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Set and track your prescribed sleep window as part of sleep restriction therapy — with weekly adjustments based on sleep efficiency.
Sleep restriction works by matching your time in bed to the amount you actually sleep, then gradually extending it. Your therapist will help you set an initial sleep window (e.g. 11:30pm–6:00am). Stick to it every night, including weekends. Each week, review your sleep efficiency and adjust the window according to the protocol.
Introduce after collecting at least two weeks of baseline sleep diary data. Sleep restriction (or sleep window prescription) is one of the most effective components of CBT-I and should be introduced early in active treatment.
Explain that the current sleep window is likely too large relative to actual sleep time, which fragments sleep and reduces sleep drive. Frame the prescription as temporarily compressing time in bed to consolidate sleep, then gradually expanding it as sleep improves.
For older adults or those with daytime responsibilities requiring alertness, be more conservative with initial restriction. For clients with bipolar disorder, use sleep compression (gradually reducing) rather than abrupt restriction to avoid triggering hypomania. Set a minimum sleep window of 5-5.5 hours.
Contraindicated in untreated bipolar disorder due to risk of triggering mania through sleep deprivation. Use with caution in epilepsy, as sleep restriction may lower seizure threshold. Not appropriate for clients with untreated sleep apnoea or parasomnias.
Calculate the initial sleep window from diary data: average total sleep time plus 30 minutes, with a minimum of 5 hours. Anchor to a fixed wake time chosen by the client. Warn that the first 1-2 weeks will feel harder before it gets better — this is the sleep drive building, which is the therapeutic mechanism.
Suitable for clients working with insomnia, sleep restriction, cbt-i, sleep window, prescription, adherence. This tool can be used as a standalone worksheet or as part of a structured homework plan.
Create a free account to access 10 worksheets per month.
The standard CBT-I sleep diary — record bed times, sleep times, wake times, and daytime functioning to track patterns and calculate sleep efficiency.
Identify and challenge dysfunctional beliefs about sleep that fuel insomnia-related anxiety and arousal.
The core stimulus control rules for CBT-I — rebuilding the association between bed and sleep.
A formulation based on Spielman's 3P model — mapping predisposing, precipitating, and perpetuating factors that maintain insomnia.