Epworth Sleepiness Scale Calculator

How it works

Sum of eight situations rated 0–3 for the chance of dozing (0–24); 0–10 normal, 11–12 mild, 13–15 moderate, 16–24 severe excessive daytime sleepiness

Murray Johns designed the Epworth scale in 1991 to measure a person’s general tendency to fall asleep rather than how tired they feel, asking about eight everyday situations of varying soporific power — from lying down in the afternoon to sitting in traffic. Because it captures trait sleepiness over recent weeks it is the standard screening and follow-up measure in sleep clinics: a score above 10 is abnormal and prompts a search for a cause, most often obstructive sleep apnoea, insufficient sleep or sedating medication, and improvement on CPAP is tracked by the falling score. It does not diagnose anything and correlates only moderately with objective tests like the multiple sleep latency test; some patients with severe apnoea report low scores, so a normal Epworth never excludes sleep apnoea.

Worked example

Reading 2, TV 2, public place 1, passenger 3, lying down 3, talking 0, after lunch 2, in traffic 1: total 14 — moderate excessive daytime sleepiness; screen for sleep apnoea.

Frequently asked questions