Drowsiness Guard · Reading
If you keep falling asleep at work,
check this first.
You sleep at night, and still black out in the afternoon meeting. Someone has told you that you snore. Your head is heavy when you wake. That is not a character flaw — it is often the signature of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which quietly wrecks your sleep every night. Drowsiness Guard wakes you the moment your eyes close, but for some people, finding the cause beats being woken up forever.
Not a medical device, not a diagnosis. See a clinician
This sleepiness is different
Sleep-deprived tiredness and apnea tiredness can be told apart. If two or more of these fit, read to the end.
Two self-checks used in clinics
Both are real screening questionnaires. They do not diagnose anything; they tell you whether an appointment is worth it.
Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS)
Rate your chance of dozing in each of eight situations from 0 (never) to 3 (high) and add them up.
- Sitting and reading
- Watching TV
- Sitting inactive in a public place (a meeting, a theatre)
- As a passenger in a car for an hour without a break
- Lying down to rest in the afternoon
- Sitting and talking to someone
- Sitting quietly after lunch without alcohol
- In a car, stopped for a few minutes in traffic
A total of 11 or more is the usual threshold for excessive daytime sleepiness — worth an appointment. 16 or more: do not wait.
STOP-Bang
Eight yes/no questions; count the yeses.
| S | Snoring — loud enough to be heard through a door |
|---|---|
| T | Tired — often tired, sleepy or fatigued in the daytime |
| O | Observed — someone has seen you stop breathing during sleep |
| P | Pressure — high blood pressure, treated or not |
| B | BMI — over 35 |
| A | Age — over 50 |
| N | Neck — circumference about 40 cm (16 in) or more |
| G | Gender — male |
Three or more yeses means intermediate risk, five or more high risk. A low ESS with a high STOP-Bang is typical of people who do not notice their own sleepiness.
Who to see, what happens, what it costs
The pathway is similar in most countries; the details and prices below are typical rather than universal.
| Step | What happens | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Appointment | A sleep clinic, a pulmonologist, an ENT specialist or your primary-care doctor. "Snoring plus daytime sleepiness" is all you need to say. History and the questionnaires above | A standard consultation |
| 2. Home sleep test | A palm-sized recorder you wear for one night at home; it logs airflow and blood oxygen and produces the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI, events per hour) | Often covered by insurance; typically tens to a few hundred dollars out of pocket |
| 3. Polysomnography (PSG) | Only if needed. An overnight stay in a sleep lab recording brain waves, eye movement and muscle activity together; home PSG is increasingly available | Varies widely; usually the most expensive step |
| 4. Treatment | Moderate-to-severe OSA: CPAP (gentle air pressure through a mask while you sleep) is first-line. Mild OSA: a dental appliance, weight loss, side-sleeping, no alcohol before bed. Surgery is an option for enlarged tonsils | CPAP is usually rented or insured; monthly costs are modest compared with the effect |
Even when the AHI is below the treatment threshold, many people find that a dental appliance or lifestyle changes transform their afternoons. Treating it while it is mild is easier than living with it because it is mild.
If you drive or operate machinery for a living, do not put this off. Untreated moderate-to-severe OSA is reported to multiply the risk of a drowsy-driving crash several times over, and commercial drivers are advised to be screened regularly.
Bring Drowsiness Guard's log to the appointment
The first thing a clinician wants to know is how much you sleep at night and how often you fade in the day. The web version of Drowsiness Guard keeps a sleep log — bedtime and wake time, with a seven-day average — so "I sleep seven hours and still nod off" becomes a number. The Android version also counts how often it had to wake you, by hour of the day, so you can say "twice a day, around 2 pm". Both stay on your device; no video is stored.
The breathing sensor listens for snoring. If "that sounded like snoring" keeps appearing, that alone is a reason to get tested (the audio itself is never recorded).
Drowsiness Guard is not a medical device and does not detect apnea. Use it as a way to keep count of when sleepiness hits.
What you can do while you wait
All of these help mild cases; none of them is a cure. Get tested, then use them as support.
- Sleep on your side. On your back the tongue falls and narrows the airway. A body pillow or a side-sleeping pillow keeps the position; some people snore noticeably less
- No alcohol before bed. Alcohol relaxes the throat muscles and makes apnea worse. If you have a nightcap habit, start there
- Breathe through your nose. A blocked nose forces mouth breathing and snoring; nasal strips or humidification help some people
- Lose weight. Several studies show the AHI falling with a few kilograms lost. It is slow, but it is the most reliable self-directed measure
Frequently asked
- Is falling asleep at work a sign of sleep apnea?
- It is one possible cause. Sleep deprivation, medication side effects, depression and narcolepsy are others. But when snoring, sleepiness despite seven hours in bed and morning headaches occur together, apnea is likely, and a one-night home sleep test is cheap and painless — so if you suspect it, test for it.
- Which doctor should I see?
- A sleep clinic if there is one nearby; otherwise a pulmonologist, an ENT specialist or your primary-care doctor. Say you snore, are sleepy in the day, and want to be tested for sleep apnea; they will arrange a home sleep test.
- Is the test painful? Do I have to stay in hospital?
- The home test is a finger sensor and a nasal cannula worn overnight in your own bed — no pain. Full polysomnography traditionally means one night in a sleep lab, though home PSG is increasingly offered.
- Is CPAP for life?
- If weight or lifestyle changes improve the apnea, your clinician can stop or change treatment. Many people feel the difference the first morning; it is more practical to try it and see how your afternoons change than to worry about "for life".
- If I use Drowsiness Guard, do I still need to be tested?
- Yes. Drowsiness Guard wakes you when your eyes close; it does nothing for the quality of your night's sleep. If apnea is the cause, you will be sleepy again tomorrow. Use the log as evidence and get the cause checked once.
Sources
- Johns MW. A new method for measuring daytime sleepiness: the Epworth sleepiness scale. Sleep. 1991
- Chung F, et al. STOP-Bang Questionnaire: A practical approach to screen for obstructive sleep apnea. Chest. 2016
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine, clinical practice guidelines on diagnostic testing for adult obstructive sleep apnea
- National transport-safety guidance in several countries recommending periodic OSA screening for commercial drivers
This page is general information, not medical advice or a diagnosis. If you have symptoms, see a clinician.