Sleep Hygiene Gap Checker

Starting pattern:

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Focus queue size:

Choose two to six factors; three is the neutral default plan size.

Queue bias:

Retest window:

Longer windows suit schedule, light, and bed-association changes.

Rank	Factor	Domain	Selected pattern	Status	Weighted	First move	Copy
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Priority	Window	Focus target	Why now	First move	Protect alongside	Copy
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No factor meets the queue threshold. Keep the protected anchors steady and review symptoms separately.

Repo-authored routine-friction model

score = 100 × Σ(raw factor × domain weight) ÷ Σ(3 × domain weight)

Current score: {{ formatNumber(computation.values.total_score, 1) }} / 100 · {{ computation.values.friction_band }}
Factor bands: Protected below 0.6; Watch from 0.6; Gap from 1.6; Critical from 2.6.
Queue boundary: Only factors with a raw score of at least 1.0 enter the ranked queue, which is then capped by the selected queue size.
Guidance basis: CDC and NHLBI healthy-sleep guidance supports the habit topics; the score, weights, bands, and ranking rules are a transparent repository-authored planning heuristic.

This tool does not diagnose insomnia, sleep apnea, circadian disorders, medication effects, or another cause of poor sleep. Persistent insomnia, breathing pauses, loud snoring, severe daytime sleepiness, or unsafe drowsiness deserve professional review.

Sleep can be disrupted by a single obvious problem, but it is often shaped by several ordinary cues spread across the day. Caffeine may still be active at bedtime, a late nap may reduce sleep pressure, morning light may be inconsistent, or the bed may have become a place for work and scrolling as well as sleep. Looking at the pattern as a whole helps separate an isolated rough night from habits that recur.

Four ideas make these patterns easier to understand. Sleep pressure builds during time awake and can be reduced by long or late naps. Circadian timing is the body-clock rhythm anchored by regular wake times and light. Arousal includes mental and physical alertness near bedtime. Bed association is the learned connection between being in bed and settling to sleep.

Common sleep-habit patterns and what they can affect
Pattern	What it can change	Useful first question
Late caffeine or alcohol	Readiness for sleep or sleep continuity	How close to bedtime is the last meaningful use?
Variable sleep and wake times	The strength of daily timing cues	How different are workdays, weekends, and catch-up days?
Screens, clock checks, or awake time in bed	Alertness and the learned bed-sleep connection	What repeatedly keeps attention active after getting into bed?
Light, noise, temperature, or interruptions	How easily sleep begins and stays settled	Which room condition causes the most frequent disruption?

A habit review is most useful as a small experiment. Change a limited number of factors, keep the rest reasonably steady, and observe the same routine for several nights. Trying to fix everything at once makes it difficult to tell which change helped and often produces a plan that is too demanding to repeat.

Good sleep hygiene does not rule out insomnia, sleep apnea, a circadian disorder, medication effects, pain, mental-health factors, or shift-work strain. Persistent difficulty sleeping, breathing pauses, loud snoring, severe daytime sleepiness, or drowsiness that makes driving or work unsafe needs professional attention rather than a higher-effort habit reset.

How to Use This Tool:

Describe the pattern that is typical now, then keep the first reset small enough to repeat through the chosen review period.

Choose a Starting pattern only when an editable example is helpful, then correct every habit answer so it reflects ordinary nights rather than the best or worst recent night.
Review caffeine and alcohol timing, screens, schedule consistency, naps, bedroom conditions, clock checking, non-sleep bed use, exercise timing, and morning light.
Open Advanced only when you have a reason to change a domain weight, queue size, queue bias, or retest window. The neutral weights are 1.00×, the default queue holds three factors, and the default window is 10 days.
Read the highest rows in Gap ledger, then use Reset plan to choose the actions you can hold steady. A factor needs a raw score of at least 1.0 to enter the queue.
Retest after 7, 10, 14, or 21 days with the same weights and queue bias. Compare the habit answers and symptoms, not just the total score.

Interpreting Results:

The routine friction score summarizes the selected habit pattern on a 0 to 100 scale. A higher value means more weighted habit friction in this model; it does not measure sleep quality, sleep duration, disease severity, or the chance that a particular change will work.

Use the factor status and selected pattern to check whether the highest-ranked rows match lived experience.
Treat the primary driver as the strongest domain relative to its own possible maximum, not automatically the only cause of poor sleep.
Changing domain weights can change the total and row order without any change in habits, so keep weights fixed when comparing retests.
A low score does not explain persistent symptoms. A high score is a reason to test routine changes, not a diagnosis.

Technical Details:

Each of the ten factors has a raw friction value from 0 to 3. The factor belongs to one of four domains—substance timing, circadian anchors, arousal loop, or bedroom load—and the selected domain weight multiplies its raw value. The score therefore changes with both the reported pattern and any non-neutral weight.

Formula Core

The total is the weighted friction divided by the weighted maximum, expressed as a percentage.

S = 100 \times \frac{\sum_{i = 1}^{10} r_{i} w_{d (i)}}{\sum_{i = 1}^{10} 3 w_{d (i)}}

Here, r_i is a factor's raw value and w_d(i) is its domain weight, chosen from 0.75, 1.00, 1.25, or 1.50. Full precision is retained for calculations; the summary displays one decimal place and ledger values display two.

Sleep habit factor values and queue constants
Factor	Raw values from lowest to highest friction	Leverage	Effort	Impact days
Caffeine timing	8+ hours 0; 4–7 hours 1.1; within 4 hours 2.2; repeated late 3	1.20	1	3
Alcohol timing	rare/none 0; occasional 1.2; frequent 2.2; multiple or very late 3	1.00	2	4
Evening screens	minimal 0; short use 1.1; heavy use 2.2; stimulating use 3	1.10	2	4
Schedule consistency	within 30 min 0; 30–90 min 1.2; over 90 min 2.2; rotating/catch-up 3	1.35	3	10
Nap pattern	none/short early 0; mixed 1.1; long/late 2.2; recovery naps 3	1.05	2	5
Bedroom environment	optimal 0; one issue 1.1; several issues 2.2; disruptive 3	1.15	2	4
Clock checking	rare 0; sometimes 1.1; frequent 2.2; compulsive 3	1.15	1	2
Non-sleep bed use	sleep/intimacy 0; mixed 1.2; often 2.2; regular awake zone 3	1.25	3	9
Exercise timing	daytime 0; late light 0.9; late vigorous 2.1; repeated intense 3	0.90	2	5
Morning light	most days 0; some days 1.1; rarely 2.2; almost never 3	1.30	1	4

Rule Core

Routine-friction boundaries
Result	Exact boundary
Factor status	Protected: raw < 0.6; Watch: 0.6 to < 1.6; Gap: 1.6 to < 2.6; Critical: raw ≥ 2.6
Routine-friction band	Low drag: score < 22; Building drag: 22 to < 42; Moderate drag: 42 to < 62; Heavy drag: score ≥ 62
Queue eligibility	Raw factor score ≥ 1.0, followed by ranking and the selected two-to-six-item cap

The reset label uses a tempo value equal to the total score plus 8 points for each Critical factor and 2 points for each Gap factor. Values below 26 produce Maintain anchors, 26 to below 48 produce Targeted reset, 48 to below 70 produce Focused reset, and 70 or more produce Full reset.

Queue order combines weighted friction, the leverage constant, expected impact time, effort, and the selected bias.

Q_{i} = 18 r_{i} w_{d (i)} l_{i} a + 2.1 (14 - t_{i}) b - 6 e_{i} c + q (r_{i})

l_i, t_i, and e_i are the listed leverage, impact-day, and effort constants. Gentle bias uses a = 0.95, b = 1.10, and c = 0.85; steady uses 1.00, 1.00, and 0.60; focused uses 1.10, 0.90, and 0.35. The severity bonus q is 8 when raw friction is at least 2.5, 3 from 1.5 to below 2.5, and 0 below 1.5.

Timing labels place eligible actions into Tonight, Next 3 nights, This week, or Week 2 according to queue position, effort, raw score, and expected impact time. These are planning rules, not validated treatment-response predictions.

Limitations:

The factor values, weights, score bands, reset labels, and queue ranking form an educational heuristic. They have not been validated as a clinical instrument and cannot identify the cause of poor sleep.

Self-reported patterns may miss night-to-night variation, medication effects, shift schedules, pain, or another important cause.
Changing several habits together prevents a clean comparison at retest.
Symptoms that persist despite apparently protected habits deserve broader review rather than repeated score tuning.

Worked Examples:

Weekend drift with a short reset

A pattern with shifting weekend timing, recovery naps, and inconsistent morning light may place circadian anchors first even when caffeine is only moderate. Keeping neutral weights, choosing a three-item steady queue, and holding the same actions for 10 days creates a fairer retest than changing weights or adding extra fixes halfway through.

References:

Healthy Sleep Habits, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, March 24, 2022.