Sleep Tech RPSGT Exam Questions & Answers 2026 (21–30)

Question 1

Delayed Sleep-Wake Phase Disorder (DSWPD) is characterized by a persistent delay in the major sleep period relative to the desired sleep time, resulting in difficulty:

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

Falling asleep at a conventional time and waking for obligations. In DSWPD the circadian phase is delayed (e.g., preferred sleep 3 AM–11 AM), making it hard to fall asleep at a socially normal bedtime or wake at a required early hour. Nocturnal sleep quality is normal once sleep onset occurs.

Question 2

Advanced Sleep-Wake Phase Disorder (ASWPD) most commonly affects which population?

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

Older adults. ASWPD—characterized by early evening sleepiness and early morning awakening—is most prevalent in the elderly, partly due to age-related shortening of the intrinsic circadian period and reduced amplitude of the circadian signal.

Question 3

Free-Running (Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Rhythm) Disorder most commonly affects:

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

Totally blind individuals lacking light perception. In people without light perception, the SCN cannot entrain to the 24-hour light-dark cycle, so the circadian clock drifts at its intrinsic period (~24.2 h), causing progressive daily delay of the sleep phase (non-24 disorder).

Question 4

A nurse working a permanent night shift (11 PM–7 AM) for 5 years complains of chronic insomnia and EDS only on days off. The most appropriate diagnosis is:

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

Shift work disorder. Shift work disorder is defined by insomnia or EDS causally linked to a work schedule that overlaps the habitual sleep period. Symptoms typically resolve on days off when the patient can sleep at their natural circadian time.

Question 5

According to the ICSD-3, chronic insomnia disorder requires sleep difficulties occurring at least how many nights per week for ≥3 months?

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

3 nights/week. Chronic insomnia disorder is diagnosed when sleep difficulty (plus daytime impairment) occurs ≥3 nights/week for ≥3 months and cannot be explained by inadequate sleep opportunity or another disorder.

Question 6

The first-line treatment recommended for chronic insomnia disorder by the AASM is:

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). AASM and most sleep medicine guidelines recommend CBT-I as first-line treatment for chronic insomnia due to its durable efficacy and lack of side effects. Pharmacotherapy is considered adjunctive or second-line.

Question 7

Which PSG finding is most characteristic of primary (psychophysiological) insomnia?

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

Prolonged sleep onset latency with normal sleep architecture once asleep. Psychophysiological insomnia typically shows prolonged sleep onset latency and increased WASO reflecting conditioned arousal, but sleep architecture (stage distribution) is often relatively normal once sleep is established.

Question 8

Sleep state misperception (paradoxical insomnia) is distinguished from psychophysiological insomnia by the finding that:

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

PSG shows normal or near-normal sleep, yet the patient reports severe insomnia. In paradoxical insomnia, objective PSG recordings are largely normal (adequate total sleep, normal latency) while the patient subjectively reports significant sleep loss. This mismatch between perception and measurement is the defining feature.

Question 9

The four essential diagnostic criteria for Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) include an urge to move the legs, worsening at rest, relief with movement, and:

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

Worsening in the evening or at night. The four IRLSSG essential criteria are: (1) urge to move legs, (2) worsened by rest, (3) partially/totally relieved by movement, and (4) worse in the evening or night than during the day. All four must be present.

Question 10

Augmentation in RLS pharmacotherapy is characterized by symptoms that:

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

Begin earlier in the day, spread to the arms, and become more intense after dose increases. Augmentation is a paradoxical worsening induced by dopaminergic therapy: symptoms advance earlier in the day, increase in severity, may spread to arms/trunk, and worsen with dose escalation. Switching to an alpha-2-delta ligand (gabapentin/pregabalin) is a management strategy.

Sleep Tech RPSGT Exam Questions & Answers 2026 (21–30)

More Sleep Tech RPSGT practice questions

Free practice here. Timed mocks when you are ready.