What should a clinician inquire about to assess sleep disturbances during a mental health evaluation?

Assessing sleep disturbances during a mental health evaluation is critical because sleep is intricately linked to mental health and well-being. Inquiring about sleep patterns, duration, and quality allows the clinician to gather comprehensive information about the individual's sleep habits.

Sleep patterns refer to the timing of sleep, including what time the individual goes to bed and wakes up, which can help identify irregularities or disruptions in their sleep cycle. Duration encompasses the total amount of sleep the person gets, which is essential for determining whether they are meeting the recommended sleep guidelines. Lastly, quality refers to how restorative the sleep is; this includes issues such as difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up feeling unrefreshed.

By collecting this critical information, the clinician can better understand the impact of sleep on the individual's mental health and formulate appropriate interventions or treatments. The other options—social interactions, dietary habits, and physical activity levels—while important in a holistic assessment, do not specifically address the core elements of sleep disturbances as directly as the focus on sleep patterns, duration, and quality does.