Insomnia screening

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] ; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Adnan Ezici, M.D[2]

There is insufficient evidence to recommend routine screening for insomnia. However, physicians should ask about the presence of difficulty sleeping. If the patient reports severe and frequent problems with sleeping, further evaluation of insomnia might be required.

There is insufficient evidence to recommend routine screening for insomnia. However, physicians should ask about the presence of difficulty sleeping. If the patient reports severe and frequent problems with sleeping, further evaluation of insomnia might be required.^[1]

• A 2-question version of the 8-question Sleep Condition Indicator (developed for insomnia screening) includes:
  • “Thinking about the past month, to what extent has poor sleep troubled you in general?” (not at all, a little, somewhat, much, or very much)
  • “Thinking about a typical night in the past month, how many nights do you have a problem with your sleep?” (0 to 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 to 7).
• Calculation of the score is based on the points from each question (5-point scale scored from 4 [best] to 0 [worst] for each question). The summed score of both questions between 0 and 2 indicates a problem and warrants further evaluation. At this point, the patient might be evaluated by either the more detailed history or the other 6 questions from the Sleep Condition Indicator.