In recent years, the number of people suffering from sleep problems such sleep apnea and insomnia has increased. For instance, during the pandemic, a spike in the number of persons having respiratory problems while they slept led specialists to develop sleep telemedicine in relation to the COVID-19 protocol.

Virtual telemedicine platforms are used by medical experts to treat a variety of physical and mental health conditions. They may deal with patients at any stage, including assessments, symptom checking, evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, follow-up, and rehabilitation, thanks to these contemporary technologies.

This blog will explain how telemedicine treats sleep disorders, why using sleep telemedicine services is beneficial, and how successful telemedicine treatment alternatives are.

Sleep Telemedicine: What Is It?

Telemedicine for sleep disorders is comparable to telemedicine for other medical and mental health issues. The major goal is to enable patients in remote areas to receive virtual diagnosis and treatment from the comfort of their homes for sleep problems like insomnia and sleep apnea. Consultations and therapy sessions are primarily conducted using video, audio, email, or text calls. Prescriptions, medical records, and diagnostic lab test results can be readily shared online between patients and physicians. During the appointment, a sleep therapist will evaluate your symptoms of insomnia or sleep apnea, provide you a reliable diagnosis, and create the best possible treatment plan. A multimodal approach could form the basis of a plan that incorporates several interventions like medication, therapy, and lifestyle modifications.

Treatment Options for Sleep Apnea and Insomnia and Telemedicine Diagnosis

Only a licensed mental health professional is qualified to diagnose sleep disturbances. When it comes to telemedicine, the expert will evaluate the symptoms of your sleep apnea and insomnia by video conferencing with you. While diagnosing sleep apnea frequently necessitates an in-person visit to the doctor, diagnosing insomnia can be done quickly over the phone via video call. The rationale is that home sleep tests, which gauge the severity of symptoms based on heart rate, breathing pattern, airflow, and oxygen saturation, are part of the routine diagnostic procedure for sleep apnea. On the other hand, a diagnosis of insomnia requires merely the reporting of potential symptoms for a predetermined amount of time.

Telemedicine-Based Treatment Options for Sleep Apnea and Insomnia

The following therapies are generally used to address both of these sleep issues:

• Counseling
• Drugs
• Modifications in lifestyle

However, compared to insomnia, sleep apnea requires more sophisticated medical care from professionals and is mostly treated with lifestyle modifications and professional supervision.

The treatment of sleep apnea with telemedicine is restricted since its essential modalities necessitate a face-to-face visit to your physician. Among these methods are:

• CPAP, or continuous positive airway pressure.
• Additional airway pressure tools, include automatic continuous positive airway pressure.
• Devices and breathing apparatuses that track your breathing patterns while you sleep.
• Advancement device for the mandible.

In addition to treating sleep apnea, virtual treatment for other underlying medical conditions includes managing respiratory and cardiac disorders. The following are additional telemedicine methods for treating insomnia:

• Restriction on sleep
• Phototherapy
• Treatment for stimulant control
• Relaxation techniques
• Modifications to lifestyle, such as adopting a nutritious diet, cutting back on alcohol and caffeine, and exercising to the recommended amount each day

If your doctor thinks you require medication, you may receive a prescription for it.

Which 10 Benefits Come with Using Telemedicine to Treat Sleep Disorders?

When compared to in-person appointments, 75% of respondents are hopeful about attempting telemedicine for their physical and mental health difficulties. The following causes, which are given in order of increasing popularity, are behind the growing trend of using virtual health services:

• No long commute

Sleep telemedicine reduced the amount of money you had to pay for transportation to and from clinic visits. Through the use of their smartphones, computers, tablets, and other gadgets, patients may consult with their doctors, saving a tonne of money that would have been spent on parking, gas, or even public transit.

• You don’t have to change your work schedule.

You can obtain your appointment schedules via telemedicine based on your convenience and availability. You might schedule your doctor’s appointment for the weekends, vacations, or during your break. This makes it easier for you to manage both your medical care and career.

• Options for on-demand remote care

Patients now have more opportunities to regularly access healthcare experts with better availability of resources and services on-demand, thanks to the growing number of practitioners using telemedicine platforms to perform their medical services.

• Reduced likelihood of developing further ailments

There is an increased risk of contracting infections, viruses, and allergies when you see a mental health practitioner in a clinical setting. Furthermore, contactless therapy inside the same home setting is guaranteed using telemedicine.

• Lessened child and eldercare stress

You don’t have to worry about missing work or personal time to visit a medical institution for a youngster or elderly family because of telemedicine services.

• Availability of experts from any distant place

Getting sleep telemedicine is your best option if you’re one of those people who has been ignoring your mental health ↗ problems since you reside far from medical facilities or have limited mobility. You can receive therapeutic and diagnostic services as a result, all while remaining in your own home.

• No long wait times to visit your physician

Selecting a video conference session with your mental health provider will spare you from wasting time as you wait for your turn outside the doctor’s office.

• Skillful symptom relief

It is evident that patients receiving care through sleep telemedicine platforms have demonstrated positive results in terms of mental well-being and symptom control. The continued contact with the mental health specialist and regular, convenient follow-ups to the treatment plan continue to be the cause.

• Taken down locational obstacles

Some of us are constantly on the go, which puts us in a position where we can’t visit our therapist and continue our treatment. But no matter where you go, you can still reach your mental health professional virtually. In the event that the medical professionals conclude that you need additional medication for your trip, you can also obtain an online telehealth prescription for quicker medication refills.

The Final Word

To treat and diagnose as many patients as possible for sleep disorders like insomnia and sleep apnea, sleep doctors are utilizing sleep telemedicine solutions. These two sleep disorders differ in their features and methods of treatment. Obtaining sleep telemedicine services also has numerous advantages in terms of efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and time-saving.