• Sleep
  • Pulmonology
  • Neurology

Epworth score

Quantify daytime sleepiness

The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) measures the usual propensity to doze off in everyday life situations. This self-administered questionnaire provides a subjective measure of daytime sleepiness, useful for initial assessment and follow-up. It does not, on its own, determine the cause of the sleepiness.

Number of questions
8 questions
Approximate duration
2 to 3 minutes
Population
Adults
Modality
Self-administered questionnaire

QuestionnaireEpworth

SELF-QUESTIONNAIRE

The patient rates the likelihood of dozing off in eight situations, from 0 to 3 for each. The assessment focuses on falling asleep rather than a general feeling of tiredness.

Are you patient?

You can complete this scale yourself. Base your answers on your tendency to doze off, not just on feeling tired. The score does not constitute an authorization to drive if you feel drowsy.

Terms of contract

To make the most of repeated measures, record the date and any contextual changes reported during the interview. Keeping the individual responses rather than just the total score makes it easier to analyse any discrepancies with the clinical complaint.

Score interpretationEpworth

Each situation is scored from 0 to 3. The total of the eight scores ranges from 0 to 24.

Total score

First reading

  • 0 to 10

    Score within the normal range (0 to 10).

  • 11 to 12

    Mild excessive daytime sleepiness according to the scale (11 to 12).

  • 13 to 15

    Moderate excessive daytime sleepiness according to the scale (13 to 15).

  • 16 to 24

    Severe excessive daytime sleepiness according to the scale (16 to 24).

A score above 10 suggests that further investigation into the complaint of sleepiness is needed. Benchmark: 0 to 10 is within the normal range, 11 to 12 indicates mild sleepiness, 13 to 15 moderate, and 16 to 24 severe.

This is a subjective and retrospective measure, which does not replace objective sleep measurements. The category describes the scale result, not the severity of sleep apnoea or another condition. The score does not constitute an authorisation to drive in the event of sleepiness.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and references

Murray W. Johns

Initial validation: Sleep, 1991. Interpretation guidelines: American Thoracic Society.

Questionnaires and associated scores

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