The translation and validation of the Arabic language version of the biphasic sleep scale among young adults

Background: Biphasic sleep (segmented sleep) has been documented in preindustrial societies. The Biphasic Sleep Scale (BiSS) was recently developed to measure this pattern. This study aimed to translate and validate the BiSS into Arabic. Methods: The BiSS was translated following international cross-cultural adaptation guidelines. A cross-sectional survey of 511 Arabic-speaking young adults (mean age = 22.1 years; 73.8 % female) used the Arabic BiSS and Glasgow Sleep Effort Scale. Analysis included descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), reliability analysis (Cronbach's α and McDonald's ω), correlations, and regression models examining age, sex, and marital status effects. Results: CFA confirmed the original three-factor structure—likelihood of first sleep, consequences of first sleep, and sleep disturbance—with acceptable fit (RMSEA = 0.05, 90 % CI [0.02, 0.06]; SRMR = 0.04; CFI > 0.9; TLI > 0.9). Internal consistency was robust for the total scale, α = 0.9 and ω = 0.9. Internal consistency was also acceptable for subscales: likelihood of first sleep (α/ω = 0.8), consequences of first sleep (α/ω = 0.8), and borderline for sleep disturbance (α/ω = 0.6). Age (β = 0.1, p = 0.03) and marital status (single vs. married; β = -0.4, p = 0.02 for likelihood; β = -0.4, p = 0.01 for consequences significantly predicted biphasic sleep tendencies, while sex showed no significant effect. Conclusion: The Arabic BiSS demonstrates sound psychometric properties for assessing biphasic sleep. Future research should examine applicability in diverse populations, including older adults and married individuals, and further validate the sleep disturbance dimension.