NEST Insomnia
Frequently asked questions
In order to better understand your sleep problem and monitor your progress while using this program, it is important to collect some information on your sleep pattern.
What is a Sleep Diary?
A sleep diary is designed to gather information about your daily sleep pattern.
How often and when do I fill out the sleep diary?
It is necessary for you to complete your sleep diary every day. If possible, the sleep diary should be completed within one hour of getting out of bed in the morning.
What should I do if I miss a day?
If you forget to fill in the diary or are unable to finish it, leave the diary blank for that day.
What if something unusual affects my sleep or how I feel in the daytime?
You can skip Sleep Diaries in cases like this.
What do the words “bed” and “day” mean on the diary?
This diary can be used for people who are awake or asleep at unusual times. In the sleep diary, the word “day” is the time when you choose or are required to be awake. The term “bed” means the place where you usually sleep.
Will answering these questions about my sleep keep me awake?
This is not usually a problem. You should not worry about giving exact times, and you should not watch the clock. Just give your best estimate.
Sleep diary questions
Use the guide below to clarify what is being asked for each item of the Sleep Diary.
Question 1:
What time did you get into bed?
Write the time that you got into bed. This may not be the time you began “trying” to fall asleep.
Question 2:
What time did you try to go to sleep?
Record the time that you began “trying” to fall asleep. This is the time you go to bed with the intention of falling asleep. It should not include time in bed when you did not intend to fall asleep (that is included in Question 1). If you go to bed at 10:15 PM, but do not turn the lights off with the intention of going to sleep until 11:30 PM, you should enter 10:15 PM in Question 1 and 11:30 PM for this question. If you go to bed at 10:15 PM with the intention of going to sleep right away, but then do not fall asleep until 11:30 PM, you should write down 10:15 PM for both questions. The next question will capture how long it took to fall asleep.
Question 3:
How long did it take you to fall asleep?
Beginning at the time you wrote in Question 2, how long did it take you to fall asleep. Enter your answer in hours and minutes. Provide your best estimate of how long it took you to fall asleep once you got into bed and turned off the lights with the intention of going to sleep. If you go to bed at 10:15 PM with the intention of going to sleep, but then do not fall asleep until 11:30 PM, you should write down 1 hour 15 minutes (75 minutes total) in this space.
Question 4:
How many times did you wake up, not counting your final awakening?
This is the number of times you remember waking up during the night.
In total, how long did these awakenings last?
What was the total time you were awake between the time you first fell asleep and your final awakening? Enter your answer in hours and minutes. For example, if you woke 3 times for 20 minutes, 35 minutes, and 15 minutes, add them all up (20+35+15= 70 min or 1 hr and 10 min). Estimate to the best of your knowledge how many minutes you spent awake for all awakenings combined. This should not include your very last awakening in the morning, as this will be logged in the next question (Question 6).
Question 5:
What time was your final awakening?
Record the last time you woke up in the morning. This is the very last time you woke up in the morning. If you woke up at 4:00 AM and never went back to sleep, this is the time to write. However, if you woke up at 4:00 AM, but went back to sleep for a brief period of time (for example, from 6:00 AM to 6:35 AM; this information would then be included in Questions 4 and 5), then your last awakening would be 6:35 AM.
Question 6:
What time did you get out of bed for the day?
What time did you get out of bed with no further attempt at sleeping? This may be different from your final awakening time (e.g., you may have woken up at 6:35 AM but did not get out of bed to start your day until 8:20 AM).
Question 7:
How would you rate the quality of your sleep?
“Sleep Quality” is your sense of whether your sleep was good or poor. Please choose a rating to indicate how you felt when you got up in the morning: (Very Poor, Poor, Fair, Good, Very Good)
Question 8:
In total, how long did you nap or doze yesterday?
Estimate the total amount of time you spent napping or dozing, in hours and minutes. For instance, if you napped twice, once for 30 minutes and once for 60 minutes, and dozed for 10 minutes, you would answer 1 hour 40 min. This should include all naps even if they were not intentional. For instance, if you dozed off in front of the TV for 30 minutes, this should be included. If you did not nap or doze, select the default is 0 hours and 0 minutes.
Question 9:
How many drinks containing alcohol did you have?
Enter the number of alcoholic drinks you had where 1 drink is defined as one 12 oz beer (can), 5 oz wine, or 1.5 oz liquor (one shot).
What time was your last drink?
If you had an alcoholic drink yesterday, enter the time of day in hours and minutes of your last drink. If you did not have a drink, write “N/A” (not applicable).
Question 10:
Did you take any over-the-counter or prescription medication(s) to help you sleep? Choose Yes or No.
If so, choose medication(s), and time taken.