Assessment of Sleep Quality Using Self-Rating Tools in an Equilibrium Clinic

Sleep quality significantly impacts alertness, performance, health issues, longevity, and overall quality of life. Quality of sleep is a key indicator of physical and mental health. A global approach to assessing sleep quality and sleep disorders often uses self-rating tools. In this review, we evaluate a sleep log along with eight self-rating tools for their relevance and measurement properties: the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Insomnia Severity Index, Athens Insomnia Scale, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale, Morning and Evening Questionnaire, Munich Chrono Type Questionnaire, and Children’s Chronotype Questionnaire. While these self-rating tools can be beneficial in clinical settings with time constraints, their correlations with physiologically measured sleep and subjective assessments of sleep or performance are, at best, modest. In summary, a sleep log and the eight self-rating tools could serve as appropriate sleep quality indicators for patients treated at equilibrium clinics.