This sleep apnea guide symptom tracker turns what you notice at night and during the day into one printable page for your appointment. The infographic above shows how breathing, testing and treatment fit together. The tool below takes about a minute and works on a phone.
This is an educational picture and tool for adults. It is not a diagnosis or medical advice.
How to use the symptom tracker
You will get a one-page set of notes and three questions for your clinician in about a minute. Nothing you tap leaves your device.
- Pick where you are — no sleep test yet, a sleep study report, or already on treatment.
- Tap what you notice — include anything a partner has seen at night.
- Add one line — an optional note, such as how often it happens.
- Read your card — it shows your notes, questions to ask and the page to open next.
- Print or copy it — use it as a sleep apnea appointment worksheet.
Think back over the last week of nights, and ask a bed partner what they have seen. Talk to a clinician first if you have breathing pauses, gasping or choking, or if you feel too sleepy to drive safely. For a child, see a pediatric clinician. The safety section of the guide explains when to act fast.
Free appointment notes
Sleep apnea guide symptom tracker: your notes for the visit
Tap what you notice and keep a printable page of notes and questions in about a minute.
See a clinician first if you have breathing pauses, gasping or choking, or severe daytime tiredness. If you feel too sleepy to drive safely, don’t drive.
The live tool needs JavaScript. The examples below show each possible result.
Choose where you are or tap something you have noticed to see your notes.
Example: if you tick breathing pauses or gasping and have no sleep report yet
Your result: notes about breathing pauses to bring to a clinician
Breathing that stops and starts in your sleep is a reason to see a GP or doctor, says the NHS. This tool can’t tell you whether you have sleep apnea.
2 things noted on today
You noted: breathing pauses seen by someone else; morning headaches. Your note: none.
Ask your clinician:
- Is a sleep study right for me?
- Would a home test or a sleep-lab study suit me?
- If a home test is negative, what happens next?
Open next: Find your first step in the Compass
Example: if you tick tiredness or headaches but no breathing pauses
Your result: symptom notes to discuss
These symptoms can go with sleep apnea, and they have other causes too. Many people with sleep apnea don’t snore, so a quiet night rules nothing out.
2 things noted on today
You noted: daytime tiredness despite enough sleep; morning headaches. Your note: none.
Ask your clinician:
- Could these symptoms fit a sleep problem?
- Is sleep testing appropriate for me?
- Could poor sleep or insomnia be part of this?
Open next: See the full range of symptoms
Example: if you choose “I have a sleep study report”
Your result: questions about your sleep study report
The NHS groups AHI into 5 to 14 (mild), 15 to 30 (moderate) and over 30 (severe). Your clinician also reads the full report and your symptoms.
1 thing noted on today
You noted: daytime tiredness despite enough sleep. Your note: none.
Ask your clinician:
- What does the full report say beyond the AHI?
- How do my symptoms fit these results?
- Which treatment options suit me?
Open next: Make sense of the AHI numbers
Example: if you choose “I’m on treatment” and tick mask leaks or still tired
Your result: notes for your treatment review
NICE follow-up covers mask type and fit, leaks and other causes of broken sleep such as insomnia. Your notes help the team look at the right things.
2 things noted on today
You noted: mask leaks; still feeling tired. Your note: none.
Ask your clinician:
- Can we check my mask type and fit?
- Are leaks or dryness breaking up my sleep?
- Could another sleep problem be adding to my tiredness?
Open next: Troubleshoot CPAP problems
Example: if you choose where you are but tick nothing
Your result: nothing ticked yet
This check can’t rule anything out. The NHS advises seeing a GP if your breathing stops and starts while you sleep, or if you always feel very tired during the day.
0 things noted on today
Your note: none.
Open next: Find your first step in the Compass
What your result means and what to do next
Each result is a set of notes, not a verdict. It lists what you tapped, three questions to ask and one page to open next. A clinician decides whether sleep testing fits, and questionnaires or prediction tools shouldn’t replace it in adults (Kapur et al., 2017).
At the visit, a sleep diary and a list of your symptoms, risk factors and medicines all help (NHLBI, 2025). Your printed page covers the symptom part. Not sure which test to ask about? Read how sleep apnea is diagnosed. For local first steps and costs, see how to get tested and treated where you live.
For example, imagine you choose “No sleep test yet” and tap breathing pauses seen by your partner plus morning headaches. You would see the breathing-pauses result with two notes, three questions and a link to the Compass. Short, specific questions are easy to answer in a short visit, and the Answers page covers more of them.
Sleep apnea from breathing to follow-up, panel by panel
Sleep apnea care runs from how you breathe, to a clinical check, to testing, to treatment and follow-up.
- Breathing normally — Air moves freely through the open upper airway.
- Obstructive event — The upper airway becomes blocked many times while you sleep.
- Central event — The brain does not send the signals needed to breathe.
- Clinical evaluation — A clinician asks about symptoms, risk factors and medicines.
- Sleep testing — A sleep study shows the type and seriousness, at home or in a clinic.
- Treatment and follow-up — A mask and machine (PAP) is recommended for adults with sleepiness. Follow-up checks symptoms and use.
Read the full explanation in what happens when you have sleep apnea. The mind map shows how the ideas connect.
The rules behind this tool
| If you… | The tool shows… | Because… |
|---|---|---|
| Choose “I’m on treatment” | Treatment-review notes | NICE follow-up covers mask fit, leaks and other causes of disturbed sleep such as insomnia (NICE, 2021). |
| Choose “I have a sleep study report” | Report questions | The NHS gives AHI bands of 5 to 14, 15 to 30 and over 30. Your clinician reads the whole report (NHS). |
| Tap breathing pauses or gasping, with no report or treatment | Breathing-pause notes | The NHS advises seeing a GP when breathing stops and starts during sleep (NHS). |
| Tap other symptoms only | Symptom notes | Symptoms can include loud snoring, gasping, tiredness, headaches and insomnia (NHLBI, 2025). Not everyone with sleep apnea snores (American Lung Association, 2026). |
| Tap nothing | “Can’t rule anything out” | Questionnaires can’t replace sleep testing, so an empty check proves nothing (Kapur et al., 2017). |
| Tap “Sleepy while driving” | Driving alert above the result | The NHS says not to drive until very tired symptoms are under control (NHS). |
| Tap “Stomach discomfort or bloating” on treatment | Stop-and-call alert | NHLBI advises stopping the PAP machine and contacting your provider (NHLBI, 2025). |
| Tap anything | A count and bar of things noted | Your own arithmetic. It is a count, not a score. |
This tool can’t diagnose sleep apnea, rate how likely it is or choose a treatment. It never gives a bedtime or a device setting. Your clinician decides what testing and care fit you.
Take your notes to the numbers
See what the published figures say about how common sleep apnea is and how AHI bands work on the Statistics page. More in sleep disorders.
See the numbers →Sources
- NICE, NG202, 2021. Supports: treatment-review rules.
- Kapur et al., Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2017 (PMID 28162150). Supports: testing rule and “can’t rule anything out”.
- Patil et al., Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2019 (PMID 30736887). Supports: treatment panel.
- NHLBI, Sleep Apnea Symptoms, 2025. Supports: symptom list.
- NHLBI, Sleep Apnea Diagnosis, 2025. Supports: appointment preparation and testing panels.
- NHLBI, Sleep Apnea Treatment, 2025. Supports: bloating alert.
- NHS, Sleep apnoea, n.d.. Supports: AHI bands, see-a-doctor and driving rules.
- American Lung Association, Symptoms and Diagnosis, 2026. Supports: sleep apnea without snoring.
- NHLBI, What Is Sleep Apnea, 2025. Supports: breathing panels.
Sources checked · Next review
How we made this page: infographic and tool rules built from the sources above, drafted with AI assistance and edited by Aamir Bashir, Founder & Editor. Read our editorial policy.
