and treatment services, including sleep medicine, is essential to Logan Health Heart & Lung’s goal of becoming a fully comprehensive cardiac and pulmonary medicine clinic.
What is a sleep disorder?
Sleep disorders include a variety of conditions that affect your ability to sleep well on a regular basis. A sleep disorder can cause other health problems and affect your quality of life.
One of the most common sleep disorders is obstructive sleep apnea, where there is a physical obstruction in the upper airway. The obstruction can be the tongue, tonsils, uvula, soft palate or any other tissue that prevents normal breathing. When the body relaxes during sleep and loses muscle tone, gravity pulls the obstruction down into the airway. The deeper you sleep, the more relaxed you become and the more likely you are to experience an apneic event. If left untreated, obstructive sleep apnea increases risk of heart attack, heart disease and stroke.
Other common sleep disorders include:
- Central sleep apnea
- Upper airway resistance syndrome
- Restless legs syndrome
- Periodic limb movement disorder
How are sleep disorders treated?
Treatments for sleep disorders are as varied as the disorders themselves, and can include medications, behavior modifications or surgery. The gold standard of treatment for obstructive sleep apnea is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), a piece of durable medical equipment worn while sleeping.
Preparing for your office visit
Please check in 10 minutes before your scheduled appointment time. Please bring your insurance cards and any necessary completed paperwork.
If you are already on CPAP or any PAP therapy, please also bring your smartcard to your appointment. If you have had previous sleep studies elsewhere, please bring your records or call the office to let us know the name of the sleep center and we will request your records (please also complete the Release of Records form).
Sleep studies
Enroll in a sleep study
A sleep study is an all-night study designed to retrieve vital information about your health. After a visit to Logan Health Heart & Lung, your provider may schedule a sleep study to monitor and evaluate you during sleep.
If you are interested in scheduling a sleep study, first discuss your symptoms with your primary care physician, who can refer you to our center. If you do not have a primary care physician, please call (406) 257-8992 and we can schedule a consultation with one of our providers.
If you have questions about sleep disorders or sleep testing, you may call the Logan Health Sleep Lab at (406) 257-8979 and speak with one of our experienced sleep technologists.
Please note: Sleep studies are only scheduled once you have seen one of the sleep providers at Logan Health Heart & Lung. When you were scheduled for your sleep study, you should have received the sleep study do’s and don’ts as well as the cancellation policy.
Preparing for your sleep study
On the day of your appointment:
- Do not consume caffeine after 2 p.m.
- Do not consume any alcohol or take any naps.
- Continue your medications as ordered by your physician.
- Wash and dry your hair; do not use hair oils or sprays.
- For men: If you do not have a beard, please shave your chin.
- Bring completed questionnaires if these have not been returned previously.
- If you currently use CPAP, bring your CPAP mask and smartcard.
- If possible, please arrange for a family member or friend to drive you to and from the Sleep Center.
- Bring pajamas or loose clothes to sleep in.
- Bring personal care items, a pillow(s) if you choose, shaving equipment, toothbrush and toothpaste.
We provide a bed for sleeping with a toilet and shower facilities, as well as towels, washcloths and soap. Please be advised that the Sleep Center is a nonsmoking facility.
It takes a sleep technologist 45-60 minutes to attach small sensors to your head, chest, stomach and legs. No needles are used, and you will not experience any unusual discomfort. After the monitoring systems are in place, you have free time to read or watch TV until lights out at 11 p.m. During the night you will be monitored by the technologist from an adjoining room.
The sleep technologist will wake you in time for you to depart by 7 a.m. Please arrange transportation to pick you up by 7 a.m.
Frequently asked questions
Why are sleep studies important?
Sleep studies enable physicians to evaluate conditions that occur only during sleep and are not detectable during a regular office exam. Learn more at the National Sleep Foundation website.
Is there a television?
Yes, there is a television in each of the rooms. Watching TV just prior to sleep is considered poor sleep hygiene and is discouraged, but we know you watch TV in bed at home and we want you to be as comfortable as possible. The TV will have to be turned off when the sleep study begins.
Can I use the restroom during the night?
Yes, of course. All of the wires and sensors plug into a small portable box. During the study a single cable can be disconnected, so you can visit the restroom as often as needed.
Can I bring my own pillow or blanket?
Yes, we encourage you to bring your favorite blanket or pillow. If all it takes to make you feel a little more comfortable is to use your own pillow or blanket, then please do.
Contact us
If you are interested in scheduling a sleep study, first discuss your symptoms with your primary care physician, who can refer you to our center. If you do not have a primary care physician, please call Logan Health Heart & Lung at (406) 257-8992 and we can schedule a consultation with one of our Sleep Medicine providers.
Kalispell location
Logan Health Sleep Lab
200 Commons Way, Suite A
Kalispell, MT 59901
p: (406) 257-8979
f: (406) 257-8996
Office hours: Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Directions: The Sleep Lab is located in Suite A. Call us at (406) 257-8979. Upon arrival, use the intercom in the entryway and tell the technician your name.
Conrad location
Logan Health Conrad – Sleep Medicine Department
805 Sunset Blvd.
Conrad, MT 59425
p: (406) 271-3211, ext. 467
Shelby location
Logan Health Sleep Lab Shelby
640 Park Ave.
Shelby, MT 59474
Phone: (406) 434-3249
Office hours: Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. – 3 p.m.