Sleep Diary
The same diary sleep clinicians use: four times each morning, and it works out how long you actually slept, how long you lay awake, and your sleep efficiency — the number CBT for insomnia is built around.
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How the numbers are worked out
Time in bed is from getting into bed to getting out. Time asleep is from trying to sleep to your final waking, minus the minutes it took to fall asleep and the minutes awake in the night. Sleep efficiency is time asleep as a share of time in bed; the average over a stretch of nights uses the totals, so a short night isn't over-counted.
Sleep clinicians often look at efficiency when planning CBT for insomnia — around 85% or more is commonly treated as good. Changing your sleep schedule to raise it (sleep restriction) can make you very sleepy at first and should be done with a clinician's guidance, not from a number on a page.
Why keep a sleep diary
Sleep and mood are closely tied, and poor sleep is one of the most common things people bring to therapy. A diary kept for two weeks shows what a single bad night can't: how long you really sleep, how long you lie awake, and how regular your mornings are. It's usually the first thing a sleep clinician or CBT-I programme asks for.
Fill it in each morning from memory, not from a clock checked in the night — watching the time makes it harder to sleep. Wearables are useful, but the diary records your own experience of the night, which is what matters for insomnia.
Related
The mood journal can log hours of sleep with each check-in, and shows whether sleep and mood move together for you. The slow breathing exercise can help at bedtime. The guide to tracking your mood between sessions covers the sleep diary too.
Questions people actually ask
What is a good sleep efficiency?
Around 85% or higher is commonly treated as good. Below that, a lot of time in bed is spent awake — which a clinician may help you address.
What if I got up in the night?
Count it in the minutes awake in the night, and keep the got-out-of-bed time for the morning.
Where is my diary kept?
Only in this browser on this device. Add a passphrase to encrypt it, and back it up from time to time.