Keywords

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

FormalPara Purpose

The scale assesses the severity of insomnia using diagnostic criteria set forth by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). The eight-item questionnaire evaluates sleep onset, night and early-morning waking, sleep time, sleep quality, frequency and duration of complaints, distress caused by the experience of insomnia, and interference with daily functioning. A shorter version of the questionnaire, consisting of the first five items alone, may also be used.

FormalPara Population for Testing

The instrument has been validated in patients with insomnia and with control participants aged 18–79 years.

FormalPara Administration

Requiring between 3 and 5 min for administration, the scale is a self-report, pencil-and-paper measure.

FormalPara Reliability and Validity

An initial study evaluating the psychometric properties of both the long and shorter versions of the scale [1] found an internal consistency ranging from .87 to .89 and a test-retest reliability of .88 – .89. In terms of the instrument’s validity, results on the AIS correlated highly with scores obtained on the Sleep Problems Scale (.85–.90).

FormalPara Obtaining a Copy

A copy can be found in the developers’ original article [1].

Direct correspondence to:

C.R. Soldatos

Eginition Hospital

72-74 Vas. Sophias Ave.

11528 Athens, Greece

Telephone: +30-301-7289324

Email: egslelabath@hol.gr

FormalPara Scoring

Respondents use Likert-type scales to show how severely certain sleep difficulties have affected them during the past month. Scores range from 0 (meaning that the item in question has not been a problem) to 3 (indicating more acute sleep difficulties). Developers Soldatos and colleagues [2] suggest a cutoff score of 6, which correctly distinguished between insomnia patients and controls in 90% of cases.

Athens Insomnia Scale

Instructions: This scale is intended to record your own assessment of any sleep difficulty you might have experienced. Please check (by circling the appropriate number) the items below to indicate your estimate of any difficulty, provided that it occurred at least three times per week during the last month

Sleep induction (time it takes you to fall asleep after turning off the lights)

0: No problem

1: Slightly delayed

2: Markedly delayed

3: Very delayed or did not sleep at all

Awakenings during the night

0: No problem

1: Minor problem

2: Considerable problem

3: Serious problem or did not sleep at all

Final awakening earlier than desired

0: Not earlier

1: A little earlier

2: Markedly earlier

3: Much earlier or did not sleep at all

Total sleep duration

0: Sufficient

1: Slightly insufficient

2: Markedly insufficient

3: Very insufficient or did not sleep at all

Overall quality of sleep (no matter how long you slept)

0: Satisfactory

1: Slightly unsatisfactory

2: Markedly unsatisfactory

3: Very unsatisfactory or did not sleep at all

Sense of well-being during the day

0: Normal

1: Slightly decreased

2: Markedly decreased

3: Very decreased

Functioning (physical and mental) during the day

0: Normal

1: Slightly decreased

2: Markedly decreased

3: Very decreased

Sleepiness during the day

0: None

1: Mild

2: Considerable

3: Intense

Reprinted from Soldatos et al. [1], Copyright © 2000, with permission from Elsevier.