The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) measures how likely you are to doze off during eight ordinary daytime situations, such as sitting and reading, watching television, or stopping for a few minutes in traffic. You rate each one from 0, would never doze, to 3, a high chance of dozing, which gives a total between 0 and 24. It measures daytime sleepiness itself, not what is causing it.
What your Epworth score means
- 0 to 10: within the normal range.
- 11 to 14: mild excessive daytime sleepiness.
- 15 to 17: moderate excessive daytime sleepiness.
- 18 to 24: severe excessive daytime sleepiness.
A score above 10 means you are falling asleep more readily than most people do, in situations where staying awake would be normal. That is a signal to look for a cause, not a diagnosis on its own.
The eight situations it asks about
Sitting and reading. Watching television. Sitting inactive in a public place, such as a theatre or a meeting. As a passenger in a car for an hour without a break. Lying down to rest in the afternoon. Sitting and talking to someone. Sitting quietly after lunch without alcohol. In a car, stopped for a few minutes in traffic.
What the Epworth scale cannot tell you
It cannot tell you why you are sleepy. Excessive daytime sleepiness has many causes, including simply not getting enough hours, shift work, some medications, depression, thyroid problems, narcolepsy and obstructive sleep apnoea. The scale measures the symptom, and finding the cause takes a clinical assessment and usually a sleep study.
It also relies on your own judgement of how sleepy you feel, so two people with the same underlying problem can score quite differently. Some people with obstructive sleep apnoea score in the normal range, which is why a low Epworth score does not rule it out.
Epworth or STOP-Bang, which should you use?
They answer different questions. The Epworth scale asks how sleepy are you. The STOP-Bang questionnaire asks how likely is it that you have obstructive sleep apnoea, using risk factors such as snoring, observed breathing pauses, blood pressure and neck size. Doing both gives a fuller picture than either alone, and a sleep physician will often look at both.
If your score is above 10, or if you snore and wake unrefreshed, we can look at your airway, jaw and bite and talk through whether a sleep study is the right next step. Call us on 6219 3082, WhatsApp us on 8128 6913, or contact us here.