Quick answer: A sleep assessment can help you recognize symptoms and decide what to discuss with a healthcare professional. It cannot diagnose sleep apnea. Diagnosis involves a clinical assessment and, when appropriate, a sleep study. Discuss loud snoring, witnessed breathing pauses or persistent daytime sleepiness with your healthcare provider.
Sources: NHLBI
Choose the question set that fits you
The assessment has two symptom lists, because sleep apnea often looks different in women and men. Use the question set for women or use the question set for men.
About this online sleep apnea assessment
This short sleep apnea quiz asks three questions and takes about two minutes. It starts with the sleep concerns you notice, such as snoring, daytime tiredness, waking unrefreshed, morning headaches, trouble staying asleep, sleep changes around menopause or waking to use the washroom at night. It then asks how sleep is affecting your day and where you are in your sleep care.
Your answers point you to a sensible next step: learning more about symptoms, discussing a home sleep apnea test or booking a consultation, or getting CPAP support if you are already diagnosed. Nothing you enter is stored or sent, and the assessment cannot diagnose sleep apnea.
Why sleep apnea is worth checking
About 6% of Canadian adults report a sleep apnea diagnosis, but about 15% are at high risk on a standard screening questionnaire, which suggests many cases are not diagnosed (Statistics Canada, 2016 and 2017). Untreated sleep apnea is linked to daytime sleepiness, drowsy driving, high blood pressure and other health problems, and effective treatment is available. Read more about the risks of untreated sleep apnea.
Symptoms the assessment asks about
| Symptom | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Snoring | About 40% of adult men and about 1 in 4 adult women snore regularly (AASM). Women tend to underreport their snoring (AASM). Loud snoring with pauses is a common sign of sleep apnea. |
| Breathing pauses or gasping | Many people do not know they stop breathing during sleep until a bed partner or family member tells them (Merck Manual). |
| Daytime sleepiness | About 1 in 3 Canadian adults have difficulty staying awake during the day (Public Health Agency of Canada). Sleepiness despite enough time in bed is worth discussing. |
| Insomnia or poor sleep | About 1 in 3 Canadian adults report insomnia symptoms, and women are more affected (Sleep Medicine, 2024). Women with sleep apnea are sometimes treated for insomnia or depression first (Medical Principles and Practice, 2021). See insomnia. |
| Morning headaches | About 1 in 3 people with sleep apnea report morning headaches (Sleep Medicine Reviews, 2024). |
| Brain fog | About 3 in 10 people with untreated sleep apnea report significant problems with memory or concentration (Sleep and Breathing, 2024). |
| Dry mouth or sore throat | Waking with a dry mouth or sore throat can be a sign of sleep apnea (Merck Manual). |
| Waking to urinate | Waking at night to urinate is common in sleep apnea and tends to be worse when sleep apnea is more severe (Sleep Medicine Reviews, 2023). |
| Sleep changes around menopause | Between 35% and 60% of postmenopausal women report sleep problems, and sleep apnea risk rises after menopause (Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2025). |
How this compares with clinical screening tools
Health professionals use validated questionnaires such as STOP-Bang and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale to estimate sleep apnea risk (BC Guidelines). This assessment is a shorter educational tool, not one of those questionnaires. No questionnaire can diagnose sleep apnea on its own; the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends a sleep test for diagnosis (AASM guideline, 2017).
What your results can and cannot tell you
An online assessment is a starting point for a conversation, not a diagnosis. Sleep apnea is confirmed with a sleep study that a qualified professional interprets alongside your symptoms and health history. A qualified professional also decides whether home sleep testing is appropriate or whether an in-lab study is a better fit.
Sleep apnea does not always look like loud snoring. In women especially, it often shows up as fatigue, insomnia, morning headaches or poor sleep rather than obvious breathing pauses. Learn more about sleep apnea symptoms, symptoms in women and symptoms in men.
What happens after the assessment
How Your Home Sleep Test Works
Angela Hoffman, RRT, CRE explains each step: the quick online symptom check, a small device mailed to you and worn for 7 nights in your own bed, results interpreted by a sleep physician, and an unhurried video review with a sleep clinician. (57 s, captioned)
Read the video transcript
So here’s how it works. If you’re not sure whether you have sleep apnea, or maybe it’s been years since you were diagnosed or last tested, you can start with our quick online symptom check. It only takes a few minutes, and if your answers point to possible sleep apnea, you can order a test right there. After that, we’ll mail you a small, simple device to use. You wear it for five to seven nights in your own bed, not a lab and not a hospital. You’ll get clear instructions on how to use it, and if you get stuck, you can actually reach a real person on our team. Once you’re done your testing, a sleep physician will interpret your results. Then you’ll meet with a sleep clinician by video to go through your report together. There’s no rushing. You’ll have time to ask questions, and time to actually understand what’s going on, because we believe that education is the first step in getting real results.
Next steps after the assessment
- Read how sleep apnea is diagnosed and who a home sleep test is for.
- Check whether you need a referral, testing in your province and what coverage may apply.
- Ask a bed partner whether they have noticed snoring, gasping or breathing pauses. See witnessed breathing pauses.
Do not drive or do safety-sensitive work if you are struggling to stay awake. If someone has severe breathing difficulty, cannot be woken or turns blue, call 911 or your local emergency number.
Sources
- Statistics Canada. Sleep apnea in Canada, 2016 and 2017. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/82-625-x/2018001/article/54979-eng.htm
- Public Health Agency of Canada. Are Canadian adults getting enough sleep? https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/healthy-living/canadian-adults-getting-enough-sleep-infographic.html
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Snoring. https://sleepeducation.org/sleep-disorders/snoring/
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Women underreport own snoring. https://aasm.org/women-underreport-snoring/
- Morin CM and colleagues. Prevalence of insomnia and use of sleep aids among adults in Canada. Sleep Medicine (2024). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389945724004659
- Evaluation of obstructive sleep apnea in female patients in primary care. Medical Principles and Practice (2021). https://karger.com/mpp/article/30/6/508/825034/Evaluation-of-Obstructive-Sleep-Apnea-in-Female
- Prevalence of headaches and their relationship with obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep Medicine Reviews (2024). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1087079223001454
- Cognitive complaints in patients with untreated obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep and Breathing (2024). https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11325-024-03056-7
- Nocturia and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: a systematic review. Sleep Medicine Reviews (2023). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37167825/
- Sleep disturbance and perimenopause: a narrative review. Journal of Clinical Medicine (2025). https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/14/5/1479
- Merck Manual Professional Version. Obstructive sleep apnea. https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/pulmonary-disorders/sleep-apnea/obstructive-sleep-apnea-osa
- BC Guidelines. Obstructive sleep apnea: assessment and management in adults. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/practitioner-professional-resources/bc-guidelines/sleep-apnea
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Clinical practice guideline for diagnostic testing for adult obstructive sleep apnea (2017). https://jcsm.aasm.org/doi/10.5664/jcsm.6506