{{ summaryTitle }}
{{ summaryValue }}
{{ summaryLine }}
{{ badge.label }} {{ badge.value }}

Enter valid planning inputs to show the sleep window.

Presets are examples, not clinical prescriptions; replace them with a representative sleep-diary average.
{{ hoursDisplay(params.baselineTstHours) }}
The model starts from this duration, then applies the configured floor and step grid.
h
Use the wake time you can keep consistently, including non-work days.
{{ percentDisplay(params.efficiencyGoalPercent) }}
Sleep efficiency is total sleep time divided by time in bed, multiplied by 100.
%
Clear this field when no current-schedule comparison is needed.
Leave blank for an initial plan. Use a diary block rather than one unusually good or bad night.
%
Do not drive or operate machinery while sleepy. Significant sleepiness should prompt clinician review.
Five hours is the published floor in the referenced UPenn protocol; use clinician guidance for individual safety.
h
This bounds the comparison set; it does not prescribe how long you should remain in bed.
h
Published protocols commonly adjust time in bed in 15- or 30-minute increments.
min
Rounding is a repository-authored planning convention, not a clinical rule.
{{ params.maxRestrictionMinutes }} min
This conservative cap is a configurable tool safeguard and does not replace clinical judgment.
Accelerated review should be used only with appropriate support and representative diary data.

{{ workflowFeedback }}

The default is presentation-neutral and keeps the underlying results unchanged.
MeasureResultPlanning meaningCopy
{{ row.label }}{{ row.value }}{{ row.detail }}
Observed diary resultAction cueNext windowSafety noteCopy
{{ row.band }}{{ row.action }}{{ row.nextWindow }}{{ row.note }}

Chart unavailable. The same candidate comparison data remains available as CSV.

Sleep Debt Calculator Calculate recent sleep debt from a 7- or 14-night log with chronological deficits, optional surplus credit, recovery days and bedtime guidance.
Sleep Hygiene Path Planner Rank sleep-hygiene priorities from completed screeners and diary estimates, with safety holds and cautious time-in-bed comparison rows.
Sleep Hygiene Gap Checker Find the sleep habits adding the most routine friction, rank a focused reset plan, and retest the same changes over a chosen window.
Stimulus Control Steps Planner Build a stimulus-control plan for insomnia with a rough leave-bed cue and fixed wake time, plus a quiet fallback activity and review checkpoints.

Spending longer in bed does not always produce more sleep. With chronic insomnia, extra awake time in bed can weaken the connection between bed and sleep, make the night feel more fragmented, and reduce sleep efficiency. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) uses a structured sleep window to bring time in bed closer to the amount of sleep recorded in a diary.

A sleep window has two clock boundaries. Wake time is usually kept consistent, and bedtime is counted backward from it. Total sleep time is the estimated time actually asleep, while time in bed includes awakenings and time spent trying to sleep. Sleep efficiency is total sleep time divided by time in bed.

Total sleep time
The diary estimate of minutes actually asleep, not the full bedtime-to-wake interval.
Time in bed
The scheduled sleep opportunity, not a guarantee of sleep.
Sleep efficiency
Total sleep time as a percentage of time in bed, preferably averaged across several nights.
Sleep window
The planned time in bed anchored to a regular wake time and monitored for daytime safety.

Weekly adjustment is central to the method. A diary average is reviewed after several nights, then the window may be expanded, held, audited, or tightened in a small step. Daytime sleepiness overrides a purely efficiency-based change because restriction can temporarily increase fatigue.

A calculated schedule is only one part of CBT-I. Stimulus control, consistent wake time, diary review, cognitive strategies, and attention to conditions such as sleep apnea or bipolar disorder may also matter. This page provides educational planning support, not diagnosis or an individualized treatment prescription.

How to Use This Tool:

Start with a representative diary average and a wake time you can keep consistently, including non-work days.

  1. Enter Baseline total sleep time from several diary nights, not one night and not the full time spent in bed.
  2. Set a Fixed wake time. The planned bedtime is calculated backward across midnight when needed.
  3. Choose the Minimum sleep window, Maximum reduction from baseline, and Adjustment step. Use clinician guidance for safety limits.
  4. Leave Observed weekly efficiency blank for an initial plan. After the review period, enter the diary average and select the current Daytime sleepiness level.
  5. Read the recommended window and weekly action together. Stop further restriction and seek clinical review when significant sleepiness or another safety concern is present.

Interpreting Results:

The recommended bedtime is a diary-based starting point anchored to the selected wake time. Projected efficiency assumes baseline sleep remains unchanged when the window changes. Values above 100% reveal that the assumed sleep duration exceeds the candidate window; they are not a possible measured efficiency and should prompt a review of the diary average and safety floor.

Weekly action cues use observed efficiency and daytime sleepiness. An expansion cue is not permission to ignore fatigue, and a tighten cue is not a command to reduce time in bed below the configured floor. Compare several nights, note daytime function, and review large schedule shifts before applying them.

Technical Details:

Baseline total sleep time is converted to whole minutes. The effective floor is the greater of the configured minimum and baseline sleep minus the maximum permitted reduction. Candidate windows advance from that floor in the selected 10-, 15-, 20-, or 30-minute step.

Formula Core:

Sleep efficiency compares estimated sleep with the scheduled window. Bedtime is the wake clock time minus the selected window, wrapped within a 24-hour day.

SE=TSTTIB×100% Fs=max(Fc,TST−R) Bedtime=(Wake−TIB)mod1440

TST is baseline total sleep time in minutes, TIB is the sleep window, Fc is the configured minimum, R is the maximum reduction, and Fs is the effective safety floor. The starting duration snaps to the selected step by nearest, downward, or upward rounding and stays within the floor and scenario ceiling.

Rule Core:

Observed efficiencySafety conditionPlanning cue
90% or higherSleepiness stableExpand by one step when the ceiling permits.
90% or higherMild or significant sleepinessSafety hold; do not expand automatically.
85% to below 90%No overriding safety issueHold the window.
80% to below 85%Any levelHold and audit diary timing and adherence.
Below 80%No significant sleepinessTighten one step if above the floor.
Any efficiencySignificant sleepinessHold and seek safety review.

The 80%, 85%, and 90% edges are inclusive on the higher band. A configured five-hour minimum reflects the cited protocol, while alternative floors, rounding, reduction caps, scenario ceilings, current-schedule substitution, and 5-, 7-, or 10-night display cadences are planning choices in this calculator.

Worked Check:

With 5.5 hours of baseline sleep, a 06:30 wake time, a five-hour floor, and 15-minute steps, the starting window is 5.5 hours and bedtime is 01:00. If a later diary average is 91% and daytime sleepiness is stable, the next cue expands the window to 5 hours 45 minutes and moves bedtime to 00:45.

Limitations and Safety Notes:

Sleep restriction can increase daytime sleepiness. Do not drive, operate machinery, or perform safety-sensitive work while sleepy. Seek qualified clinical guidance before changing a sleep window if you have significant daytime impairment, suspected sleep apnea, bipolar disorder, seizure risk, pregnancy, another medical or psychiatric condition, or medicines that affect sleep.

  • Diary estimates are imperfect and should represent several nights.
  • Efficiency alone cannot diagnose insomnia or explain why sleep is disrupted.
  • A floor or action cue does not replace individual assessment and follow-up.

References: