Table of ContentsView All
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Table of Contents
What Is the PSQI?
Purpose of Test
Risks and Contraindications
Interpreting Results
ThePittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)is a questionnaire that is used to evaluate sleep problems. If you have concerns about your sleep, your healthcare provider may have you answer the questions as part of your medical workup.
The questionnaire includes an assessment of different aspects of your sleep, as well as some features of your daytime functioning. The result is used to get an idea about the quantity and quality of your sleep.
Getty Images/Luis Alvarez
The questions are all intended to be answered based on your sleeping pattern for the past month.
Questions involve:
Your roommate’s questions are focused on things that you might not be aware of when you are sleeping—like whether you have excessive movements, confusion, and/or snoring.
The PSQI takes about 10 minutes to complete and it doesn’t involve any procedures or interventions.
The purpose of this test is to evaluate your sleep habits, whether you have disturbed sleep, and your motivation and concentration when you are awake.
The questionnaire is used in the clinical evaluation of sleep disturbances and it is also used as a research tool, such as when medications or other factors that affect sleep are being examined in research studies.
Your healthcare provider might have you answer the questions on this test if you have complaints about your sleep or if you are complaining about excessive tiredness during the time that you would like to be awake.
You might take the PSQI if you:
What Is Sleep Deprivation?
The PSQI can be part of a comprehensive sleep evaluation. Your full sleep assessment might also include filling out a sleep diary and getting diagnostic studies such as apolysomnogram(overnight sleep study), brain imaging tests, ordaytime multiple sleep latency test (MSLT).
You may also need a medical evaluation to evaluate health issues that could be contributing to your sleep problems.
There are no risks to actually taking the test, but it should be used and interpreted under medical supervision. The PSQI is not intended for home use or to be used or interpreted on your own.
The results can provide you with the opportunity to consider and discuss aspects of your sleep that you might not have thought about before seeing the questions. But a sleep evaluation and treatment of sleep disorders requires consultation with a medical professional.
The test is scored based on a scoring system that allots a certain number of points for each answer. Your healthcare provider will discuss your score with you, along with your individual answers. The score and the answers are both important in guiding your next steps.
Your PSQI score provides insight into the severity and impact of your sleep problem, and your specific answers point to the cause.
After your test, you and your healthcare provider can discuss the implications of your responses and make a plan for the next steps of your evaluation and treatment.
The results of the PSQI do not independently provide a diagnosis of your sleep problem.But it does provide valuable insight and direction that your healthcare provider may use in making a diagnosis. Your PSQI test results are interpreted in the context of your medical history, physical examination, and other diagnostic tests.
You may need additional diagnostic tests to help pinpoint your exact problem. For example, if you frequently wake up to use the toilet, you may need a blood test or aurine testto check for elevated sugar levels, which is a sign ofdiabetes.
In males, a prostate examination would also be warranted if they frequently awaken to urinate, because anenlarged prostatecan cause this symptom.
Snoring may point to the need for further evaluation with a polysomnogram and overnightpulse oximeter, which can detect breathing problems. And issues related to confusion or altered behavior may point to dementia or another neurological condition—this concern would be evaluated with a thorough neurological examination, and possibly with imaging tests of the brain.
List of Sleeping Disorders
Once you have a diagnosis, your healthcare provider will work with you on a plan to help you get better sleep. Your treatment plan depends on your diagnosis.
Treatment can include strategies such as:
These are just a few of the treatment strategies that can be used to treat problems that interfere with sleep.
Sometimes the PSQI is administered again after treatment is started as a way to reevaluate whether your treatment is working.
A Word From Verywell
The PSQI might be part of your sleep evaluation. It can be used as a tool to help you and your healthcare provider identify problems in your sleep pattern, and it can also guide further diagnostic testing if necessary. Taking this self-administered test can also give you a good deal of insight into what you are going through.
You might not notice certain aspects of your sleep pattern, and this questionnaire also gives your roommate or sleeping partner a chance to contribute to your sleeping assessment. Most of the time, sleeping problems can be effectively treated so you can have more satisfying sleep and more energy and a better mood during the day.
8 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Buysse DJ, Reynolds CF 3rd, Monk TH, Berman SR, Kupfer DJ.The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: a new instrument for psychiatric practice and research.Psychiatry Res. 1989 May;28(2):193-213. doi:10.1016/0165-1781(89)90047-4Faulkner S, Sidey-Gibbons C.Use of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index in People With Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: A Mixed Methods Study.Front Psychiatry. 2019 May 9;10:284. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00284Hoshino T, Sasanabe R, Murotani K, Hori R, Mano M, Nomura A, Konishi N, Baku M, Arita A, Kuczynski W, Shiomi T.Insomnia as a symptom of rapid eye movement-related obstructive sleep apnea.J Clin Med.2020;9(6):1821. doi:10.3390/jcm9061821Stanford Medicine.Consultation with a Sleep Specialist.Green ME, Bernet V, Cheung J.Thyroid Dysfunction and Sleep Disorders.Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2021 Aug 24;12:725829. doi:10.3389/fendo.2021.725829American Diabetes Association.Hyperglycemia (High Blood Glucose).National Health Service.Benign Prostate Englargement.Siddarth P, Thana-Udom K, Ojha R, Merrill D, Dzierzewski JM, Miller K, Small GW, Ercoli L.Sleep quality, neurocognitive performance, and memory self-appraisal in middle-aged and older adults with memory complaints.Int Psychogeriatr.2020 Sep 28:1-11. doi:10.1017/S1041610220003324
8 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Buysse DJ, Reynolds CF 3rd, Monk TH, Berman SR, Kupfer DJ.The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: a new instrument for psychiatric practice and research.Psychiatry Res. 1989 May;28(2):193-213. doi:10.1016/0165-1781(89)90047-4Faulkner S, Sidey-Gibbons C.Use of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index in People With Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: A Mixed Methods Study.Front Psychiatry. 2019 May 9;10:284. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00284Hoshino T, Sasanabe R, Murotani K, Hori R, Mano M, Nomura A, Konishi N, Baku M, Arita A, Kuczynski W, Shiomi T.Insomnia as a symptom of rapid eye movement-related obstructive sleep apnea.J Clin Med.2020;9(6):1821. doi:10.3390/jcm9061821Stanford Medicine.Consultation with a Sleep Specialist.Green ME, Bernet V, Cheung J.Thyroid Dysfunction and Sleep Disorders.Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2021 Aug 24;12:725829. doi:10.3389/fendo.2021.725829American Diabetes Association.Hyperglycemia (High Blood Glucose).National Health Service.Benign Prostate Englargement.Siddarth P, Thana-Udom K, Ojha R, Merrill D, Dzierzewski JM, Miller K, Small GW, Ercoli L.Sleep quality, neurocognitive performance, and memory self-appraisal in middle-aged and older adults with memory complaints.Int Psychogeriatr.2020 Sep 28:1-11. doi:10.1017/S1041610220003324
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Buysse DJ, Reynolds CF 3rd, Monk TH, Berman SR, Kupfer DJ.The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: a new instrument for psychiatric practice and research.Psychiatry Res. 1989 May;28(2):193-213. doi:10.1016/0165-1781(89)90047-4Faulkner S, Sidey-Gibbons C.Use of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index in People With Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: A Mixed Methods Study.Front Psychiatry. 2019 May 9;10:284. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00284Hoshino T, Sasanabe R, Murotani K, Hori R, Mano M, Nomura A, Konishi N, Baku M, Arita A, Kuczynski W, Shiomi T.Insomnia as a symptom of rapid eye movement-related obstructive sleep apnea.J Clin Med.2020;9(6):1821. doi:10.3390/jcm9061821Stanford Medicine.Consultation with a Sleep Specialist.Green ME, Bernet V, Cheung J.Thyroid Dysfunction and Sleep Disorders.Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2021 Aug 24;12:725829. doi:10.3389/fendo.2021.725829American Diabetes Association.Hyperglycemia (High Blood Glucose).National Health Service.Benign Prostate Englargement.Siddarth P, Thana-Udom K, Ojha R, Merrill D, Dzierzewski JM, Miller K, Small GW, Ercoli L.Sleep quality, neurocognitive performance, and memory self-appraisal in middle-aged and older adults with memory complaints.Int Psychogeriatr.2020 Sep 28:1-11. doi:10.1017/S1041610220003324
Buysse DJ, Reynolds CF 3rd, Monk TH, Berman SR, Kupfer DJ.The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: a new instrument for psychiatric practice and research.Psychiatry Res. 1989 May;28(2):193-213. doi:10.1016/0165-1781(89)90047-4
Faulkner S, Sidey-Gibbons C.Use of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index in People With Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: A Mixed Methods Study.Front Psychiatry. 2019 May 9;10:284. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00284
Hoshino T, Sasanabe R, Murotani K, Hori R, Mano M, Nomura A, Konishi N, Baku M, Arita A, Kuczynski W, Shiomi T.Insomnia as a symptom of rapid eye movement-related obstructive sleep apnea.J Clin Med.2020;9(6):1821. doi:10.3390/jcm9061821
Stanford Medicine.Consultation with a Sleep Specialist.
Green ME, Bernet V, Cheung J.Thyroid Dysfunction and Sleep Disorders.Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2021 Aug 24;12:725829. doi:10.3389/fendo.2021.725829
American Diabetes Association.Hyperglycemia (High Blood Glucose).
National Health Service.Benign Prostate Englargement.
Siddarth P, Thana-Udom K, Ojha R, Merrill D, Dzierzewski JM, Miller K, Small GW, Ercoli L.Sleep quality, neurocognitive performance, and memory self-appraisal in middle-aged and older adults with memory complaints.Int Psychogeriatr.2020 Sep 28:1-11. doi:10.1017/S1041610220003324
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