Sleep Disorders Screening Tool

1. Enter your age and your usual hours of sleep in 24 hours.
2. Answer Yes or No to each of the 11 symptom questions. Ask a bed partner about snoring and breathing, since you may not notice these yourself.
3. Read the summary, then use Copy report or Print to take the list to a healthcare provider.

Not a diagnosis. A Yes answer does not mean you have a sleep disorder, and all No answers do not rule one out.

A sleep disorders screening checklist is a short list of symptom questions that helps you notice patterns worth raising with a healthcare provider. It does not diagnose anything.

The CDC names four common sleep disorders: insomnia, restless legs syndrome, narcolepsy and sleep apnea. This checklist covers symptoms that US health agencies describe for each one. NHLBI states that approximately 50 to 70 million Americans have a sleep disorder.

This page is not a validated clinical questionnaire. Well-known instruments such as the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and the STOP-Bang questionnaire are copyrighted and need a licence, so they are not reproduced here. The questions on this page are our own plain wording of public symptom descriptions from NHLBI and NINDS. No score, cut-off or risk level is attached to them.

The checklist suits adults and teens aged 13 and over who want to organise what they have noticed before an appointment. It does not replace a visit, a sleep diary or a sleep study.

The tool counts your Yes answers in four symptom groups and compares your sleep hours with the CDC range for your age. It applies no weighting and no risk formula.

1. Group the answers. Three questions on breathing during sleep, three on falling and staying asleep, three on daytime sleepiness and two on leg sensations.
2. Check sleep hours. CDC recommends 8 to 10 hours for ages 13 to 17, 7 or more hours for ages 18 to 60, 7 to 9 hours for ages 61 to 64 and 7 to 8 hours for ages 65 and older.
3. Flag safety first. Falling asleep without meaning to turns the band red, because drowsiness while driving is a safety risk.
4. Point to care. Any Yes answer leads to the same advice: share the list with a healthcare provider.

Too little sleep on a regular basis builds up over time. The sleep debt recovery calculator shows how the missing hours add up.

A 45-year-old sleeps about 6 hours a night. A partner reports loud snoring on most nights, and the person feels tired in the day even after a full night.

Inputs. Age 45, sleep 6 hours, Yes to loud snoring, Yes to daytime tiredness, No to the other nine questions.

Result. 2 of 11 symptoms noted. Breathing during sleep shows 1 of 3 and daytime sleepiness shows 1 of 3. Six hours is below the CDC recommendation of 7 or more hours for ages 18 to 60.

Meaning. The tool does not say this person has sleep apnea. It says snoring and daytime sleepiness are worth raising with a healthcare provider. NHLBI advises talking to a provider when someone tells you that you snore or gasp for air during sleep.

The same symptom can come from a sleep disorder, from too little sleep or from something else. Five things shape how you answer.

What You Can and Cannot Notice

NHLBI notes that you may not know about breathing pauses, snoring or gasping until someone tells you. Answers from a bed partner are more reliable for those questions.

How Long It Has Lasted

Short-term insomnia can follow stress or a change in schedule and last a few days or weeks. NHLBI describes chronic insomnia as occurring 3 or more nights a week for more than 3 months.

Sleep Schedule and Habits

Habits change how well you sleep. The CDC advises going to bed and getting up at the same time every day, avoiding caffeine in the afternoon or evening, and avoiding large meals and alcohol before bedtime.

Age

Recommended sleep changes with age, so the same 7 hours meets the adult range but falls short for a teen.

Other Health Conditions and Medicines

NINDS notes that restless legs symptoms can occur with pregnancy, nerve damage, kidney disease and low iron, and that some medicines make them worse. A provider reviews these together.

The four common sleep disorders differ in their main symptom. Each row summarises what NHLBI or NINDS describes. Only a provider can tell them apart, and a person can have more than one.

CDC Recommended Sleep by Age

Body weight is one factor NHLBI links to obstructive sleep apnea. Its sleep apnea overview lists obesity among factors that narrow the airway. The BMI calculator gives that number for a conversation with a provider.

Before a Routine Appointment

Use the checklist to organise what you have noticed. The CDC advises talking to your healthcare provider when you regularly have problems sleeping or notice signs of a common sleep disorder.

Alongside a Sleep Diary

Both the CDC and NHLBI suggest keeping a sleep diary. The CDC list covers when you go to bed, wake in the night, wake in the morning, nap, exercise, drink alcohol or caffeine, and take medicines.

See a Provider Soon

Book a visit soon, and avoid driving while sleepy, when you fall asleep without meaning to during daily activities. NHLBI notes that people with narcolepsy can fall asleep without warning while eating, working or driving. Also book a visit when someone sees your breathing stop during sleep.

Seek Urgent Care

Call your local emergency number right away for chest pain, severe trouble breathing while awake, signs of a stroke, or thoughts of harming yourself. In the United States that number is 911, and the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline takes calls and texts at 988. Do not wait for a checklist result in an emergency.

1. Reading the Count as a Diagnosis

The count has no cut-off. One Yes answer on breathing pauses matters more than several minor ones, and only a provider can weigh them.

2. Treating All No Answers as an All-clear

NHLBI states that half of people with narcolepsy never receive a diagnosis. A short checklist misses things, so ongoing tiredness still deserves a visit.

3. Answering the Breathing Questions Alone

You are asleep when snoring and pauses happen. Ask the person who shares your room.

4. Counting Time in Bed as Sleep

Eight hours in bed with two hours awake is six hours of sleep. Enter the hours you sleep.

5. Starting or Stopping Medicine Based on a Web Tool

Medicine decisions belong with your prescriber. Bring the checklist to that conversation instead.

This checklist is not a validated screening instrument, and it has no measured sensitivity or specificity. It reports what you entered, set against public guidance.

NHLBI explains that a provider may order a sleep study to diagnose sleep apnea. NINDS states there is no specific diagnostic test for restless legs syndrome, so a provider reviews symptoms, history and exams.

No. It is an educational checklist. Only a healthcare provider can diagnose a sleep disorder, often with a sleep diary or a sleep study.

No. Validated questionnaires such as the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and STOP-Bang are copyrighted and need a licence. This page uses its own plain wording of symptoms described by NHLBI and NINDS, with no score or cut-off.

NHLBI lists breathing that starts and stops, frequent loud snoring and gasping for air during sleep. Daytime sleepiness, dry mouth and headache are also listed.

The CDC recommends 7 or more hours a day for ages 18 to 60, 7 to 9 hours for ages 61 to 64 and 7 to 8 hours for ages 65 and older.

NHLBI describes chronic insomnia as occurring 3 or more nights a week, lasting more than 3 months, and not fully explained by another health problem.

NINDS describes an irresistible urge to move the legs with sensations such as aching, throbbing, pulling, itching, crawling or creeping. It starts at rest, eases with movement and is worse at night.

The CDC advises talking to your healthcare provider when you regularly have problems sleeping or notice signs of a common sleep disorder.

See a healthcare provider anyway. A short checklist cannot rule out a sleep disorder, and tiredness has many other causes.

Bring a copy of this checklist and a sleep diary. The CDC suggests noting bedtimes, night wakings, wake times, naps, exercise, alcohol, caffeine and medicines.

No. Sleepiness slows reactions, and NHLBI links drowsy driving to serious crash injuries and deaths. Stop driving and rest when you feel sleepy.

No. The checklist runs in your browser and your answers do not go to our servers. Saved results stay in this browser only.

• About Sleep: recommended hours by age, common sleep disorders and when to talk to a provider (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, May 15, 2024).
• Sleep apnea symptoms (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH).
• Insomnia: what it is, symptoms and the chronic insomnia description (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH).
• Narcolepsy: symptoms and diagnosis (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH).
• Restless legs syndrome: signs, symptoms and diagnosis (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH).