Dickerson, Klingman, Jungquist published in journal Sleep Health

By Sarah Goldthrite

In a qualitative analysis of healthy participants’ sleep narratives, Suzanne Dickerson, DNS, RN, biobehavioral health and clinical sciences department chair and professor; Karen Klingman, PhD ’15; and Carla Jungquist, PhD, ANP-BC, assistant professor, set out to understand what differentiates good sleep from bad sleep. Their research was published in Sleep Health: Journal of the National Sleep Foundation July 30 (online).

The team used interpretive phenomenology to analyze recorded 30-minute phone interviews with participants, who were randomly selected from a larger parent study. Participants answered a series of open-ended questions, describing what, to them, was a good night of sleep versus poor sleep, and what factors they thought contributed to these. The researchers identified two themes among the narratives. First, participants mostly described a good night sleep as “when bad sleep did not occur.” Second, that everyday life, including one’s priorities and challenges, affected all of the participants’ sleep patterns and practices.

The researchers also discuss the importance of understanding influences of sleep practice as it relates to public health and clinical practice.

Dickerson, S. S., Klingman, K. J., & Jungquist, C. (2016). “Common meanings of good and bad sleep in a healthy population sample.” Sleep Health. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2016.06.004