| Name of the Instrument/Tool | Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) |
| First Description |
Johns MW. A new method for measuring daytime sleepiness: the Epworth sleepiness scale. Sleep. 1991 Dec;14(6):540-5. |
| Year | 1991 |
| Domains | |
| Concept of constructs | Sleep |
| Population/Disease | Generic |
| Originally developed for | --- |
| Other rheumatic diseases where can be applied (only if validated) |
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS), Osteoarthritis (OA), Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Fibromyalgia (FM), Ankylosing spondylitis (AS), Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) |
| Additional population with no rheumatic diseases |
No |
| Language: Originally published in | English |
| Available in Language | Turkish, French, Greek, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Italian, French, Japanese, Portuguese, Korean, Korean, Chinese, Italian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, Greek |
| REFERENCE IDENTIFICATION | |
| Author/s | Johns MW |
| Title | A new method for measuring daytime sleepiness: the Epworth sleepiness scale |
| Journal | Sleep |
| Year | 1991 |
| Vol | 14 |
| Num | 6 |
| Pages | 540-5 |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Other references of interest | |
| Link | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1519015/ |
| Brief Description |
Reliability and factor analysis of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale |
| Link | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21648047/ |
| Brief Description |
Components of sleep quality and sleep fragmentation in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis |
| Link | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33091275/ |
| Brief Description |
Measures of Sleep in Rheumatologic Diseases: Sleep Quality Patient‐Reported Outcomes in Rheumatologic Diseases |
| Instrument/Tool Translations References | |
| Link | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27234595/ |
| Brief Description |
Normative values of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), derived from a large German sample |
| Link | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10596338/ |
| Brief Description |
Validation of the Spanish version of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale in patients with a sleep apnea syndrome |
| Link | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19820814/ |
| Brief Description |
Portuguese-language version of the Epworth sleepiness scale: validation for use in Brazil |
| DEVELOPER CONTACT INFORMATION | |
| Correspondence to | Murry W Johns |
| mjohns@optalert.com | |
| Address | P.O. Box 232 Flinders, Victoria, 3929, Australia. Australia |
| Website | epworthsleepinessscale.com |
| Available | - |
| Links |
All matters in relation to its use and translation are handled by Mapi Research Trust, who distribute the ESS in a wide variety of different languages, and issue licenses for its use. License fees are payable under some circumstances. They can be contacted at https://eprovide.mapi-trust.org/ |
| DESCRIPTION OF THE INSTRUMENT | |
| Type Of Measure | Scale |
| Brief Description |
The ESS is intended to measure average sleep propensity in daily life. As average sleep propensity depends on the situation in which it is measured, the instrument asks participants to rate how likely they would doze off or fall asleep in eight different situations. The ESS asks respondents to presume how a situation “would have affected you,” even if they have not done a given activity recently. |
| Number of Items | 8 questions |
| Range | 0-24 |
| Responses options/scale |
Yes 0-3 |
| Developed for | Research, Clinical practice |
| PRACTICAL APPLICATION | |
| Method of administration | Self-administered |
| Recommendations to score |
The eight Likert response items are summed to calculate a total score |
| Score Interpretation | Higher scores indicating greater daytime sleepiness |
| Cut-off points | Scores of 11 to 24 represent excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). This criterion for EDS was based on a mean of 4.6 (SD ±2.8) among 72 healthy Australian workers |
| Cut-off points applied to | --- |
| Smallest detectable change if described | --- |
| Smallest detectable change applied to | --- |
| Completion time by the patient | 2-3 minutes |
| Scoring time by the assessor | <1 minutes |
| Training to score | Not necessary |
| Strengths | Useful in clinical practice & research, Easy to use, Widely used |
| Limitations | Floor effect |
| OTHER COMMENTS | |
| Other Comments |
The ESS may underestimate severity in women because sleepiness in women may manifest as insomnia, fatigue, or mood disturbance |