Do you often fall asleep during the day? Let's find out with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS)!

Do you also suddenly fall asleep during the day, while watching TV, or while riding the bus? Do you sometimes close your eyes even in the middle of a meeting at the office? This is a problem that many people have. Although we think to ourselves, "It's probably because we didn't sleep well at night," sometimes there may be a health problem behind this excessive sleepiness that we don't know about. Today, we are going to talk about a very simple, but very important method that can be used to find out about excessive sleepiness during the day.

What is the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS)?

Simply put, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) is a short questionnaire that measures how much sleep you tend to get during the day. It's a self-assessment of your sleepiness that you can fill out yourself. It's like a 'report card' for your sleepiness.

This questionnaire has 8 very simple questions. These questions are about common situations we face in our daily lives. For example, questions like "How likely are you to fall asleep while reading a book?" All you have to do is give yourself a score from 0 to 3 based on how likely you are to fall asleep in each situation.

Why do doctors use this ESS questionnaire?

There are several reasons why a doctor might use this simple questionnaire.

1. Understand how your sleepiness is affecting your life: Some people experience daytime sleepiness, but it doesn't interfere with their daily activities. For others, this sleepiness can interfere with their ability to perform tasks at work, study, or drive. This questionnaire can help your doctor get an idea of ​​the severity of your sleepiness.

2. Measure the success of the treatment: Imagine that your doctor diagnoses you with a condition that causes excessive daytime sleepiness, such as Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Then, treatment begins. Now, you want to know if the treatment is successful and if your sleepiness has decreased. At that time, you will be asked to fill out this ESS questionnaire, once before starting treatment and once after starting treatment. If the score has decreased, it means that the treatment has been successful.

3. Decide if further testing is needed: If your ESS score is high, your doctor may decide that further testing is needed to determine the exact cause of your sleepiness. For example, this may help you get a sleep study (polysomnography), a specialized sleep test.

How to fill out the ESS questionnaire? What are the questions?

This will only take a few minutes. All you have to do is think about each of the scenarios in the table below and honestly mark how likely you are to fall asleep or close your eyes at that time.

Here is the way to score:

• 0 - Never falls asleep / never closes eyes
• 1 - There is a small space to sleep.
• 2 - There is a normal space to sleep.
• 3 - There is a very high chance of falling asleep.

Now let's see what those 8 questions are.

You can give each of these questions a mark and add up the 8 marks. What is your total score ?

What does the total score mean?

Your total score can range from 0 to 24. Now let's see what your score says.

What if the score is more than 11?

If your total score is 11 or higher, it means you have "Excessive Daytime Sleepiness" (EDS) . This is not a disease, but a symptom. Just like a fever. A fever is a symptom. It can be caused by an infection. Similarly, there must be a reason for this excessive sleepiness.

What can cause excessive sleepiness?

There could be many reasons. Here are some of the main ones:

• Not getting enough sleep: This could be the simplest reason. An adult should get at least 7-8 hours of sleep a day. If you go to bed late at night and wake up early in the morning, it's not uncommon to feel sleepy during the day.
• Sleep Disorders:
• Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA): This is a very common condition. Snoring occurs when breathing stops for a moment during sleep. This can happen hundreds of times a night. Then the body does not get enough oxygen, and sleep is disrupted. You wake up in the morning without any energy. You feel sleepy all day.
• Narcolepsy: This is a rare neurological disorder that causes sudden, uncontrollable sleep during the day.
• Other medical conditions: Excessive sleepiness can be a symptom of many diseases, such as diabetes, hypothyroidism, depression, kidney disease, and heart disease.
• Some medications: Antihistamines, some high blood pressure medications, and some medications for mental illness can also cause daytime sleepiness.

What should I do now?

If you've taken this quiz and your score is above 11, the most important thing to do is see your doctor and talk about this .

When you go to the doctor, these are the things that might happen:

1. Asking further questions: The doctor will ask you many things, such as your sleep pattern, whether you snore, whether you feel suffocated at night, what other medications you take, and what your lifestyle is like.

2. Physical examination: Your weight, height, and blood pressure will be measured. Your throat will be examined.

3. Blood tests: Blood tests may be ordered to check things like thyroid hormone levels and sugar levels.

4. Referral for a Sleep Study: If you suspect you have a condition like Sleep Apnea, you will be referred to a sleep specialist to confirm it and have a Sleep Study (Polysomnography) performed.