‘You wake up sore, you wake up angry’: A commentary on why sleep quality is important in institutional settings

Sleep is a key factor in health and well-being outcomes, but its issues and opportunities are underexplored in institutions. The prevalence of poor sleep quality and insomnia is higher in institutionalised populations than in the general population, stimulating adverse mental and physical health and well-being outcomes, including violence. With supporting evidence from an ethnographic study in an adult male prison, this policy-oriented commentary discusses the relationship between sleep and behaviour, the lived experience of sleeping in institutions, and the opportunities to improve behavioural outcomes. It concludes that sleep deprivation contributes to a downward spiral and proposes three areas of intervention to promote a more person-centred sleeping environment for health and safety.