Epworth Sleepiness Scale
Encyclopedia
The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) is a scale
intended to measure daytime sleep
iness that is measured by use of a very short questionnaire. This can be helpful in diagnosing sleep disorder
s. It was introduced in 1991 by Dr Murray Johns of Epworth Hospital
in Melbourne, Australia.
. It is used to measure excessive daytime sleepiness
and is repeated after the administration of treatment (e.g., CPAP) to document improvement of symptoms. In narcolepsy
, the Epworth sleepiness scale has both a high specificity
(100%) and sensitivity
(93.5%).
The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index is a related scoring tool of sleep quality. Both scores are internally highly reproducible
.
Scale
-Length:* Architect's scale, a ruler-like device which facilitates the production of technical drawings* Engineer's scale, a ruler-like device similar to the Architect's scale, they are helpful when drawing rooms...
intended to measure daytime sleep
Sleep
Sleep is a naturally recurring state characterized by reduced or absent consciousness, relatively suspended sensory activity, and inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles. It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, and is more easily reversible than...
iness that is measured by use of a very short questionnaire. This can be helpful in diagnosing sleep disorder
Sleep disorder
A sleep disorder, or somnipathy, is a medical disorder of the sleep patterns of a person or animal. Some sleep disorders are serious enough to interfere with normal physical, mental and emotional functioning...
s. It was introduced in 1991 by Dr Murray Johns of Epworth Hospital
Epworth Hospital
-Epworth HealthCare:Epworth HealthCare is a provider of acute medical, surgical and rehabilitation services in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The group has four divisions: Epworth Richmond, Epworth Eastern, Epworth Cliveden, Epworth Freemasons and Epworth Rehabilitation, with rehabilitation sites...
in Melbourne, Australia.
The questionnaire
The questionnaire asks the subject to rate his or her probability of falling asleep on a scale of increasing probability from 0 to 3 for eight different situations. The scores for the eight questions are added together to obtain a single number. A number in the 0–9 range is considered to be normal while a number in the 10–24 range indicates that expert medical advice should be sought.Calibration
The Epworth sleepiness scale has been validated primarily in obstructive sleep apneaSleep apnea
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder characterized by abnormal pauses in breathing or instances of abnormally low breathing, during sleep. Each pause in breathing, called an apnea, can last from a few seconds to minutes, and may occur 5 to 30 times or more an hour. Similarly, each abnormally low...
. It is used to measure excessive daytime sleepiness
Excessive daytime sleepiness
Excessive daytime sleepiness is characterized by persistent sleepiness, and often a general lack of energy, even after apparently adequate night time sleep...
and is repeated after the administration of treatment (e.g., CPAP) to document improvement of symptoms. In narcolepsy
Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder, or dyssomnia, characterized by excessive sleepiness and sleep attacks at inappropriate times, such as while at work. People with narcolepsy often experience disturbed nocturnal sleep and an abnormal daytime sleep pattern, which often is confused with insomnia...
, the Epworth sleepiness scale has both a high specificity
Sensitivity and specificity
Sensitivity and specificity are statistical measures of the performance of a binary classification test, also known in statistics as classification function. Sensitivity measures the proportion of actual positives which are correctly identified as such Sensitivity and specificity are statistical...
(100%) and sensitivity
Sensitivity and specificity
Sensitivity and specificity are statistical measures of the performance of a binary classification test, also known in statistics as classification function. Sensitivity measures the proportion of actual positives which are correctly identified as such Sensitivity and specificity are statistical...
(93.5%).
The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index is a related scoring tool of sleep quality. Both scores are internally highly reproducible
Reproducibility
Reproducibility is the ability of an experiment or study to be accurately reproduced, or replicated, by someone else working independently...
.
