Situations:
(1) sitting and reading
(2) watching TV
(3) sitting inactive in a public place (e.g., a theater or a meeting)
(4) as a passenger in a car for an hour without a break
(5) lying down to rest in the afternoon when circumstances permit
(6) sitting and talking to someone
(7) sitting quietly after a lunch without alcohol
(8) in a car, while stopped for a few minutes in the traffic
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Responses
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Points
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would never doze
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0
|
|
slight chance of dozing
|
1
|
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moderate chance of dozing
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2
|
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high chance of dozing
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3
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where:
• The situations would have to be modified for someone who had a different work-sleep cycle from the majority of the population. For these the afternoon might be the usual sleep time.
Epworth sleepiness score =
= SUM(points for the 8 situations)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0
• maximum score: 24
• The higher the score, the greater the sleepiness behavior.
• The mean score varies with the population studied. For normal Australian hospital workers the mean score was 5.9 +/- 2.2.
• A score >= 10 can be considered excessive daytime sleepiness in German-speaking Swiss.
• Patients with obstructive sleep apnea tend to have scores that parallel the apnea severity.
