A to zzzzz

For all the people who decide to skimp on sleep so they can binge on “Better Call Saul,” there are numerous others who either can’t fall asleep or sleep so restlessly that even 12 hours of shut-eye wouldn’t be enough.

“The lack of sleep in this country is a definite cause for concern,” says Dr. Brian Vincent, a neurologist at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J.

Vincent says most people become aware of their sleeping inefficiencies because of their snoring — usually at the prompting of a drowsy partner — not because of their diminished day-to-day abilities. “We learn to accept the way we feel without questioning why,” he says. “People may fall asleep at their desks every day for five years, but until their wife or husband complains about their snoring, they don’t think it’s part of a larger issue.”

Those larger issues, Vincent says, can be stress, sleep apnea or insomnia, among others. To get to the root of the problem, doctors often refer their patients to sleep specialists, a team of technicians, nurses and doctors who monitor, diagnose and then treat the problem.

A polysomnographic technologist, often referred to as a sleep tech, works under doctor’s instructions to monitor, identify and help assess patients’ sleep disorder. Sleep techs, for the most part, work a night shift since their hours need to match up with a patient’s normal sleeping pattern. In some cases, sleep techs work during normal hours, usually when monitoring patients who can’t stay awake during the day or need to take frequent naps to maintain a normal activity pace.

To get an accurate reading of a patient’s sleep pattern, sleep techs usually administer a questionnaire before patients prepare for bed, which discusses sleeping habits, stress factors, health history and more. Sleep techs then attach electrodes to patients’ bodies so they can meticulously monitor oxygen levels, heart rate and other indicators that offer insight into the quality of a patient’s sleep.