Clinical Study attributes
Decades of research have shown that sleep disturbances are common among patients with a wide range of psychiatric disorders. Such reported sleep disturbances include disrupted sleep efficiency and continuity, sleep quality complaints, insomnia, and nightmares. While traditional models suggest that certain sleep alterations are specific for certain mental disorders, newer models assume a transdiagnostic or dimensional view of sleep disturbances in mental disorders. Findings of a recent meta-analysis support the transdiagnostic or dimensional association between sleep disorders and psychiatric conditions. Additionally, the period just prior to sleep has recently received increased clinical and research interest, with studies investigating cognitive activity and rumination prior to sleep. However, only few studies compare sleep in different psychiatric diagnoses and the characteristics of sleep in different mental disorders are still not understood well enough for concrete implications for clinical practice. This is especially true for the population of psychiatric inpatients. In this study, the outcome measures and study variables will be measured with standardised and validated questionnaires, structured clinical interview, and a commercially available Fitbit Charge 2 tracker. Participants will be recruited from the inpatient units of the Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich (PUK). Screening will be conducted by the applicant and master's students enrolled in the project, using electronic patient files at the hospital. The patients will be invited to the study by their treating physician or psychologist. Assessments will consist of one interview and filling out of questionnaires (with a 30- to 45-minute duration respectively). A sub-sample will wear fill out a sleep diary for seven consecutive nights as well as wear a Fitbit Charge 2 tracker, which they will return a week later. Each patient will receive participant reimbursement of 30 Swiss francs (CHF) for their participation in the study.
