The Sleepiness Scale

Do you find it difficult to get out of bed in the morning? Do you sometimes feel sleepy while watching television or driving? If so, you may be one of millions who suffer from a sleep disorder, a condition that can significantly reduce quality of life, decrease productivity and interfere with relationships. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) Test, is a questionnaire to help provide insight on daytime sleepiness.

Dr. Murray Johns first developed the ESS for adults in 1990 and subsequently modified it slightly in 1997. He developed it so he could assess the ‘daytime sleepiness’ of the patients in his own private practice of Sleep Medicine. He named the questionnaire after Epworth Hospital in Melbourne, where he established the Epworth Sleep Centre in 1988.

The ESS is a self-administered questionnaire with 8 questions. Respondents are asked to rate, on a 4-point scale (0-3), their usual chances of dozing off or falling asleep while engaged in eight different activities. Most people engage in those activities at least occasionally, although not necessarily every day. The ESS score (the sum of 8 item scores, 0-3) can range from 0 to 24. The higher the ESS score, the higher that person’s average sleep propensity in daily life (ASP), or their ‘daytime sleepiness’. The questionnaire takes no more than 2 or 3 minutes to answer.

Click HERE to take the CCH Sleep Center’s Epworth Sleepiness Scale Test. Call us at 307-688-2350 for more information, or see your healthcare provider to see if you should have a sleep study.

Article Source: About the ESS from The Epworth Sleepiness Scale