A polysomnography report, or sleep study report, turns a night of recorded signals into an answer: how the patient slept, how often breathing stopped, how low oxygen fell, and what to do next. Copy the free template, see a home sleep apnea test and an in-lab split-night example, and check what goes in each section.
Blank sleep study report template
FreeSLEEP STUDY REPORT Patient: [Full name, date of birth, sex] Record number: [Medical record number] Study date: [Night of the study] Study type: [Diagnostic polysomnogram, split-night, CPAP or bilevel titration, or home sleep apnea test] Location: [Sleep laboratory, or the patient's home] Referring clinician: [Name and specialty] Scored by: [Sleep technologist name and credential] Interpreting physician: [Name and credentials] Report date: [Date] REFERRAL AND HISTORY Referral question: [What the referring clinician needs to know] Symptoms: [Snoring, witnessed apneas, sleepiness, waking short of breath, insomnia, leg symptoms, or behaviors in sleep] Epworth Sleepiness Scale: [Score out of 24] Relevant history: [BMI, neck size, and conditions such as heart failure, atrial fibrillation, stroke, lung disease, or opioid use] Study night: [Medicines, alcohol, and caffeine that evening, and whether sleep was typical for the patient] RECORDING Channels: [In-lab: EEG, EOG, chin and leg EMG, ECG, airflow, effort, oximetry, position, snoring, and video. Home test: device type and channels] Times: [Lights off and lights on, total recording time, or valid monitoring time on a home test] Scoring rules: [AASM scoring manual version, and the hypopnea rule: 3% desaturation or arousal, or 4% desaturation] Technical quality: [Adequate, or signal loss, how long, and how it was handled] Technologist notes: [Events observed, interventions, and the patient's comments in the morning] SLEEP ARCHITECTURE Total sleep time: [Minutes, or not measured on a home test] Sleep efficiency: [Percent of time in bed spent asleep] Sleep latency and REM latency: [Minutes for each] Stages: [N1, N2, N3, and REM as a percent of total sleep time] Wake and arousals: [Wake after sleep onset in minutes; arousal index per hour] RESPIRATORY EVENTS AHI or REI: [Events per hour of sleep, or REI per hour of monitoring time on a home test] Event types: [Obstructive, central, and mixed apneas; obstructive and central hypopneas; central events as a share of all events] Position: [AHI supine and non-supine, with the time in each] REM and NREM: [AHI in REM and in NREM sleep, or not measured on a home test] Breathing patterns: [Cheyne-Stokes breathing, hypoventilation, snoring, or none] OXYGEN SATURATION Baseline: [Awake saturation before sleep] Nadir: [Lowest saturation] Time below 90%: [Minutes, and percent of sleep or monitoring time] Oxygen desaturation index: [Desaturations per hour, with the threshold used] HEART RHYTHM, LIMB MOVEMENTS, AND BEHAVIORS ECG: [Rhythm, rate range, pauses, and arrhythmias, or pulse rate only on a home test] Periodic limb movements: [PLM index per hour, and how many caused arousals] Behaviors: [Findings on video such as dream enactment, REM sleep without atonia, parasomnia, or seizure-like events, or none] PAP TITRATION, IF DONE Device and mask: [CPAP or bilevel, backup rate if used, mask type and size] Pressures: [Starting and highest pressure, and the AHI at each level] Best pressure: [Pressure that controlled events, whether it was tested supine and in REM, or not reached] Residual events: [Central events that persisted or emerged, leak, and comfort] INTERPRETATION Diagnosis: [Normal study, obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep apnea, or another finding] Severity: [Adults: mild, AHI 5 to 14; moderate, 15 to 29; severe, 30 or more] Pattern: [Positional, REM-related, or Cheyne-Stokes breathing] Other findings: [Oxygen, rhythm, limb movement, or behavior findings that matter] Limits: [Short sleep, little REM or supine sleep, home test underestimation, or signal loss] RECOMMENDATIONS Treatment: [CPAP or auto-CPAP with pressures, oral appliance, positional therapy, surgical referral, or other] Further testing: [Titration, in-lab study, MSLT, a study on treatment, or none] Related care: [Weight, alcohol, sedating medicines, heart failure, or other conditions] Driving and safety: [Advice given about drowsy driving and safety-sensitive work] Follow-up: [Sleep clinic visit and device download, and when] Copies to: [Referring clinician and others] Signed: [Interpreting physician name, credentials, date and time]
Use it for
Each one follows the template. Use them to judge how much detail every part needs.
Home sleep apnea test ordered by a family physician, read by a sleep clinic
Daniel Mercer, born April 2, 1974, male. Record number 7720418. Study night October 28, 2026, at home. Type III home sleep apnea test. Referring clinician: Dr. Aisha Kamara, family physician. Scored by R. Okafor, RPSGT. Interpreting physician: Dr. Thomas Lindqvist, sleep medicine. Report date November 2, 2026.
52-year-old man with loud snoring for years. His wife sees pauses in his breathing most nights. Wakes unrefreshed and dozes in evening meetings. Epworth Sleepiness Scale score 13. BMI 33, neck 43 cm. Hypertension on amlodipine. No heart failure, lung disease, stroke, opioids, or insomnia, so a home test fits. Question: does he have obstructive sleep apnea, and how severe is it?
Channels: nasal pressure, chest and abdominal effort belts, oximetry, pulse rate, body position, and snoring. Recording 23:05 to 06:17. Nasal pressure lost for 18 minutes at 03:40 and excluded, leaving 6 hours 54 minutes of valid monitoring time. AASM scoring manual, version 3. Hypopneas scored with the 3% rule: airflow down by 30% or more for at least 10 seconds with a desaturation of 3% or more. With no EEG, arousals can’t be scored. He felt he slept about 6 hours, as usual.
Not measured. A home test records no EEG, so sleep time, stages, and arousals are unknown. The REI divides events by monitoring time, which includes time awake, so it can understate the true AHI.
REI 24 per hour: 166 events, made up of 58 obstructive apneas, 4 central apneas, 2 mixed apneas, and 102 hypopneas. Central events 2% of the total. Supine 2 hours 36 minutes, REI 41. Non-supine 4 hours 18 minutes, REI 14. REM effect not measurable. Snoring in 38% of monitoring time. No Cheyne-Stokes breathing.
Baseline 95%. Nadir 81%. 22 minutes below 90%, 5% of monitoring time. Oxygen desaturation index at 3%: 26 per hour. Pulse rate 54 to 98, mean 66, from the oximeter. No ECG on this device, so rhythm was not assessed. Limb movements and behaviors not recorded.
Moderate obstructive sleep apnea, REI 24, worse supine, with moderate desaturation. Central events are rare. His Epworth score of 13 fits daytime sleepiness from the apnea. The true AHI may be higher than the REI.
Auto-CPAP 5 to 15 cm H2O with heated humidity, after a mask fitting. Device download at 4 weeks for use, residual AHI, and leak; sleep clinic visit at 6 to 8 weeks. If he can’t use CPAP: a custom oral appliance from a dentist trained in sleep medicine, with a repeat test on the appliance. Positional therapy only as an add-on, since the non-supine REI is still 14. Referral to weight management; no alcohol within 3 hours of bed. Driving: no drowsy incidents, but he dozes in meetings. Advised not to drive when sleepy, to stop and nap if drowsy, and to avoid long drives until CPAP is working and sleepiness improves. Copies to Dr. Kamara.
Thomas Lindqvist, MD, sleep medicine. Electronically signed November 2, 2026, at 16:10.
In-lab split-night study, hospital sleep lab, referred by a heart failure clinic
Harold Brennan, born June 11, 1962, male. Record number 4417793. Study night November 3 to 4, 2026, hospital sleep laboratory. Split-night polysomnogram with video. Referring clinician: Dr. Leah Morgan, cardiologist, heart failure clinic. Scored by K. Dubois, RPSGT. Interpreting physician: Dr. Sunita Rao, sleep medicine. Report date November 6, 2026.
64-year-old man with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction from ischemic cardiomyopathy. LVEF 30% on echocardiogram in September 2026; NYHA class II to III. His wife sees long pauses in his breathing, then bursts of fast breathing. Wakes short of breath 2 or 3 nights a week. Light snoring. Epworth Sleepiness Scale score 7. BMI 27. Takes sacubitril-valsartan, carvedilol, spironolactone, dapagliflozin, and furosemide. No opioids. In-lab study chosen because of his heart failure. Question: is this sleep apnea, central or obstructive, and how should it be treated?
EEG, EOG, chin and leg EMG, ECG, oronasal thermal sensor and nasal pressure, chest and abdominal belts, oximetry, position, snoring, and video. Lights off 22:30. Diagnostic part to 01:20, titration from 01:20, lights on 05:45. AASM scoring manual, version 3. Hypopneas scored with the 3% rule: a 3% desaturation or an arousal. Hypopneas classed as obstructive or central from snoring, flow flattening, and paradoxical effort. Split criteria met: AHI over 40 in the first 2 hours. Technical quality good.
Diagnostic part: total sleep time 132 minutes, sleep efficiency 78%. Sleep latency 18 minutes, REM latency 112 minutes. N1 18%, N2 61%, N3 12%, REM 9%. Wake after sleep onset 20 minutes. Arousal index 34 per hour, most after respiratory events.
Diagnostic part: AHI 52 per hour. 114 events: 58 central apneas, 8 obstructive apneas, 4 mixed apneas, 32 central hypopneas, and 12 obstructive hypopneas. Central events 79% of the total; central AHI 41. Cheyne-Stokes breathing through most of N1 and N2 sleep, with crescendo-decrescendo cycles about 60 seconds long. NREM AHI 56, REM AHI 15. Supine 85 minutes, AHI 61; lateral 47 minutes, AHI 36.
Baseline 94%. Nadir 85%. 21 minutes below 90%, 16% of sleep time. Sinus rhythm, 58 to 84 per minute, with frequent single premature ventricular beats; no pauses or sustained arrhythmia. PLM index 9 per hour, few with arousals. No abnormal behaviors on video; normal REM atonia.
Nasal mask, CPAP 5 to 12 cm H2O over 208 minutes of sleep, including supine REM. Snoring and obstructive events gone by 8 cm H2O. Central events fell but persisted: at 10 cm H2O, 64 minutes of sleep, AHI 19, central AHI 17, nadir 90%. At 12 cm H2O, more arousals and central apneas, AHI 24, so pressure returned to 10. Bilevel without a backup rate not tried, as it can deepen central apnea. Mask comfortable, leak low.
Severe central sleep apnea with Cheyne-Stokes breathing, AHI 52, central AHI 41, in a man with heart failure and LVEF 30%. Mild obstructive component, controlled at 8 cm H2O. The pattern is typical: worst in light NREM sleep and supine, easing in REM and N3. A low Epworth score is common in heart failure and doesn’t make the apnea less important. CPAP at 10 cm H2O lowered the AHI to 19 on the night, not below 15.
Heart failure first: letter to Dr. Morgan to review fluid status and medicines, as central apnea often improves as heart failure is treated. CPAP 10 cm H2O at home, nasal mask, heated humidity. Download at 4 weeks and sleep clinic visit at 6 weeks. If the AHI stays 15 or more after 3 months on CPAP with heart failure optimized, repeat the titration in the lab and discuss other options with cardiology, including referral for phrenic nerve stimulation. Adaptive servo-ventilation is not recommended now. In the SERVE-HF trial, ASV raised cardiovascular death in patients with LVEF 45% or less and mainly central apnea, and the ASV devices this lab uses are labeled against use in that group. Current AASM guidance limits ASV in reduced ejection fraction to experienced centers with close monitoring. Avoid opioids and sedating sleep medicines. Driving: not sleepy at the wheel; advised not to drive if drowsy. Copies to Dr. Morgan and his family physician.
Sunita Rao, MD, sleep medicine. Electronically signed November 6, 2026, at 11:25.
Why the study was ordered, and what the referring clinician needs to know. It also shows whether a home test was the right choice.
Avoid: Reading a home test without checking the history. Heart failure, significant lung disease, opioid use, or a suspected non-breathing sleep disorder call for an in-lab study.
What was recorded, for how long, and by which rules. The hypopnea rule alone can move a patient from mild to moderate, so the reader needs it to compare reports.
Avoid: “Scored per AASM criteria” with no rule named. Write 3% or 4%, so the next clinician, or an insurer, reads the AHI correctly.
How the patient slept: how long, how well, and in which stages. A home test records no brain waves, so this section says “not measured.”
Avoid: Reporting an AHI from a night with little sleep or no REM without saying so. Short or REM-poor sleep can understate severity.
The core of the report: how often breathing stopped or became shallow, and whether the cause was a closing airway or a pause in the drive to breathe.
Avoid: One AHI with no breakdown. Obstructive and central apnea need different treatment, and the reader can’t tell which this is.
How far oxygen fell, and for how long. Two patients with the same AHI can spend very different amounts of the night below 90%.
Avoid: Giving the nadir alone. One brief dip to 84% means much less than an hour spent below 90%.
What else the night showed. An arrhythmia, frequent limb movements, or dream enactment can change the diagnosis or need a call.
Avoid: Leaving a serious arrhythmia buried in the report. Call the referring clinician, and write who you spoke to and when.
For split-night and titration studies: the pressures tried, how the patient responded, and the pressure that worked.
Avoid: Prescribing a pressure never tested in supine REM sleep without saying so. It may be too low on the nights that matter.
The answer, in plain terms: the diagnosis, how severe it is, and how far the study can be trusted.
Avoid: Calling a home test with a low REI normal when suspicion is high. Write that it doesn’t rule out sleep apnea, and recommend an in-lab study.
What happens next, written so the referring clinician can act on it the same day.
Avoid: “Clinical correlation recommended.” Name the treatment, the pressure, and who follows up.
The same night can score as moderate with the 3% rule and mild with the 4% rule. Name the rule in every report, so the next clinician reads severity correctly.
A home test counts time awake and can’t see hypopneas that end in an arousal. If suspicion stays high after a low REI, write that sleep apnea isn’t ruled out and recommend an in-lab study.
An AHI of 52 means one thing when the airway closes and another when the drive to breathe stops. Give central events as a share of the total, and name Cheyne-Stokes breathing when you see it.
Check the latest LVEF before suggesting adaptive servo-ventilation for central apnea. In SERVE-HF, ASV raised cardiovascular death when LVEF was 45% or less.
For a sleepy patient or severe apnea, write what you advised about driving and safety-sensitive work. Rules on reporting differ by place, so follow the ones where you practice.
Vero Scribe writes the sleep study report in your template from your dictation as you review the scored study. You review and edit every section, then copy it into your record or export it to Word or PDF. Vero works in 60+ languages.
Start with the interpretation and the AHI, or the REI on a home test: how many times an hour your breathing stopped or became shallow. In adults, under 5 is normal, 5 to 14 is mild, 15 to 29 is moderate, and 30 or more is severe. Then look at your lowest oxygen level and the time spent below 90%. The recommendations say what treatment is suggested. Ask the clinician who ordered the test to go through it with you.
The patient, referral question, and study type; the channels recorded and the hypopnea rule used; sleep time, efficiency, latencies, and stages; the AHI with obstructive and central events, by position and sleep stage; oxygen nadir and time below 90%; heart rhythm, limb movements, and behaviors; titration results if done; the interpretation with severity; and recommendations, including follow-up and driving advice.
Both count a hypopnea when airflow drops by 30% or more for at least 10 seconds. The 3% rule, which the AASM recommends, counts it when oxygen falls by 3% or the event ends in an arousal. The 4% rule counts it only when oxygen falls by 4%. The 4% rule gives a lower AHI, so a patient can move from moderate to mild. Some insurers still ask for it, so every report should name the rule used.
A home test records breathing, effort, oxygen, pulse, and position, but no brain waves. So it can’t measure sleep time, stages, arousals, or limb movements, and it reports an REI per hour of monitoring time, which can understate the AHI. It suits adults likely to have moderate or severe obstructive sleep apnea without major heart, lung, or neurologic disease. Others need an in-lab polysomnogram.
One night in the lab in two parts: diagnosis first, then CPAP titration. Many labs switch when the AHI is 40 or more after at least 2 hours of diagnostic recording, leaving 3 or more hours to find a pressure. The report covers both parts: the diagnostic findings, then the pressures tried and the one that worked.
Yes. Copy it, or download it as a Word or text file. No account needed.
The sleep physician’s first visit: schedule, snoring, Epworth and STOP-Bang, insomnia, restless legs, airway exam, test choice, and plan.
Sleep clinic visits and study reads, drafted from the visit or your dictation.
Notes for the lung clinics that order sleep studies and follow patients on CPAP.
Explain a sleep apnea diagnosis to the patient in plain words, with the next steps.
Vero writes your notes and letters in the templates you choose, so you review instead of type.
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