Improving Sleep Quality Through Integrated Care

Abstract

There is substantial evidence that disordered sleep negatively impacts both physical and psychological health. The evidence for the negative effects of the two most prevalent sleep disorders, insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), on overall health is particularly strong (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014; Edinger, Grubber, Ulmer, Zervakis, & Olsen, 2016). Insomnia is defined as dissatisfaction with sleep quantity or quality with severity of sleep onset latency (time awake before sleep onset), time awake after sleep onset, or early morning awakenings of at least 30 min, at a frequency of 3 or more nights per week, for a duration of 3 months or more that is not directly attributable to substance use or another psychiatric disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). OSA is a condition during which five or more obstructive apneas or hypopneas, an occurrence during which the airway is either partially or fully closed, occur per hour of sleep, with the presence of nocturnal breathing disturbances (i.e., snoring, snorting/gasping, or breathing pauses) or daytime sleepiness, fatigue, or unrefreshing sleep (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).