Sleep, Actually
Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT)
A daytime test of scheduled nap opportunities, measuring how quickly you fall asleep and whether REM appears.
The MSLT is a daytime study, usually the day after an overnight sleep study. You are given a series of scheduled opportunities to nap in a darkened room, spaced across the day.
Each opportunity records how quickly you fall asleep and whether REM sleep appears. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine publishes guidance on how the test is recorded and scored so that results are comparable between centres.
The result is one input into a clinical picture. It is read with your history, the overnight study, medication information, and everything else a specialist knows about you.
Definitions on this page
- MSLT
- Multiple Sleep Latency Test — scheduled daytime nap opportunities, recorded and scored.
What does that mean?
Nearby
More in this part of the hub
Sleep latency
How long it takes to fall asleep after the lights go out.
REM latency
How long after falling asleep the first REM period begins.
Sleep efficiency
The proportion of time in bed that was actually spent asleep.
Polysomnography — the overnight sleep study
An overnight recording of brain activity, breathing, heart rhythm, eye movement, and muscle activity while you sleep.