How to Track Your Bedtime (Not Just Your Sleep)

Most sleep tracking focuses on what happens after you close your eyes. But by then, the most important decision has already been made: when you got into bed.

That's your sleep opportunity—and it's the most actionable metric in all of sleep tracking. Here's how to track it effectively.

Why Track Bedtime?

Your bedtime is an input. Unlike sleep quality, REM cycles, or deep sleep percentage, it's something you directly control. Every night, you make a choice: go to bed now, or stay up longer.

Tracking inputs rather than outcomes shifts the focus from judgment to action. You can't will yourself into better sleep quality. But you can set a bedtime target and hit it.

Key Insight: Bedtime is the upstream decision that affects everything downstream. Change when you go to bed, and sleep duration, quality, and next-day energy often follow.

What Exactly to Track

"Bedtime" can mean different things. Be specific about what you're measuring:

Option 1: Lights Out Time

When you turn off the lights with intention to sleep. This is the most common definition and works well for most people.

Pros: Clear moment, easy to remember Cons: Doesn't account for time winding down in bed

Option 2: Phone Down Time

When you put away your phone and stop screen use. For many people, this is the actual decision point—once the phone is down, sleep follows.

Pros: Captures the key behavioral decision Cons: If you read physical books in bed, less useful

Option 3: In-Bed Time

When you physically get into bed. Simplest to track but doesn't distinguish between lying in bed scrolling and actually trying to sleep.

Pros: Very easy to track Cons: Less precise if you spend time in bed awake

Our Recommendation

Pick one definition and stick with it. Consistency matters more than which definition you choose. Most people find "lights out" or "phone down" most useful because they mark the moment you're actually trying to sleep.

How to Log Your Bedtime

Method 1: End-of-Day Logging

Before you turn off the lights, note the time. This takes 5 seconds and captures the exact moment.

How to do it:

1. Have Trendwell open on your phone
2. Log your bedtime before putting the phone down
3. Done

Tip: Make it part of your routine. Phone down → log bedtime → lights out.

Method 2: Morning Recall

Log your bedtime the next morning. This works if you don't want to use your phone right before bed.

How to do it:

1. When you wake up, recall what time you went to bed
2. Log it before starting your day

Tip: Recall gets less accurate the longer you wait. Log first thing in the morning.

Method 3: Automated Tracking

Some people track bedtime automatically via phone charging time, smart home triggers, or sleep tracking devices.

How to do it:

1. Set up automation (phone on charger, smart plug, etc.)
2. Let it log automatically
3. Review for accuracy periodically

Tip: Automated tracking is convenient but may be less accurate than manual logging.

Finding Your Optimal Bedtime

Tracking bedtime isn't just about logging—it's about discovering what works for you.

Step 1: Track for Two Weeks Without Changing Anything

First, gather baseline data. Log your bedtime every night without trying to go to bed earlier or later. You want to know your current pattern.

What to capture:

• Bedtime (whatever definition you chose)
• A simple energy rating the next morning (1-10)

Step 2: Look for Patterns

After two weeks, analyze:

• What was your average bedtime?
• What was the range (earliest to latest)?
• Do earlier bedtimes correlate with higher next-day energy?

You're looking for your personal correlation, not a universal rule.

Step 3: Identify Your Sweet Spot

Many people discover something like:

• "When I'm in bed before 10:30pm, my energy is consistently better"
• "When I'm in bed after 11:30pm, I feel noticeably worse"

Your sweet spot is where good enough becomes good. Find that threshold.

Step 4: Experiment

Once you have a hypothesis, test it. Commit to a bedtime target for a week and see if the pattern holds.

Example experiment:

• Hypothesis: "My optimal bedtime is before 10:30pm"
• Test: Aim for 10:15pm bedtime every night for 7 days
• Measure: Track next-day energy
• Result: Did the pattern hold? Was it sustainable?

Tracking Bedtime Consistency

Bedtime timing matters, but bedtime consistency might matter even more.

Social jet lag—the difference between weekday and weekend sleep schedules—can disrupt circadian rhythm. Even if you sleep "enough" on weekends, a 2-hour shift in bedtime can leave you groggy.

What to Track

In addition to bedtime itself, track:

• Bedtime variability: How much does your bedtime shift day to day?
• Weekday vs. weekend difference: Is your weekend bedtime much later?

What to Look For

• Consistent bedtimes (within 30 minutes) often correlate with better energy
• Large weekend shifts (2+ hours) may affect Monday energy
• Gradual shifts are easier to tolerate than sudden ones

Combining Bedtime with Other Inputs

Bedtime is most powerful when tracked alongside related inputs:

Caffeine Cutoff

When did you last have caffeine? Does late caffeine make it harder to hit your bedtime target?

What you might find: "When I have caffeine after 2pm, I tend to go to bed 30+ minutes later."

Last Meal Time

When did you finish eating? Some people find late meals delay bedtime naturally.

What you might find: "When I eat after 8pm, my bedtime pushes past 11pm."

Screen Time

Did you use screens in the hour before bed? Some people find screens delay their bedtime by keeping them up "just a few more minutes."

What you might find: "When I start watching something after 9pm, my bedtime is almost always later than planned."

Exercise Timing

When did you exercise? For some people, late exercise is stimulating and delays bedtime.

What you might find: "When I exercise after 7pm, I don't feel tired until midnight."

Common Challenges

"I don't have a consistent bedtime"

That's exactly why tracking helps. You can't improve what you don't measure. Start logging, and patterns will emerge. Even inconsistent data tells you something.

"My bedtime varies because of work/kids/life"

Track it anyway. You may have less control than you'd like, but you probably have more control than you think. Knowing your patterns helps you make better decisions when you do have choices.

"I'm a night owl—late bedtimes are normal for me"

Night owls are real, and forcing an artificial bedtime can backfire. But "night owl" exists on a spectrum. Track your current pattern, then look for correlations. You might find your optimal bedtime is later than average but earlier than your current habit.

"I forget to log"

Solutions:

• Set a daily reminder at your target bedtime
• Keep the app on your bedside table
• Log in the morning instead (less ideal but better than nothing)
• Make it part of an existing routine

What to Track in Trendwell

Input	Why It Matters	How to Track
Bedtime	Your most controllable sleep input	Log when you intend to sleep
Caffeine cutoff	May affect your ability to hit bedtime	Log last caffeine time
Last meal	Late meals can delay bedtime	Log when you stopped eating
Energy (next morning)	Validates if bedtime matters	Simple 1-10 rating

The Minimal Approach

Not ready for comprehensive tracking? Here's the simplest version:

1. Track one thing: Bedtime
2. For two weeks: Every night
3. Note one outcome: Morning energy (1-10)
4. Look for patterns: Do earlier nights = better mornings?

That's it. One input, one outcome, two weeks of data. You'll learn something useful.

Next Steps

• Read: Sleep Opportunity: The Metric You Can Actually Control
• Read: Why Your Sleep Score Makes You Feel Bad
• Read: Sleep Tracking Without the Anxiety
• Start tracking: Get started with Trendwell

Your sleep isn't random. It starts with a decision you make every night. Track that decision, and the rest becomes clearer.

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Last updated: January 2026