Sleep Log

Do you have a sleep log? Whether you sleep great or terribly, groggy or peppy in the morning, a sleep log is very beneficial for all. Charting your sleep helps you see patterns and learn what works for your body. You probably already know whether you are a morning or evening person or both. However getting more in tuned with your body will allow you to know how many hours are need to function optimally and what bedtime and waking time works best for your body's rhythm.

For some, their body is flexible, they sleep like a rock anytime and wake up refreshed almost every time. Others need the stringent schedule that doesn't vary for their body to feel good in the morning.

Start using a sleep log and see what works for your body.

Sleep Log Directions

Now you have a chart for your sleep log. This is simple and should not take much time. Take a few quick minutes in the morning to record the time you went to bed, approximately how long it took to fall asleep, how many times you woke up, if you used any sleep aids from pills, herbs, music, stretching etc, the time you woke up and the total number of hours you slept. This does not have to be exact as you may not know how long it took to fall asleep.

If you don't know the minutes, write down how long it felt and if you felt that you were awake for a long or short time. Additional comments are if you feel fresh or groggy upon waking, if you begin to notice patterns or learn that eating a certain food before bed upsets your stomach. Additional comments are for any triggers or thoughts that are keys to understanding your sleeping patterns.

Every two weeks add up the total number of hours slept and divide by 14 to get your hour per night average. Is this a good time for you? We are all unique while some people only need 5 hours asleep, others may need 9.