By Lynne Adkins

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – If you need to have a sleep study and don’t want to spend the night in the lab, you might not have to leave your own bed.

Spending the night in a strange room and bed hooked up to wires is not everyone’s idea of a restful night’s sleep. Dr. Karl Doghramji, director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital says if it’s a study of breathing problems, you may be able to take the test at home and that has its benefits.

“People tend to sleep better if they’re sleeping in the context of their own bedroom and own homes. And second the equipment is much less intrusive and thirdly when cost is involved this type of equipment is more cost-effective.”

He says advances in technology have made these sleep kits smaller and easier to use.

“One kit allows for a band to go over the head and this band monitors one’s breathing and heart rate through a contact with the skin of the head. Other types of equipment involve a few electrodes pasted under the nose and bands that go around the chest and the abdomen.”

Home monitoring is only for patients with breathing issues. Other studies must still be done in the lab.