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Not everyone has a sleep disorder. But most people would like to sleep better or longer than they do. A sleep disorder may be keeping you from feeling refreshed and alert. Or maybe your life is just so busy that you feel like you can never catch up on your sleep. In either case, it is a good idea to take some time and evaluate how well you are sleeping. Doing so will let you see if there are problems that you need help with. You will also find out if there are changes you need to make in your sleep habits. Your sleep has an effect on every other area of your life. This makes it very important to know if you are getting the kind of sleep that you need.

The following tools will help you rate your sleep. You will be able to see if your sleep is helping you or hurting you. You may also become aware of sleep problems that you did not notice before. The results will be useful for a doctor who wants to get a better idea of how you are sleeping.

Epworth Sleepiness Scale
This is the standard series of questions that are widely used to see how your sleep affects your daily life. You will rate how likely you are to fall asleep in certain situations.

Sleep Diary
This will help you chart your daily pattern of sleep for two weeks. You should fill this out before seeing a doctor about a sleep problem. It is a visual tool to help the doctor see areas of concern in your sleep. It will also provide the doctor with clues as to what may be causing your problem.

Sleep Evaluation
This is a series of True/False questions. It will help reveal any problems in your pattern of sleep. It will also look at how your sleep affects you during the day.

Teen Sleepiness
Are you a tired teen? The Cleveland Adolescent Sleepiness Questionnaire will help you find out. Rate 16 statements and use the Score Sheet to see how sleepy you are during the school week. A higher score means that you are sleepy during the day and need to get more sleep on school nights.