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Published in the July 2025 issue of the American Journal of Nursing, “” highlights the widespread impact of untreated sleep problems and calls for nurses to take a more active role in recognizing, assessing and educating patients about sleep health. The authors emphasize that sleep is a vital sign with implications across all aspects of health.

“Since good sleep has been identified as a one of the core pillars of health,” says Dickerson, “nurses [are in a position to] understand and address their patients’ often unaddressed concerns and assist them in obtaining optimum sleep health.”

Millions of Americans experience chronic sleep disruptions linked to serious conditions such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, depression and cognitive decline. Shift workers, people living with chronic illness or pain, and those navigating socioeconomic challenges are at even greater risk. Yet nurses, often the first and most frequent point of contact in the health care system, receive little to no formal training on how to assess or address these concerns.

Cha and Dickerson identify this gap as a critical barrier to holistic care.

“Nurses are in a unique position to identify and address sleep-wake disturbances because they interact with patients frequently across diverse care settings,” says Cha. “Thus, their routine care contact can play a key role in noticing changes in sleep issues or potential sleep problems. By integrating sleep assessments into routine care and educating patients on healthy sleep habits, nurses can significantly contribute to better patient outcomes.”

Their article provides nurses with an accessible guide to integrating sleep health into practice. It outlines the biological mechanisms that regulate sleep, including circadian rhythms and the role of light exposure. The guide also introduces practical tools for sleep assessment, including the RU-SATED framework, which evaluates six key dimensions of sleep health: regularity, satisfaction, alertness, timing, efficiency and duration.

The guide also outlines how to identify and screen for common sleep disorders, like obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia, and circadian rhythm disorders, using established tools such as the STOP-BANG questionnaire, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and patient interviews. Each section details the symptoms, risk factors and next steps for referral, giving nurses a clear path forward when concerns are identified.

The authors emphasize that it is essential to do more than just identify sleep issues. Nurses can help patients build better sleep habits through education and counseling on sleep hygiene. Recommendations include minimizing screen time before bed, maintaining consistent sleep-wake schedules, optimizing the sleep environment and managing light exposure throughout the day. For patients with suspected circadian rhythm disorders, the authors provide guidance on using light strategically to reset internal clocks.

Cha and Dickerson provide nurses with the essential knowledge and tools to address sleep health in everyday practice. Their article underscores the need to incorporate sleep education into nursing programs and ongoing professional development, an important step toward more comprehensive, patient-centered care.

“We hope this guide encourages nurses to recognize [sleep] as an essential component of health and routinely assess it in clinical practice,” Cha says. “By providing practical tools, easy-to-use checklists, and patient education material, nurses can confidently care for patients with sleep issues throughout routine care.

“Ultimately, I hope this guideline becomes an opportunity for nurses to build a culture where sleep is valued as a fundamental factor, alongside nutrition and exercise, for holistic and patient-centered care.”

By SARAH GOLDTHRITE