Stanford Sleepiness Scale

The Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS) was first presented in 1972 Hoddes and associates at Eleventh Annual Meeting of the Association for the Psychophysiological Study of Sleep. It is one of the oldest subjective sleepiness scales still in use today. The scale is completely subjective and asks the examinee to rate his or her own level of sleepiness on a scale of one to seven. A rating of one would be reported if the examinee is feeling active, vital, alert, or wide awake while a rating of seven occurs when sleep is imminent and dream-like thoughts are occurring. The SSS could be of use in pinpointing the person’s circadian rhythms by tracking a person’s sleepiness and wakefulness throughout the day. Knowledge of personal circadian rhythms could allow shift workers to work during hours in which they are least sleepy/most alert. In addition, using the SSS may prevent inappropriate dozing by placing an emphasis on the awareness of sleepiness. While it is still used in sleep studies, its general applicability suffers from its lack of detail and requires the patient to have some awareness of their fatigue. A modified SSS is the form that is currently in use.

Sleep Disorders

Dyssomnias

Parsomnias