The construction of the Split Sleep Questionnaire on sleep habits during the COVID-19 pandemic in the general population

Aim: To construct a single-format questionnaire on sleep habits and mood before and during the COVID- 19 pandemic in the general population. Methods: We constructed the Split Sleep Questionnaire (SSQ) after a literature search of sleep, mood, and lifestyle questionnaires, and after a group of sleep medicine experts proposed and assessed questionnaire items as relevant/irrelevant. The study was performed during 2021 in 326 respondents distributed equally in all age categories. Respondents filled out the SSQ, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and kept a seven-day sleep diary. Results: Cronbach alpha for Sleep Habits section was 0.819, and 0.89 for Mood section. Test-retest reliability ranged from 0.45 (P=0.036) for work- free day bedtime during the pandemic to 0.779 (P