People spend about a third of their lives sleeping, and it is crucial for individual health and well-being to get an adequate amount of sleep. There is a solid scientific basis for prioritizing the sleep area politically and for implementing interventions aimed at promoting good sleep and preventing sleep problems. However, the availability of evidence-based sleep-promoting strategies and interventions is severely limited. A prerequisite for developing and prioritizing interventions and strategies aimed at sleep is to establish knowledge about the sleep patterns and behaviors of Danes.
Purpose
The aim of the project is to investigate and describe the sleep habits among the Danish population, including sleep quantity, quality, and how they manage sleep problems. Additionally, the study aims to shed light on how sleep behavior is related to sleep problems and whether sleep behavior correlates with sociodemographic factors, health behavior, mental health, well-being, and social relationships. The study aims to contribute knowledge for future efforts in sleep prevention work.
Method
The project consists of two parts: 1) questionnaire development and 2) data collection and analysis.
Questionnaire development
Currently, there are no existing Danish national questionnaire surveys that can be used to uncover the sleep habits of Danes. Identification and prioritization of relevant themes and the development of suitable questions are required. The questionnaire is developed in several stages and based on various sources. The first stage involves identifying themes and questions relevant to include in the questionnaire based on interviews with relevant stakeholders and a literature review. The second stage is a Delphi process involving expert input from a workshop and subsequent assessment of the relevance and coverage of themes and questions through two questionnaires. The third stage includes a pilot test of the questionnaire among the target audience.
Data collection and analysis
Mapping of Danish sleep habits is conducted as a cross-sectional study, where the developed sleep questionnaire is sent out via Digital Post to a random sample of 25,000 Danes aged ≥16 years.
Project period
The project period for questionnaire development is January to August 2024, while the project period for data collection and analysis is September to December 2024. The project report is due in 2025.
Collaboration and funding
The project is supported and funded by TrygFonden.
The project draws on a previous report from the National Institute of Public Health. This report compiles knowledge about initiatives and strategies relevant to promoting good sleep and preventing sleep problems in the Danish population. You can read more about the report here.