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Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine pp 1–3Cite as

Sleep Quality

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Synonyms

Sleep refreshment; Sleep satisfaction

Definition

Sleep quality is defined as one’s satisfaction of the sleep experience, integrating aspects of sleep initiation, sleep maintenance, sleep quantity, and refreshment upon awakening.

Description

Sleep quality is widely recognized as a vital contributor to optimal health and functioning. Yet, despite its common usage, “sleep quality” is a term without a clear definition or operationalization (Ohayon et al. 2017).

Measurement

Measurement of sleep quality is difficult due to its imprecise definition. The construct of sleep quality likely incorporates aspects of sleep quantity, sleep continuity, the feeling of refreshment upon awakening, and daytime sleepiness (Harvey et al. 2008). Many of these aspects cannot be easily measured in an objective fashion. Thus, sleep quality is often assessed with self-reported measures.

Sleep diaries, which track sleep on a daily basis, often assess sleep quality by incorporating a Likert-type rating...

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References and Further Reading

  • Bin, Y. S. (2016). Is sleep quality more important than sleep duration for public health? Sleep, 39, 1629–1630.

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  • Buysse, D. J., Reynolds, C. F., III, Monk, T. H., Berman, S. R., & Kupfer, D. J. (1989). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: A new instrument for psychiatric practice and research. Psychiatry Research, 28, 193–213.

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  • Cappuccio, F. P., D’Elia, L., Strazzullo, P., & Miller, M. A. (2010). Quantity and quality of sleep and incidence of type 2 diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Diabetes Care, 33, 414–420.

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  • Gabryelska, A., Feige, B., Riemann, D., Spiegelhalder, K., Johann, A., Białasiewicz, P., & Hertenstein, E. (2019). Can spectral power predict subjective sleep quality in healthy individuals? Journal of Sleep Research, 28, e12848.

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  • Harvey, A. G., Stinson, K., Whitaker, K. L., Moskovitz, D., & Virk, H. (2008). The subjective meaning of sleep quality: A comparison of individuals with and without insomnia. Sleep, 31, 383–393.

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  • Hays, R. D., Martin, S. A., Sesti, A. M., & Spritzer, K. L. (2005). Psychometric properties of the medical outcomes study sleep measure. Sleep Medicine, 6, 41–44.

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  • Kaplan, K. A., Hardas, P. P., Redline, S., & Zeitzer, J. M. (2017a). Correlates of sleep quality in midlife and beyond: A machine learning analysis. Sleep Medicine, 34, 162–167.

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  • Kaplan, K. A., Hirshman, J., Hernandez, B., Stefanick, M. L., Hoffman, A. R., Redline, S., … Zeitzer, J. M. (2017b). When a gold standard isn’t so golden: Lack of prediction of subjective sleep quality from sleep polysomnography. Biological Psychology, 123, 37–46.

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  • Kojima, M., Wakai, K., Kawamura, T., Tamakoshi, A., Aoki, R., Lin, Y., … Ohno, Y. (2000). Sleep patterns and total mortality: A 12-year follow-up study in Japan. Journal of Epidemiology, 10, 87–93.

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  • Krystal, A. D., & Edinger, J. D. (2008). Measuring sleep quality. Sleep Medicine, 9, S10–S17.

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  • Ohayon M., Wickwire E. M., Hirshkowitz M., Albert S. M., Avidan A., Daly F. J., … Vitiello, M. V. (2017). National Sleep Foundation’s sleep quality recommendations: First report. Sleep Health, 3, 6–19.

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  • Vgontzas, A. N., Fernandez-Mendoza, J., Liao, D., & Bixler, E. O. (2013). Insomnia with objective short sleep duration: The most biologically severe phenotype of the disorder. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 17, 241–254.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health and Physical Activity, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Christopher E. Kline

Authors
  1. Christopher E. Kline
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christopher E. Kline .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

    Marc Gellman

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Martica H. Hall

  2. BioFrontiers Center, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO, USA

    Michele L. Okun

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Kline, C.E. (2020). Sleep Quality. In: Gellman, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_849-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_849-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

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