Sleep Schedule Calculator
To fix your sleep schedule, move your bedtime and wake-up time by 15 to 30 minutes a day rather than all at once, and keep the new wake-up time every day. Enter your current times and where you want to be, and the calculator plans each day for you. It also plans the switch for the next daylight saving time change.
Plan your new sleep schedule
Pick a goal, then enter the times you sleep now.
Move 2 h 30 min earlier over 5 days:
| Day | Bedtime | Wake up |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | 1:00 AM | 9:00 AM |
| Day 2 | 12:30 AM | 8:30 AM |
| Day 3 | 12:00 AM | 8:00 AM |
| Day 4 | 11:30 PM | 7:30 AM |
| Day 5 | 11:00 PM | 7:00 AM |
Keep the wake-up time even after a bad night; a fixed wake-up time anchors your body clock faster than a fixed bedtime does.
Why small daily steps work
Your body clock (circadian rhythm) sets when you feel sleepy and alert, and it adapts slowly, by about an hour a day at most. Moving your schedule by 15 to 30 minutes a day stays within that range, so each night you go to bed at a time your body can actually sleep. Shifting three hours in one night usually leaves you lying awake and then dragging through the next day.
The same principle drives the jet lag calculator, since jet lag is a schedule change forced on you all at once.
How to fix your sleep schedule
- Fix the wake-up time first and keep it every day, including weekends.
- Get bright daylight within an hour of waking up; it is the strongest signal for moving your body clock earlier.
- Dim lights and screens in the last hour before bed.
- Avoid caffeine late in the day; the caffeine calculator shows your cutoff time.
- If you need a nap while adjusting, keep it to about 20 minutes with the nap calculator so it doesn't push your bedtime back.
Daylight saving time and sleep
In the US, clocks go back one hour on the first Sunday of November and forward one hour on the second Sunday of March. The November change gives you an extra hour on the night itself, but your body still wakes on the old time, an hour early, for several days. The March change costs an hour of sleep outright, and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine has linked it to a short-term rise in sleep loss and accidents. Shifting 15 minutes a day over the four days beforehand spreads the change out so neither switch arrives all at once.
More free sleep tools
Sleep Calculator
Best bedtime or wake-up time based on 90-minute sleep cycles.
Nap Calculator
When to set your alarm for a power nap or a full-cycle nap.
Sleep Debt Calculator
How much sleep you owe from the past week, and how to pay it back.
REM Sleep Calculator
When each REM period happens and how much REM sleep you get.
Jet Lag Calculator
How long jet lag lasts and how to shift your sleep before you fly.
Sleep Efficiency Calculator
What share of your time in bed you actually spend asleep.
Caffeine Calculator
How much caffeine is left at bedtime and when to have your last coffee.
Chronotype Quiz
Five questions to find out if you are a morning lark or a night owl.
Frequently asked questions
How do I fix my sleep schedule?
Move your bedtime and wake-up time by 15 to 30 minutes a day until you reach the schedule you want, and keep the new wake-up time every day, weekends included. Bright light soon after waking and dim light in the evening help your body clock follow.
Can I fix my sleep schedule in one day?
You can change the clock times in one day, but your body clock usually moves by only about an hour a day at most. Jumping several hours at once tends to mean a night of poor sleep and a groggy few days, which is why gradual steps are the usual advice.
How do I adjust to the daylight saving time change?
In the four days before the change, shift your bedtime and wake-up time by 15 minutes a day: later before clocks go back in November, earlier before they go forward in March. By the day of the change your body is already on the new time.
Do we gain an hour of sleep when the clocks go back?
On the night itself, yes: 2:00 AM becomes 1:00 AM, so the night is an hour longer. Your body clock is still on the old time, though, so most people wake up an hour early for the next few days unless they shift their schedule beforehand.