Publication | Open Access
Daytime Sleepiness and Sleep Habits of Australian Workers
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1997
Year
Quality Of LifeSleep DisordersMental HealthSocial SciencesDaytime SleepinessSleep-related Breathing DisorderSleep QuestionnaireSleepPsychiatryHypersomniaInsomniaSleep DeprivationSleep Disordered BreathingExcessive Daytime SleepinessSleep DisorderSleep HygieneSleep ApneaMedicinePsychopathology
Excessive daytime sleepiness is a newly recognized community problem with limited standardized data, distinguished by Epworth Sleepiness Scale scores of 0‑10 for normal sleepers (mean 4.6) versus 12‑24 for sleepy patients. The study aimed to quantify daytime sleepiness prevalence among Australian workers and examine its association with sleep habits, age, sex, and obesity. A cross‑sectional survey of 507 daytime employees, with a 65 % response rate, collected sleep questionnaires and anonymous Epworth Sleepiness Scale scores. Excessive daytime sleepiness (ESS > 10) was found in 10.9 % of workers and was not significantly linked to age, sex, obesity, or hypnotic use, but showed weak associations with sleep‑disordered breathing, insomnia, and insufficient sleep.
Excessive daytime sleepiness in the general community is a newly recognized problem about which there is little standardized information. Our aim was to measure the levels of daytime sleepiness and the prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness in a sample of Australian workers and to relate that to their self-reported sleep habits at night and to their age, sex, and obesity. Sixty-five percent of all 507 employees working during the day for a branch of an Australian corporation answered a sleep questionnaire and the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) anonymously. Normal sleepers, without any evidence of a sleep disorder, had ESS scores between 0 and 10, with a mean of 4.6 +/- 2.8 (standard deviation). They were clearly separated from the "sleepy" patients suffering from narcolepsy or idiopathic hypersomnia whose ESS scores were in the range 12-24, as described previously. ESS scores > 10 were taken to represent excessive daytime sleepiness, the prevalence of which was 10.9%. This was not related significantly to age (22-59 years), sex, obesity, or the use of hypnotic drugs but was related significantly but weakly to sleep-disordered breathing (frequency of snoring and apneas), the presence of insomnia, and reduced time spent in bed (insufficient sleep).