Use the bed only for sleep. If you can’t sleep, get up and come back when sleepy.
Strong evidenceSource: American College of Physicians guideline on chronic insomnia (Qaseem et al., 2016)
All issues
Self-help planDRAFT
Insomnia and sleep problems
Lying awake at night can make the next day feel impossible. Sleep can be retrained. The steps in this plan come from CBT for insomnia, the approach guidelines recommend first.
This plan is designed for you to follow on your own. If things don’t improve, the app will suggest a different step or a professional.
Draft content. It has not been reviewed by our clinicians yet.
42-day plan5 to 15 minutes a dayWeekly check-in: ISI, a 7-question sleep check
What helps
The steps in this plan come from these methods. Each one shows how strong the research behind it is.
Keep a regular, slightly shorter time in bed for a while, then widen it as sleep improves.
Strong evidenceSource: American College of Physicians guideline on chronic insomnia (Qaseem et al., 2016)
A calm wind-down, the same wake time every day, and less caffeine late in the day.
Moderate evidenceSource: American College of Physicians guideline on chronic insomnia (Qaseem et al., 2016)
What the plan looks like
- Weeks 1 to 2
Learn your sleep
A short sleep diary and a fixed wake time.
- Weeks 3 to 5
Core practice
Stimulus control and a sleep window, adjusted each week.
- Week 6
Keep it going
How to handle a bad night without losing your progress.
Optional faith track
If you choose a faith track, a night-time recitation or prayer can become part of your wind-down.
Questions people ask
Will I sleep less at first?
Sometimes, for a short while. The plan explains each step and you can make it gentler at any time.
Can I use the app at night?
Yes. The app has a warm dark mode with no bright flashes, made for night-time use.