STOP-BANG Calculator

Free STOP-BANG Calculator - Screen Your Sleep Apnea Risk Online

Loud snoring, waking up tired no matter how long you slept, a partner who says you stop breathing at night — these are the kinds of small clues that often get brushed off for years before anyone connects them to sleep apnea. The STOP-BANG questionnaire was built to catch exactly this pattern. It is one of the most widely used sleep apnea screening tools in the world, and this free STOP-BANG calculator lets you take it online in about two minutes.

There is nothing complicated about it. You answer 8 simple yes or no questions about snoring, tiredness, your blood pressure, your weight, your age, your neck size, and your gender. The calculator adds up your yes answers, gives you a score out of 8, and tells you in plain language whether your risk of obstructive sleep apnea is low, intermediate, or high. No medical background needed, no sign up, completely free.

What Is the STOP-BANG Questionnaire?

STOP-BANG is a screening questionnaire, not a diagnostic test. It was developed by Dr. Frances Chung and her team at the University of Toronto, originally to quickly flag surgical patients who might have undiagnosed sleep apnea before they went under anesthesia. Since then it has become one of the most trusted first-step screening tools used by doctors, sleep clinics, and hospitals worldwide, precisely because it is fast, simple, and backed by strong research.

The name STOP-BANG is an acronym, where each letter stands for one yes or no question. S is for Snoring, T is for Tiredness, O is for Observed apnea, and P is for blood Pressure. Together these four form the 'STOP' part, and they are things you would generally know just from your own daily experience or what people close to you have noticed. B is for BMI, A is for Age, N is for Neck size, and G is for Gender, forming the 'BANG' part, which are simple facts and measurements rather than symptoms.

The 8 STOP-BANG Questions Explained

Each question below is answered with a simple Yes or No. Every 'Yes' adds 1 point to your total score, which can range from 0 to 8.

• S — Snoring: Do you snore loudly, loud enough to be heard through a closed door or louder than talking?
• T — Tiredness: Do you often feel tired, fatigued, or sleepy during the day, even after what should be a full night's sleep?
• O — Observed apnea: Has anyone ever seen or heard you stop breathing, choke, or gasp for air while you sleep?
• P — Blood Pressure: Do you have high blood pressure, or are you currently being treated for it?
• B — BMI: Is your Body Mass Index above 35 kg/m²? This calculator can work this out for you automatically from your height and weight.
• A — Age: Are you older than 50?
• N — Neck size: Is your neck circumference larger than 40 cm, or about 16 inches?
• G — Gender: Is your biological sex male? Research shows male anatomy is linked to a higher baseline risk of obstructive sleep apnea.

How the STOP-BANG Score Is Calculated

The scoring itself is refreshingly simple. Every 'Yes' answer is worth exactly 1 point, and every 'No' answer is worth 0 points. Add up all 8 answers, and the total is your STOP-BANG score, somewhere between 0 and 8.

What makes STOP-BANG a bit smarter than a plain total score is a second layer of scoring used by doctors. If you answer 'Yes' to 2 or more of the first four STOP questions, and you also have at least one of these three risk factors — you are male, your BMI is over 35, or your neck size is over 40 cm — you are considered high risk even if your total score alone would only look like intermediate risk. This calculator checks for that pattern automatically and flags it clearly in your results.

STOP-BANG Score Chart: What Your Number Means

Once your total is calculated, it sorts into one of three risk levels for obstructive sleep apnea, based on the original validated research behind the STOP-BANG tool.

• 0 to 2 'Yes' answers — Low Risk. Your answers do not point toward obstructive sleep apnea. Still worth keeping an eye on symptoms if new ones appear later.
• 3 to 4 'Yes' answers — Intermediate Risk. Your answers suggest a moderate chance of obstructive sleep apnea, and it is worth mentioning to a doctor at your next check-up.
• 5 to 8 'Yes' answers — High Risk. Your answers suggest a strong chance of obstructive sleep apnea, and a conversation with a doctor about a proper sleep study is strongly recommended.
• Special high-risk flag — Even with only 3 or 4 total 'Yes' answers, scoring 2 or more on just the STOP questions plus being male, having a BMI over 35, or a neck over 40 cm also counts as high risk.

Advanced Feature: Auto-Calculate BMI, Age, and Neck Size

Instead of guessing whether your BMI is 'above 35' or estimating your neck size by eye, this calculator lets you type in your actual height, weight, neck measurement, and age. It automatically works out your BMI and instantly fills in the correct Yes or No answer for the B, A, and N questions, so there is no room for a rough guess throwing off your score.

This is especially useful if you have never calculated your BMI before or are not sure how your neck size compares to the 40 cm threshold. You still keep full control, since these auto-filled answers can be reviewed and adjusted at any time if your situation changes.

Advanced Feature: Track Your STOP-BANG Score Over Time

Sleep apnea risk is not always fixed. Losing weight, getting a blood pressure diagnosis treated, or starting CPAP therapy can genuinely shift where you fall on this scale. This calculator lets you add a second and third assessment, fill each one out separately, and instantly compare your total score across every check-in on a line chart.

A falling score over time is a good sign, especially after weight loss or treatment. A rising or unchanged score is useful information to bring to your doctor. Every assessment stays saved side by side so you can flip between tabs and see exactly which questions changed. You can copy your full results as text or download a CSV file with every answer and score, which is handy for a personal record or for sharing with a doctor before an appointment.

Why STOP-BANG Screening Matters

Obstructive sleep apnea is thought to affect close to a billion adults worldwide, and a large share of them do not know they have it. It often develops slowly, and many of the warning signs, like snoring or daytime tiredness, get written off as normal or simply part of getting older. That gap between how common it is and how often it goes noticed is exactly the problem STOP-BANG was designed to help close.

Left unscreened and untreated for years, obstructive sleep apnea has been linked in research to a higher risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and daytime accidents caused by drowsiness. It is also a major concern before surgery, since undiagnosed sleep apnea can complicate anesthesia and recovery, which is exactly why STOP-BANG was originally created for pre-surgical screening in hospitals before it became a general public screening tool.

What Happens If You Score High Risk

A high STOP-BANG score does not mean you definitely have sleep apnea. It means your answers match a pattern that is strongly associated with it, and it is worth taking the next step seriously.

• Talk to a doctor about your results and mention any specific symptoms, like loud snoring or morning headaches.
• Ask about a sleep study, either an at-home test or an overnight stay at a sleep lab, which measures your actual Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI).
• If a diagnosis is confirmed, treatment options range from lifestyle changes to CPAP therapy, oral appliances, or in some cases surgery.
• Keep tracking your score over time, especially if you start treatment or make lifestyle changes, using the multi-assessment feature on this calculator.

Common Myths About STOP-BANG and Sleep Apnea Risk

A few misunderstandings tend to come up around this questionnaire, so it is worth clearing them up.

• A low STOP-BANG score does not guarantee you are free of sleep apnea. It lowers the likelihood, but it is a screening tool, not a lab diagnosis.
• Only loud snorers get high scores. That is not true — someone can score high risk mostly through blood pressure, BMI, age, and neck size without ever being a heavy snorer.
• STOP-BANG is only for men. While gender is one of the 8 factors, women absolutely can and do score in the intermediate and high-risk ranges too.
• A high score means you need surgery. In most cases, treatment starts with far less invasive options like CPAP therapy or lifestyle changes, not surgery.

STOP-BANG vs Epworth Sleepiness Scale: What's the Difference?

These two tools are often used together, but they measure different things. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale measures how likely you are to doze off during everyday situations, essentially a snapshot of your daytime sleepiness. STOP-BANG instead screens for your overall risk of having obstructive sleep apnea in the first place, based on symptoms, physical traits, and health history.

A person can have a high STOP-BANG risk score but a normal Epworth score, or the other way around, which is why doctors often use both together for a fuller picture. If you have already checked your daytime sleepiness, using this STOP-BANG calculator alongside it gives a much more complete starting point before a formal sleep study.

Who Uses This STOP-BANG Calculator

This tool is built for anyone curious about their sleep apnea risk, patients preparing for surgery who have been asked to fill out a STOP-BANG screening beforehand, people preparing for a doctor's visit or a sleep clinic appointment, nursing and medical students learning how the questionnaire is scored, and anyone already diagnosed who wants to track how their risk factors change after weight loss or treatment.

It pairs well with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale calculator, AHI calculator, sleep calculator, and sleep debt calculator elsewhere on this site for a complete picture of your sleep health. This calculator is an educational reference based on the standard clinical STOP-BANG questionnaire. It does not replace a proper medical evaluation, a sleep study, or advice from a qualified doctor.