Sleep apnea check

Eight yes-or-no questions that pick out most people with moderate or severe sleep apnea.

About 2 minA tape measure for your neck, if you can

How to do it

Answer each question for how things usually are.
For your neck, measure around it at the level of your Adam's apple, or just below it.
If you don't know whether you stop breathing in your sleep, ask whoever shares your room.

Your result

Your sleep

Do you snore loudly, loud enough to be heard through a closed door?
Do you often feel tired, fatigued or sleepy during the day?
Has anyone seen you stop breathing during your sleep?
Do you have, or are you being treated for, high blood pressure?

About you

Height

and

Weight

My body mass index is over 35

Are you over 50?
Is your neck more than 40 cm (about 15¾ inches) around?
Are you male?

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What the research found

The questions are the STOP-Bang questionnaire, built by sleep researchers at the University of Toronto. Across 17 studies of 9,206 sleep-clinic patients, a score of 3 or more caught 90% of people with any sleep apnea, 94% with moderate to severe, and 96% with severe. It flags many people who turn out not to have it, so a high score means you should get a sleep test. It doesn't mean you have the condition. As the score rises from 0 to 2 up to 7 or 8, the chance of moderate to severe sleep apnea rises from 18% to 60%.

Studied in: 9,206 sleep-clinic patients in 17 studies.

Chung F, Abdullah HR, Liao P. STOP-Bang questionnaire: a practical approach to screen for obstructive sleep apnea. Chest. 2016;149(3):631-8. PubMed
Nagappa M et al. Validation of the STOP-Bang questionnaire as a screening tool for obstructive sleep apnea among different populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2015;10(12):e0143697. PubMed

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