A comparison of prospective and retrospective assessments of sleep

Harvey Babkoff, Aron Weller, Michal Lavidor

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlations between retrospective and prospective assessments of sleep. Subjective reports of sleep characteristics and sleep quality were obtained from 146 young (20-40 years, average age 29.15) healthy men (n = 43), nonpregnant (n = 70) and from 146 young (20-40 years, average age 29.15) healthy men (n = 33). Three types of subjective sleep reports were obtained: (1) general estimates of sleep habits (retrospective measures); (2) sleep logs completed upon awakening on three successive workdays (prospective measures); and (3) general sleep complaints. Men showed the greatest stability in the sleep log reports, followed by nonpregnant women, with pregnant women showing the least stability. Significant positive correlations between prospective (log reported) and retrospective (general estimates) sleep measures were found only for men. However, for measures of sleep quality, such as feelings of fatigue upon awakening, women showed greater agreement between their general estimates and three nightly reports. The limitations of using retrospective estimates in sleep surveys are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)455-460
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Clinical Epidemiology
Volume49
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 1996

Keywords

  • Night awakenings
  • Sleep duration
  • Sleep latency
  • Sleep logs

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