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Diagnostic criteria - insomnia

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

diagnostic criteria of insomnia

International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD) and Research Diagnostic Criteria for Insomnia (RDC)

International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD-3) (2017)

  • ICSD-3 this complaint must be present three or more nights per week, for at least three months, and be associated with impairment to day-time functioning or well-being

The patient reports (or the patient’s
parent or caregiver reports) marked
concern about, or dissatisfaction
with, sleep comprising one or more
of the following:-

difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, waking up earlier than desired, resistance in going to bed on the appropriate schedule, difficulty sleeping without the parent or caregiver present.

 

 

Occurs despite adequate
opportunity and
circumstances for sleep.

At least one form of daytime impairment e.g. fatigue; mood disturbance; interpersonal problems; reduced
cognitive function; reduced performance; daytime sleepiness; behavioural problems (e.g. hyperactivity, impulsivity, aggression); reduced motivation/ initiative; proneness to errors/ accidents.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5)

  • a predominant complaint of dissatisfaction with sleep quantity or quality, associated with one (or more) of the following symptoms:
    • difficulty initiating sleep. (in children, this may manifest as difficulty initiating sleep without caregiver intervention.)
    • difficulty maintaining sleep, characterized by frequent awakenings or problems returning to sleep after awakenings. (in children, this may manifest as difficulty returning to sleep without caregiver intervention.)
    • early-morning awakening with inability to return to sleep
  • the sleep disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, educational, academic, behavioural, or other important areas of functioning
  • the sleep difficulty occurs at least 3 nights per week.
  • the sleep difficulty is present for at least 3 months
  • the sleep difficulty occurs despite adequate opportunity for sleep
  • the insomnia is not better explained by and does not occur exclusively during the course of another sleep-wake disorder (e.g., narcolepsy, a breathing-related sleep disorder, a circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorder, a parasomnia)
  • the insomnia is not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication).
  • coexisting mental disorders and medical conditions do not adequately explain the predominant complaint of insomnia

Reference:

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