Sleep journal

If you have problems sleeping, it might help to track your sleep habits in a notebook or journal. This is called a sleep journal. It can help you see what keeps you from getting a good night's sleep. It also helps your doctor know more about what affects your sleep.

Fill out your sleep journal every morning for 1 to 2 weeks. Answer the following questions.

• What time did you go to bed last night?
• How long did it take to fall asleep?
• What time did you get up?
• Did you wake up during your sleep time? How many times? For how long? Did you get out of bed?
• How much total sleep did you get?
• How tired do you feel, on a scale of 1 to 5? (Very tired = 5)
• Overall, how tired did you feel yesterday, on a scale of 1 to 5? (Very tired = 5)
• How stressful was your day yesterday, on a scale of 1 to 5? (Very stressful = 5)
• What did you do during the 30 minutes before bed?
• Did you take any naps yesterday? How long? When?
• Did you drink alcohol yesterday? How much?
• Did you have any caffeine yesterday? How much? When?
• Did you do any physical activity yesterday? What? When?
• Did you eat big or spicy meals yesterday? What? When?
• Did you take any medicines yesterday, including over-the-counter or herbal ones? What? When?