The Polysomnographical Meaning of Changed Sleep Quality—A Study of Treatment with Reduced Time in Bed

Abstract

Background: Reports of poor sleep are widespread, but their link with objective sleep (polysomnography—PSG) is weak in cross-sectional studies. In contrast, the purpose of this study was to investigate the association between changes in subjective and objective sleep variables using data from a study of the reduction in time in bed (TIB). Methods: One sleep recording was carried out at baseline and one at treatment week 5 (end of treatment) (N = 34). Results: The Karolinska Sleep Quality Index improved and was correlated with improvement in sleep efficiency (r = 0.41, p < 0.05) and reduction in TIB (r = −0.47, p < 0.01) and sleep latency (r = 0.36, p < 0.05). The restorative sleep index showed similar results. Improvements in the insomnia severity index (ISI) essentially lacked correlations with changes in the PSG variables. It was suggested that the latter may be due to the ISI representing a week of subjective sleep experience, of which a single PSG night may not be representative. Conclusions: It was concluded that changes in the subjective ratings of sleep are relatively well associated with changes in the PSG-based sleep continuity variables when both describe the same sleep.