What happens at a pediatric sleep study in Ontario?

What actually happens at a child's sleep study?

The medical name for a pediatric sleep study is a polysomnogram, and AboutKidsHealth, the SickKids patient-education service, defines it in one line: "A sleep study is a test that records your child's sleeping patterns." The recording covers six signal groups — "brain waves heartbeat eye movements leg movements breathing patterns oxygen levels" — and CHEO's Sleep Lab page names two more that its equipment follows, carbon dioxide levels and snoring sound. No two studies are identical, because the order comes from a physician: "Each study is slightly different. Your child's study will depend on what your child needs and what the doctor asks for." Which signals get recorded on any given night, in other words, is set by the referring doctor's request rather than by a fixed menu.

The night has a predictable shape. A technologist meets the family, explains the equipment, and attaches the sensors — CHEO puts that at "about 20-30 minutes" — after which, in CHEO's words, "you can help your child to settle to sleep." The child is also recorded on camera through the night. SickKids explains why: "Your child will also be videotaped and monitored through the night on a closed-circuit camera. This is to record any abnormal movements that your child may have while asleep." At CHEO the technologist watches by video monitor from a separate room. SickKids describes its own lab as "a safe, easy and painless way of monitoring the child's breathing and behavioural patterns during sleep".

Who can refer my child for a sleep study in Ontario?

A parent cannot book a hospital sleep study directly, and the signature the lab will accept depends on which hospital you are dealing with. The SickKids Sleep Laboratory states it flatly: "All requests for testing must be made by a physician or surgeon." Its Paediatric Sleep Disorders Clinic narrows that further — "Referrals must be completed by a family physician or paediatrician. All patients require a referral to visit our clinic" — and the Respiratory Medicine department that houses the lab routes referrals from a family physician or paediatrician through EpicCare Link. CHEO's Sleep Lab page answers the same question twice, and not identically: the FAQ written for families says "All patients must be referred by a Physician or Nurse Practitioner", while the referral section addressed to providers further down the same page says "All patients must be referred by a Physician." We publish both as written rather than quoting the more permissive one. That is four different statements across two hospitals, which is exactly why a general answer is worth so little here — and why the lab your child is actually being sent to is the one to ask.

CHEO also closes the loop with the person who sent the referral rather than with the family: "After a referral is received, we will notify the referring Physician or Nurse Practitioner whether the referral has been accepted or denied, and if accepted we will provide an estimated ideal wait time." Practically, that means the news reaches your doctor's office first. One more CHEO detail is worth raising at the referral appointment rather than afterwards: families who could take a same-day opening should say so up front, because CHEO asks that availability "for a short notice cancellation spot (ex. would be informed by 4pm, for a spot that night)" be flagged to the referring physician so it can be written on the initial referral.

How long is the wait for a pediatric sleep study?

Only one Ontario children's hospital we found publishes a number, and it publishes two. CHEO's Sleep Lab overview says: "Depending on the circumstance, you may expect to wait 1-2 years." Its FAQ on the same page gives a different span: "Depending on the severity of your child's symptoms, you can expect to wait 6-24 months for an initial appointment." We publish both as written rather than averaging them into a tidier figure, and both belong to Ottawa. SickKids does not post a figure at all; the AboutKidsHealth sleep-study handout says only that "The Sleep Lab has a long waiting list", and that page carries a 2009 last-updated stamp, so we read it as a description rather than a current measurement. No GTA number is quoted here, because no GTA hospital source we fetched states one — and inventing a plausible span would be worse than the silence.

CHEO attributes the wait to volume rather than to any single bottleneck: "Concerns about breathing during sleep are very common, and we receive a high volume of referrals. Unfortunately, this leads to a longer wait time than we would prefer." The same passage names the one action available to a family in the queue — "Should symptoms worsen while you are awaiting your appointment, you can discuss with your physician who may send an update if appropriate." That update is a clinical judgement call made by your doctor, not something a parent can file directly, and it is the reason to keep the referring office informed of changes rather than waiting quietly.

Does my child have to stay overnight, and do I stay with them?

Both, and the hospital says so in a single sentence. SickKids Sleep Laboratory: "Children of any age can be studied, from infancy to 18 years of age. All studies are performed overnight and a parent is required to stay with the child for the entire study." This is not a drop-off appointment and it is not a daytime one. CHEO frames the parent's role the same way — "Parents or guardians are responsible for the care of children and youth during the sleep study" — and provides a pull-out bed. SickKids describes the accompanying adult's setup as "a small bed or cot" with linens supplied for parent and child, in a room that "includes a private bathroom for you and your child". Feeding carries on as usual: "If your child is still breastfeeding, you can breastfeed them as you normally do at home."

Arrival is late by design. "You will be asked to come to the sleep lab for 8 p.m. or 9 p.m.", SickKids writes; CHEO independently books "for 8 or 9pm". A child who falls asleep in the car has not ruined anything — SickKids is explicit that "It is okay if your child arrives asleep. The sleep technologists are very skilled at placing all of the sensors on children who are asleep or awake." Overnight, staff stay close: "A sleep technologist will always be nearby. The technologist can help your child at any time", and "A doctor is on call at all times in case your child needs medical help."

Will the sensors hurt, and will my child actually sleep?

SickKids answers the first half directly: "The sensors are not needles. The sensors do not hurt and they are easy to remove." What goes on is stickers, belts and a clip. The SickKids list runs: "Sensors on the head to record brain waves and eye movements. Sensors on the chest and legs. Sensors under the nose and mouth. Belts around your child's chest and tummy… A sticker attached to your child's finger or toe to monitor oxygen levels." CHEO's list adds "A microphone to record any snoring", electrodes beside the eyes, and "Sensors under the chin to measure muscle tone". CHEO states the overall experience plainly — "Sleep studies are not painful" — and SickKids notes the belts "do not restrict your child's breathing and are comfortable for most children".

The second half is the one parents actually lose sleep over. SickKids' own framing is candid rather than reassuring-by-default: "All of the sensors let your child move freely while they are asleep. Surprisingly, most children sleep well. The sleep lab technologists try to make the sleep area and study as comfortable as possible." CHEO suggests a rehearsal, and it is the most practical preparation tip either hospital publishes: "play with them ahead of time to practice some of the things they will experience (ex. play with a stuffed animal with stickers on their head, face and chest, and yarn around their chest and belly; do the same with your child, etc.)."

What should I pack for my child's sleep study?

Bedding is supplied and familiar things are not. SickKids asks families to bring comfort items in so many words: "Fresh, clean bedding will be provided, but please bring any familiar items your child uses, such as a special pillow, blanket, toy or books. These items may provide comfort and help your child sleep." CHEO calls the same thing a comfort bag. Beyond that, the SickKids packing list is specific about equipment already in use at home — an apnea or oxygen monitor, a BIPAP, CPAP or ventilator setup including "the machine, tubing and masks", and oxygen therapy equipment — plus a sleep diary if the family has been keeping one. Pyjamas get a line of their own, for a reason that becomes obvious at hook-up time.

Keep the day itself ordinary. SickKids is direct about this: "On the day of the sleep study, try to keep your child's routine as normal as possible. Changing your child's routines will not help the test. For example, if your child usually takes a nap in the day, they should take a nap on the day of the study." Because the stay runs into the following morning, food and medication have to cover both ends of it — SickKids asks for medications the child "uses or may need during the sleep study and the next morning", plus formula, bottles, snacks, cutlery and dishes "to last overnight and into the morning", and personal toiletries.

• Button-up or two-piece pyjamas, so the technologist can reach the sensor sites easily.
• A special pillow, blanket, stuffed animal or books — whatever the bedtime routine normally involves.
• Any home equipment already in use: apnea or oxygen monitor, BIPAP, CPAP or ventilator with tubing and masks.
• Medications for the night and the next morning, plus formula, bottles, snacks, cutlery and dishes.
• The sleep diary, if the family has been keeping one, and personal toiletries.

What happens the morning after, and when do we get results?

Wake-up after a pediatric sleep study is early and departure is quick. SickKids aims "to monitor your child sleeping for seven to eight hours overnight", wakes the family at six, removes the sensors, and adds that "Usually, you will be able to leave the sleep lab with your child within one hour of the sleep study ending." CHEO wakes families "between 5:30- 6:00 a.m." and removes the sensors before you leave shortly afterwards. One scheduling instruction is easy to miss and expensive to ignore: SickKids asks families "not [to] book any appointments outside the hospital the morning after the sleep study in case the sleep team needs to see your child after the sleep study." Treat the morning as unclaimed.

Results do not come home with you, and they are not immediate. SickKids describes the chain: "The information from the sleep study is processed by a computer, scored by a technologist, and then reviewed by a sleep doctor. When the results are ready, they will be sent to your child's paediatrician or the doctor who referred your child for the test." CHEO puts a span on it — "We will send the results to the referring doctor in about 4-12 weeks, depending on the severity of the findings noted the night of the study." A follow-up visit may be arranged: SickKids notes a child "may also be asked to return to the sleep clinic to meet the sleep doctor to discuss the results." What the report says, and what follows from it, is a conversation for that physician.

What if my child gets sick before the appointment?

Call the lab and let the sleep team make the call. SickKids: "If your child has a fever, is ill or has a bad cold, please call the sleep lab coordinator and let them know as soon as possible." The decision is not the parent's to make alone, and it is not automatic either — "You may be forwarded to a member of the sleep team to discuss your child's illness and decide whether or not the sleep study should be postponed." For a family that has waited months for the slot, that phone call is worth making early in the day rather than at bedtime, because the alternative is arriving at 8 p.m. and having the decision made at the door.

Cancellation notice periods differ, and one hospital attaches a consequence. SickKids asks for at least 24 hours: "The Sleep Lab has a long waiting list, so please call us at least 24 hours before the sleep study if you are unable to keep this appointment." CHEO asks for 48 and states what happens otherwise: "If this is your first appointment in a clinic or department and you miss two appointments without giving at least 48 hours' notice, your referral will be returned to the care provider who submitted it." Cancellations also run the other way. SickKids warns that a study may be cancelled "at the last minute due to an emergency involving another child", and rescheduled as soon as possible.

Why did the sleep clinic turn down our referral?

Refusals are usually about fit rather than about how worried anyone is. The SickKids Paediatric Sleep Disorders Clinic publishes its inclusion criteria in full: "our inclusion criteria is limited to: All children under two years of age with query sleep disordered breathing; or Children who are actively followed at SickKids irrespective of age; or Children with medical complexity who are unable to be managed in the community". The same page states an outright exclusion — "We do not accept referrals for children with sleep hygiene and/or sleep behavioural concerns." CHEO is equally direct that a study answers a narrow question, listing sleep problems for which "Sleep Studies are NOT helpful", among them parasomnias such as sleepwalking and night terrors, insomnia, and delayed sleep phase disorder.

Geography and age route referrals too, and neither is negotiable at the front desk. McMaster Children's Hospital's Respirology Clinic accepts "Only referrals from within our catchment (Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant LHIN)", sends patients 16 and over to St. Joseph's Sleep Assessment Program, and states that it has no sleep lab on site: "We do not have a sleep lab at McMaster site. Patients will be sent to external sleep lab for sleep studies if appropriate." CHEO sees "children up to 18 years old with symptoms of breathing problems during sleep". At SickKids the clinic visit often comes first, with the study scheduled afterwards if the team decides one is needed. If a referral comes back, the referring physician is the person who can redirect it.

How is a children's sleep lab different from an adult one?

CHEO answers this on its own page, in four points, and the staffing line is the one parents remember: "Children require more supervision – adult sleep labs can have one technician monitoring up to 4 patients. At CHEO, we have one technician monitoring two children and we limit how many very young children we have in the lab at once". The other three points are the equipment ("Our equipment needs to be specialized for children and youth"), the time spent "comforting and reassuring a nervous child or parent", and the reading of the recording itself: "Scoring and diagnostic criteria are different for children and adults." That last point is why a pediatric sleep study in Ontario is not simply an adult study performed on a smaller person.

Capacity is the practical consequence. SickKids describes its lab, on its own page, as "one of four paediatric sleep laboratories in Canada" — a statement worth reading as the hospital's own, on an undated page, rather than as a current national count. SickKids also runs a separate DREAMS Clinic "for the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with complex sleep-disordered breathing", where families are asked to "expect to be at the hospital for approximately 3 hours" and to bring an existing BiPAP or CPAP machine and mask, because "We may want to download the information stored on the machine." SleepClinicFinder lists pediatric sleep services across Peel, Halton and the GTA so families can see who does what before that first referral conversation.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Every figure quoted above comes from one of the reference pages below, each fetched and quoted in full in our research file for this guide. Discussion threads are listed separately and held to a narrower standard: we could not fetch those pages, so we quote a thread’s title only — checked against the public oEmbed record for that thread on the date shown — and never a comment inside it, and never a figure. Where we could not verify a claim, we cut it rather than publish it.

1. Sleep studies: Having a polysomnogram — AboutKidsHealth (The Hospital for Sick Children). Fetched August 9, 2026.
2. Sleep Laboratory — The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). Fetched August 9, 2026.
3. Paediatric Sleep Disorders Clinic — The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). Fetched August 9, 2026.
4. DREAMS Clinic — The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). Fetched August 9, 2026.
5. Sleep Lab — CHEO (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario). Fetched August 9, 2026.
6. Respirology Clinic — McMaster Children's Hospital — Hamilton Health Sciences. Fetched August 9, 2026.
7. Respiratory Medicine — referral route — The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). Fetched August 9, 2026.
8. FAQs — are sleep tests covered by government run health plans? — MedSleep. Fetched August 9, 2026.