One of the most widely used insomnia assessment instruments, developed by a world-leading authority on insomnia
The Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) is a brief screening assessment tool designed to evaluate insomnia. It was developed by Charles M. Morin, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at the Université Laval in Quebec City, Canada and a world leading authority on insomnia and its treatment.
The ISI is one of the most widely used assessment instrument in clinical and observational studies of insomnia.
Description
The Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) is a brief self-report instrument measuring the patient’s perception of both nocturnal and diurnal symptoms of insomnia.
The ISI comprises seven items assessing the perceived severity of difficulties initiating sleep, staying asleep, and early morning awakenings, satisfaction with current sleep pattern, interference with daily functioning, noticeability of impairment attributed to the sleep problem, and degree of distress or concern caused by the sleep problem.
Visit ePROVIDE™ for more information!
“Sleep problems touch so many people. Helping people sleep better and have a better quality of life is what motivates me.”
Prof Charles M. Morin, PhD
Development
The ISI was developed as a patient reported outcome measure intended both for screening purpose and for assessing the efficacy of treatment. The original items were generated based on concerns and issues of clinical relevance to patients seeking treatment for insomnia in a sleep disorders clinic. Although it is not intended to be a diagnostic tool, it is widely used to identify potential cases of insomnia and assess the perceived severity of insomnia.
Instructions for Administration, Scoring, and Interpretation
The standard mode of administration is paper-and-pencil self-administration, i.e., completed by the patient. However, alternate forms are also available for administration by a clinician, based on information obtained during a clinical interview, or by a significant other (e.g. spouses), based on knowledge of the patient. These three methods of administration provide complementary, yet semi-independent information. The ISI instructions are slightly altered for the clinician and significant others’ versions.
Visit ePROVIDE™ for additional information!
Conditions of Use and Available Translations
The Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) is distributed by Mapi Research Trust on behalf of its copyright holder, Prof Charles Morin.
Mapi Research Trust is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving patients’ quality of life by facilitating access to Clinical Outcomes Assessments (COAs) information by centralizing information. Visit Mapi Research Trust’s website for more information!
Any questions on the ISI, on its conditions of use, its available translations shall be directed to Mapi Research Trust.
Submit your request directly into our ePROVIDE™ database and our PROVIDE™ team will get back to you as soon as possible!
The list of existing and available translations of the ISI is available on ePROVIDE™
Please see the detailed workflow for your request, whether you are
- an academic user, clinician, student with no specific funding
- an academic user, clinician, student with specific funding
- a commercial user
“Mapi has been the official distributor and translator of the Insomnia Severity Index for several years and I have been extremely pleased with the quality of their professional services. All requests for using the ISI are handled in a very professional, timely and efficient manner. The communication with me as the copyright owner is also very direct and transparent. As most professors and researchers, I am a very busy person and Mapi has made my life easier by handling the numerous requests for using the ISI.”
–Charles M. Morin, PhD
The ISI plays a significant role in insomnia assessment and diagnosis.
Sleep Review, May 2016
Research Publications
Development and validation
- Bastien CH, Vallières A, Morin CM. Validation of the Insomnia Severity Index as an outcome measure for insomnia research. Sleep Med. 2001 Jul;2(4):297-307
- Yang M, Morin CM, Schaefer K, Wallenstein GV. Interpreting score differences in the Insomnia Severity Index: using health-related outcomes to define the minimally important difference. Curr Med Res Opin. 2009 Oct;25(10):2487-94
- Morin CM, Belleville G, Bélanger L, Ivers H. The Insomnia Severity Index: psychometric indicators to detect insomnia cases and evaluate treatment response. Sleep. 2011 May 1;34(5):601-8
- Thorndike F, Ritterband LM, Saylor DK, Magee JC, Gonder-Frederick LA, Morin CM. Validation of the Insomnia Severity Index as a web-based measure. Behavioral Sleep Medicine 2011, 9, 216-223.
Publications using the questionnaire
- Please visit PubMed
Articles on Insomnia
- Visit the website of Centre d’étude des troubles du sommeil (CETS) of Université Laval
Books
Charles Morin’s books:
- Vaincre les ennemis du sommeil published by Éditions de l’Homme
- The Oxford Handbook of Sleep and Sleep Disorders edited by Charles M. Morin and by Colin Espie, published by Oxford Library of Psychology
- Insomnia, A Clinical Guide to Assessment and Treatment edited by Charles M. Morin and by Colin Espie, published by Springer
Media/Press/Presentations
- Article in The New York Times: Cost-Effective Ways to Fight Insomnia, by Lesley Alderman, Published on June 5, 2009
- Article in Sleep Review: Dealing in Non-Drug Insomnia Therapies: Charles M. Morin, PhD, By Sree Roy, Published on May 31, 2016
- Webinars >> Please freely watch and listen an Author Webinar on the Insomnia Severity Index – Recorded session available here!
Author
Charles M. Morin, PhD, is a professor of psychology and Director of the Sleep Research Center at Laval University in Quebec City. He holds a Canada Research Chair in Behavioral Sleep Medicine.
Professor Morin is considered one of the world leader in the field of behavioral sleep medicine and insomnia. He has published 7 books and more than 250 scientific papers on the topic of insomnia, sleep, and treatment of sleep problems. He has held several leadership positions in the field of sleep medicine, including as former President of the Canadian Sleep Society and current President-Elect of the World Sleep Society.
View Professor Morin’s CV here!
Contact Us
Please contact our PROVIDE™ team for any questions on the ISI:
Mapi Research Trust
PROVIDE™
27 rue de la Villette
69003 Lyon
France
Telephone: +33 (0)4 72 13 65 75