Sleep routines in 2027: a simple bedtime record

Choose the moment you want to record

Bedtime could mean the moment you got into bed, turned the light out or began getting ready. You could choose one of those moments and name it clearly, so your entries mean the same thing when you look back.

If you want to record more than one moment, you could keep separate labels such as Started getting ready and Got into bed. There's no need to record both if one is enough for you.

This is a suggestion for keeping a record, not advice about when you should go to bed. You don't need a target time or a score for going to bed earlier.

Keep the record small

You could use paper, a spreadsheet or a notebook app. These three details can be enough, without a full account of your night.

• Date: the local calendar date when the moment happened.
• Clock time: the time you chose to record, using your own clear label.
• Optional note: something you'd like to remember, such as a different work pattern or being away. You can leave personal details out.

Which date do I use after midnight?

You could use the local calendar date when you went to bed. For example, 00:20 on Tuesday belongs to Tuesday, even if you think of it as the end of Monday evening. That keeps the date and clock time together.

These are example times, not suggested bedtimes. You can use the same approach for a daytime bedtime; the record doesn't need to assume everyone goes to bed at night.

Small Counts saves a clock time against the date you've chosen. Check that date if you're entering something later. Midnight, 00:00, is a time you can record; a blank means no time is entered.

Bedtime and time asleep are different records

Writing down when you got into bed doesn't establish when you fell asleep, when you woke or how long you slept. You can keep a bedtime record without trying to fill in those other details.

If you also write a note about how you felt, it can stay your own description of that day. You don't need to turn it into an objective sleep score or compare it with somebody else's rating.

You can look at the entries you've made without deciding that a particular bedtime caused a change in how you felt. This guide doesn't promise that keeping a record will change your sleep.

What if my routine changes or I miss a day?

Work, travel or other plans might mean you'd like a different record for a while. You could change the label or add a short note about what you're recording now. You don't need to make every week look the same.

If you can't remember a time, you can leave it blank rather than guess. A missing entry doesn't tell you whether a night was good or bad; it only leaves that part of the record open.

You can return when you want to, with no need to reconstruct the dates you've missed or change a bedtime to keep a streak going. You can also stop keeping the record if you don't find it useful.

What Small Counts can record

Small Counts's Bedtime entry is a clock time you enter yourself. You can also make your own time entry or a short note, without a target, and switch runs off. The optional How rested I felt rating is your own description, not a measurement of sleep.

The notebook doesn't automatically monitor sleep, import wearable records or work out sleep stages. A stored bedtime isn't a measurement of sleep duration, and the app doesn't assess sleep problems.

Tracking is free, with no limit on themes. You don't need a purchase to keep a bedtime record. You could read how privacy works before deciding what personal details, if any, you want in your notes.

Where can I find advice about sleep problems?

If sleeping difficulties have continued for months, or they're making day-to-day life hard to cope with, the NHS advises speaking to a GP.¹ You don't need to finish a tracker or build a record before asking for help.

Small Counts is a personal notebook, not medical support. For advice about sleep problems, use the NHS information linked below or speak to a healthcare professional. This guide doesn't give a sleep schedule or recommend products to take.