Validation of the sleep hygiene index for the elderly

The aim of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of a sleep hygiene index for the elderly. A total of 598 elderly people (mean age 68.34 years) were selected through cluster sampling, and the validity and reliability of the sleep hygiene index were measured. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to determine the structure validity, internal consistency and reliability of the questionnaire. To this end, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used. In addition, concurrent validities with indicators such as sleep quality, Epworth sleepiness, insomnia severity, overall sleepiness measurement and the Berlin Questionnaire were studied. The confirmatory factor analysis indexes of the structural equation model showed that the model fitted well with the data. The χ2/df ratio for the three-factor structure of sleep hygiene was 4.65, and the goodness of fit indices for this structural model (RMSEA = 0.064, CFI =0.9, TLI = 0.9, NFI = 0.9, GFI = 0.9) were good. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the whole scale was 0.78, and the re-test coefficient was 0.87. The Persian version of the Sleep Hygiene Index can be used as a reliable and valid tool for assessing sleep hygiene in the population of non-clinical elderly.