Sleep diaries are a helpful way to keep a record of your sleep patterns and habits. By keeping a sleep diary you should be able to identify if any habits or activities during the day are keeping you from getting a good night’s sleep. For example, you might find that on days that you drink coffee in the afternoon, you have difficulty falling asleep or have a very distributed sleep.
Keeping a sleep diary is also a good way to help calculate and keep track of your sleep efficiency, which is the amount of time you spend in bed vs. the amount of time you spend sleeping. If you are practising Sleep Restriction Therapy, then keeping a sleep diary is a must.
Sleep diaries can also be a useful tool to help health professionals diagnose why their patients are having sleep difficulties. So, if you are having sleep problems and need to talk to your usual health professional about your sleep issues, it may be a good idea to bring your sleep diary with you to the appointment.