Ah, sleep. A long lost friend I'm trying to get catch up with now that there's a little less chaos in our house with a now over 1-year-old son.
To celebrate this rekindling, I'm sharing a free bullet journal sleep tracker printable. Enjoy!
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via @kb.creative_ | @craftenginerd | @amy_kimmel
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Recommended resources in this post:
- Bullet journal highlighters with glitter...like a starry sky
- Most comfortable sleep mask to get the best beauty sleep ever
- Budget-friendly fine point colored pens to mark your energy levels and record sleep patterns
Or check out the top recommended bullet journal buys from your favorite bullet journalists across the web.
Benefits of sleep you might not know about
You know about the usual benefits of sleep that help you recover your energy, repair your body, and keep those totally attractive dark circles and bloodshot eyes at bay. But here are a few more key reasons why you should get more zzz’s:
1. Sleep can lead to better pay.
Sleep helps to ingrain the knowledge you absorb to memory faster. Whether you’re learning a new language or trying to ace that exam, getting sleep helps you retain that information much better. And with those better grades or skills, that can in turn make you a more prospective employee or help you venture out into entrepreneurship.
2. Sleep can make you lean and stronger.
Similar to how sleep aids in retaining mental knowledge, sleep helps you catch on to the new physical skills you are learning too. From learning a new instrument to perfecting that ballet twirl, sleep helps commit the tactile knowledge to muscle memory.
Another perk is that sleep helps your metabolism perform optimally, meaning that you’re more effective at burning the calories of what you eat and therefore maintaining a healthy weight.
3. Sleep can save your life.
When your body is well-rested, you have more energy to take on what life throws at you each day. You want that sharper attention for tasks that require it, such as driving on the road. Let's avoid THAT kind of accident and other dangerous scenarios.
4. Sleep improves your quality of life.
Sleep helps you reach your peak in productivity. On top of that, it helps to lower stress and can even help prevent depression.
Additionally, those who get more sleep live longer, so that in itself is a pretty good reason to get adequate sleep.
5. Sleep can make you a better bullet journalist.
It’s true! In addition to helping your brain function at full capacity for the organized, analytical side of the brain, sleep helps to spur your creativity too. Both of which help make bullet journaling fun and effective at the same time.
How much sleep to get each night?
The amount that each person needs varies, but a general rule of thumb is that adults need at least 7 hours of sleep.
If you're wondering about the rest of your family, here's what the National Sleep Foundation recommends:
- Infants: up to 16 hours
- Toddlers (1-3): up to 12-14 hours
- Preschool (3-5): 11-13 hours
- School age (6-12): 10-11 hours
- Teens: 8.5-9.5 hours
- Adults: 7-9 hours
How to track sleep in a bullet journal + examples
Sleep is one of the many things that bullet journalists like to track in their bujo. Here are some ideas for how others have tracked sleep.
1. Track sleep in bullet journal by hours of the day
This is a great at-a-glance technique that helps you figure out when you’re getting your sleep each day. (via @kb.creative_)
2. Track sleep in bullet journal in line graph form
This gives a better sense of the amount of sleep you get each day. In this bullet journal example, multiple things are being tracked in the same line graph area. This includes a mood tracker and fitness tracker along with the sleep log. (via @amy_kimmel)
3. Use a circle wheel tracker to log sleep
Use color coding to indicate the number of hours of sleep you get each night. (via Pin source)
4. Track multiple factors of sleep in bullet journal
This is a more comprehensive approach that allows you to see the number of hours gotten each night in bar graph form, when the sleep happened, and how it affects mood or energy levels. (via Tiny Ray of Sunshine)
5. Record start and end times of sleep in bullet journal
With this approach, you can still make it visual with a bar graph to indicate the number of hours slept and color coding to mark the quality of sleep you got. (via @craftenginerd)
Tips to fall asleep in 10 seconds: how to fall asleep when not tired
If your mind races at a mile a minute and you have trouble falling asleep, try some of these techniques to help you relax and catch those zzz's:
- Use reverse psychology by trying to force yourself to stay awake if you have trouble sleeping.
- Physically get out of bed to do some activity for 10 minutes.
- Hide your clock.
- Take a warm shower to wind down.
- Wear socks to bed.
- Use lavender to relax your body.
- Blow bubbles.
- Give yourself acupressure -- the space between your eyebrows, the area on the top part of your foot between the first and second toes, or massage both ears.
Read more science-backed tips via Huffington Post that could help you fall asleep faster.
Free bullet journal sleep log template
Now what you’ve been waiting for, the free bullet journal sleep tracker printable template. Just click the sleep tracker image below to get your free printable. All you need to do is add the month at the top and fill in the day of the week next to the running row of days of the month. Then highlight the hours you slept and color in the number of stars that correspond with your energy levels.
Click the image for the free bullet journal sleep tracker log template in pdf. It'll be a blank template without the instructions. Enjoy!
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