Sleep Diary

This tool is a sleep diary, the core self-monitoring tool used in CBT-I (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia) — the treatment recommended as a first-line approach for chronic insomnia by sleep medicine and psychology bodies, often working as well as or better than sleeping pills, without the side effects or dependency risk. The idea is simple: most people trying to fix their sleep are guessing, because they don't actually know their real patterns. A sleep diary replaces guessing with a clear, dated record.

Each morning, log a few basic details about the night before: when you went to bed, roughly how long it took to fall asleep, how long you were awake during the night, and when you finally got up. From these, this tool calculates your sleep efficiency — the percentage of time in bed that you actually spent asleep. This single number, tracked over one to two weeks, is the main metric CBT-I uses to guide changes like adjusting your time in bed or your wake time. A pattern of low efficiency (spending a lot of time in bed awake) is common and treatable — it does not mean something is wrong with you.

This is a private self-help practice, not therapy, not a diagnosis, and not a substitute for working with a trained clinician, especially if insomnia has lasted more than a few weeks or is affecting your daily functioning. If your body needs calming down right now, try Grounding & Breathing. If racing thoughts at bedtime are the main problem, our Worry Time tool may help you set those aside until a scheduled time earlier in the day.

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Log Last Night's Sleep

Your Sleep Efficiency Over Time

Showing your most recent nights, oldest on the left. Sleep efficiency is the percent of time in bed spent actually asleep — CBT-I guidance often treats 85% or higher as a helpful general target, though this varies by person and age.

Your Sleep Log

A Few CBT-I Basics

• Keep a consistent wake time, including weekends — this is often more powerful than a consistent bedtime for resetting your body clock.
• Only go to bed when sleepy, not just tired. Being in bed does not equal being asleep, and CBT-I generally advises against "trying harder" to sleep.
• If you're awake and not sleepy after about 20 minutes, consider getting up, doing something quiet and dim-lit, and returning to bed only when sleepy again — this helps your brain re-associate bed with sleep rather than wakeful frustration.
• Use bed only for sleep (and intimacy) — not for phones, work, or worrying — to strengthen that same association over time.
• Avoid long or late naps if you can, since they can reduce your drive to sleep at night.

Where to Go for More

• Sleep Foundation - Sleep health education, including detailed CBT-I guidance.
• Trouble Sleeping - Our topic page with quick starting steps and further resources.
• Affordable Therapy - If insomnia is persistent, a CBT-I-trained therapist can guide you through this process in more depth.