Sleep
Sleep quality
18 questions · 5 min
This is one of the most widely used sleep questionnaires in the world. It asks about your usual bedtime and wake-up time, how long it takes you to fall asleep, how much you actually sleep, what wakes you or keeps you up, and how you feel during the day.
Your answers are combined into one overall sleep score, made up of seven parts you can see under More detail. It looks at the past month, so it shows your usual pattern rather than one bad night.
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What it shows
How well you’ve been sleeping overall in the past month, and which parts of sleep are going well or less well.
What it doesn’t
A diagnosis of any sleep disorder, such as insomnia or sleep apnoea.
Who it’s for
This check suits you if you’ve been sleeping badly for a while and want a clearer picture than “I’m always tired”. Because it looks at the whole past month, it helps when your sleep changes a lot from one night to the next.
It can also be useful before talking to a GP about sleep, or to see whether a change, such as a new routine or a new job, has made a difference when you take it again a month later.
Questions people ask
What does the PSQI measure?
It gives one overall sleep score made up of seven parts: how you rate your sleep, how long it takes to fall asleep, how many hours you sleep, how much of your time in bed you spend asleep, things that wake you, sleep medicine and daytime tiredness.
How long does the PSQI take?
There are 18 questions and it takes about 5 minutes. A few ask for times, such as when you usually go to bed and get up, so it helps to think of a typical night.
How is the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scored?
Each of the seven parts is scored from 0 to 3 and added up, giving a total from 0 to 21. Higher scores mean poorer sleep. A total of 5 or less fits the pattern of good sleep, and 6 or more fits the pattern of poor sleep.
Is this a diagnosis?
No. It can’t tell whether you have a sleep disorder, such as insomnia or sleep apnoea. Only a doctor or sleep specialist can assess that.
What if my score shows poor sleep?
A doctor can check what’s behind poor sleep and suggest things that help. The seven parts of your result can be a useful thing to show them.
How often can I retake it?
About once a month works well, as the questions cover the past month. Taking it again shows whether your sleep is changing over time.
Where it comes from
Developed by Daniel Buysse and colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh in 1989.
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index
On iPhone or iPad?
Sprout is an app there too, and this link opens the test straight away if you have it.
Coming soon to the App Store