Screening tools for sleep disorders in patients with psychiatric disorders

Encephale. 2026 Jun;52(3S):S16-S24. doi: 10.1016/j.encep.2026.03.001. Epub 2026 Apr 13.

ABSTRACT

Sleep and mental health are closely interconnected. Alterations in sleep patterns are frequent among patients with psychiatric disorders and can exacerbate symptom severity or interfere with treatment outcomes. Despite this, systematic sleep assessment is not consistently integrated into psychiatric practice. This review presents a comprehensive overview of the main questionnaires available to assess sleep and its disturbances in psychiatric populations. We propose a minimal sleep semiology framework that includes non-specific sleep complaints (satisfaction, non-restorative sleep), sleep symptoms (insomnia, hypersomnolence), sleep-related distress/impairments, specific sleep disorders (sleep-related breathing disorders, sleep-related movement disorders, parasomnias), sleep needs (chronotype, flexibility) and behaviors (duration, timing, regularity, hypnotic use). Generic questionnaires, such as the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the RU-SATED scale, provide a global view of sleep health, while disorder-specific instruments allow precise evaluation of particular dimensions. This review allows for the selection of the most appropriate tool for specific applications in both clinical and research settings. Integrating these questionnaires with patient history and environmental context enables a holistic approach, improving both diagnosis and management. Ultimately, combining these subjective measures with objective assessments while considering environmental, social, and behavioral factors facilitates the promotion of sleep health, thereby enhancing psychiatric care and potentially benefiting population-level mental health.

PMID:42301743 | DOI:10.1016/j.encep.2026.03.001