How To Become A Sleep Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a sleep technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Sleep technicians or polysomnographic technicians work with people who have sleeping disorders. They run tests as part of the diagnosing process, collecting data and writing up reports to aid physicians' work coming up with treatment plans for the patients.

You will need to acquire appropriate training as a sleep technician to work in this field, and the lowest requirement is having a CPR certification. Patients will look to you for explanations about the sleeping tests and procedures to be carried out, so you will need to be patient and understanding when performing this role.

You will be working under the supervision of a physician or licensed sleep technologist. It will be your job to prepare equipment, create documentation of the processes and results, and prepare reports on the findings analyzing the procured data.

ScoreSleep TechnicianUS Average

Salary

3.9

Avg. Salary $50,458

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.71%

Asian 8.81%

Black or African American 9.70%

Hispanic or Latino 17.96%

Unknown 5.15%

White 57.67%

Gender

female 63.12%

male 36.88%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Key steps to become a sleep technician

Explore sleep technician education requirements

Most common sleep technician degrees

Associate

40.0 %

Bachelor's

28.2 %

High School Diploma

10.2 %

Start to develop specific sleep technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	16.24%
Patient Care	8.90%
RPSGT	5.74%
CPR	5.41%
Patient Safety	3.34%

Research sleep technician duties and responsibilities

Administer CPAP and BiPAP devices and educate patients the effective way of using and trouble shooting operate clinical devices.
Perform mask fitting, CPAP and BiPap set ups and titration through modification of modes and settings base on patient response.
Identify and troubleshoot artifact (EEG, EMG, ECG, and respiratory channels as well as the environment).
Have experience with running research, in hospital patient's, pediatrics and set ups for MSLT's and MWT's.

Prepare your sleep technician resume

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