Tools

8 pages

• Insomnia screening against the diagnostic criteria

  A 9-question insomnia screen following the ICSD-3-TR diagnostic criteria: night-time symptoms, daytime consequences, frequency, duration. Immediate result, free.

• PHQ-9 depression questionnaire

  The internationally standard PHQ-9 depression questionnaire: 9 items, scored automatically, interpreted against the published thresholds. Free, no details required.

• GAD-7 anxiety questionnaire

  The internationally standard GAD-7 anxiety questionnaire: 7 items covering the last 2 weeks, scored automatically and interpreted against the published thresholds. Free.

• The PSQI sleep quality index: how to read the result

  What the PSQI measures, its seven components, what the threshold of 5 means, and why this page explains the scale without reprinting the questionnaire.

• The Epworth Sleepiness Scale measures something other than insomnia

  Epworth measures the tendency to doze off in everyday situations, not insomnia. Why people with insomnia usually score low, and what a score of 10 means.

• When to think about sleep apnoea

  Eight risk factors for sleep apnoea, how to tell it apart from insomnia, and why taking sleeping pills when you have apnoea makes it worse.

• A two-week sleep diary

  The sleep diary is the standard tool for assessing insomnia, more accurate than any questionnaire. A seven-field daily template and how to calculate sleep efficiency.

• Work out a bedtime from sleep cycles

  A calculator for bedtime and wake time based on the 90-minute cycle, together with a plain account of how far the 90-minute figure is true and where it is not.