Stanford Sleepiness Scale

The Stanford Sleepiness Scale was first presented in 1972 by Hoddes and associates. It is one of the oldest subjective sleepiness scales still in use today.

The Stanford Sleepiness Scale is a totally subjective rating subjects where give evaluating how they feel – from 1 to 7.  1 means totally alert (vigilant) and 7 means really struggling to stay awake 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 scale 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.

The Stanford Sleepiness Scale is convenient, if imprecise and unreliable, and good for repeated queries over the course of a test period or day. It can’t differentiate between people with sleep disorders and healthy people who are just sleepy.

Sleep Disorders

Dyssomnias

Parsomnias