The Maintenance of Wakefulness Test (MWT) is used to measure how alert you are during the day. It shows whether or not you are able to stay awake for a defined period of time. This is an indicator of how well you are able to function and remain alert in quiet times of inactivity.
While the MSLT is the standard test for assessing excessive daytime sleepiness, the MWT may have some clinical advantage over the MSLT when the assessment of daytime alertness is the primary goal.
A total of 97.5% of normal sleepers stay awake for an average of eight minutes or more during the MWT. Falling asleep in an average of less than eight minutes during the test would be considered abnormal.
Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MLST) The specialist uses the test to measure the extent of daytime sleepiness (how fast the patient falls asleep in each nap, also called sleep latency), and also how quickly REM sleep begins.
The multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) is a standard tool used to diagnose narcolepsy, but it can easily give false positives and false negatives, according to an expert presenter at the SLEEP 2016 meeting.
A positive MSLT is obtained when the patient falls asleep with a mean sleep latency below 8 minutes in the naps, and had at least no more than 1 nap (for idiopathic hypersomnia) or 2 naps (for narcolepsy diagnosis) where REM sleep was reached.
The maintenance of wakefulness test (MWT) measures a patient's alertness during the day and whether or not he or she is able to stay awake in a calm, quiet environment for a specific period of time. The MWT can also be used to determine how patients with sleep disorders are responding to treatments.
All you have to do is try to remain awake for as long as possible. You cannot do anything to keep yourself awake, this includes pinching the skin or slapping your face. If you do fall asleep, you will be awakened after 90 seconds. The test will end if you do not fall asleep for 40 minutes.
A continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) titration study focuses on calibrating a CPAP device to find your optimal air pressure setting while you sleep. And a split night sleep study combines polysomnography and CPAP calibration.
Different people fall asleep in different amounts of time, but a normal sleep latency generally hovers between 10 and 20 minutes2. Sleep latency is an important measure because it can reflect a person's overall sleepiness and provide insight into sleep quality.
Mean Sleep Latency Findings An MSL of < 10 minutes is said to be consistent with excessive sleepiness (< 5 minutes severe sleepiness; 5–10 moderate sleepiness; 10–15 mild or borderline sleepiness), but as seen in Table F17-3, up to 30% of normal individuals have an MSL of < 8 minutes.
Sleep Stages: How much time the patient spent in the different levels of sleep during the study....The scale of AHI is:< 5 = normal in an adult. (In a child > 1.5 indicates clinically significant sleep apnea)5-15 = mild.15-30 = moderate.> 30 = severe.