Online sleep monitor: track your sleep in your browser

What an online sleep monitor can do for you

An online sleep monitor is a web page that helps you record, review and plan your sleep without an app or a device. You enter when you went to bed and woke up, and it shows you averages, charts and patterns. Our version stores everything in your browser, so there is no account and nothing is uploaded. It is a practical choice if you want a sleep monitor that is free, private and works on any phone or computer. Product names are trademarks of their owners. We are not affiliated with any brand mentioned, and features, models and prices change, so check the maker's page before you buy.

What you can monitor online

With the sleep diary, you can log bedtime, wake-up time and how rested you feel, then see your last seven nights, your average sleep, average bedtime and wake-up time, and how much your bedtime varies. My sleep pulls these together with your saved settings, so you can see tonight's suggested bedtime next to your recent average. Together they give you the three numbers sleep clinicians care about most: duration, timing and regularity.

What an online monitor cannot do

It does not sense your body. It cannot measure heart rate, breathing, sleep stages or movement, and it relies on you to enter the times. If you want automatic data, you need a wearable, a ring, a sensor or a phone app. If you suspect a sleep disorder, an online monitor cannot diagnose it, and a doctor or sleep clinic is the right route.

Why a manual log is better than you might think

Sleep clinics have used diaries for decades because they capture things that devices cannot: when you got into bed, how long you felt you took to fall asleep, how rested you felt and what influenced the night. A diary is also not distracting. You enter the numbers once, in the morning. For many people with ordinary sleep concerns, such as irregular bedtimes or too little sleep, the diary is enough.

Plan as well as monitor

Monitoring shows you the problem and planning helps fix it. The bedtime calculator and wake-up calculator pick times that suit whole sleep cycles. The sleep debt calculator measures your weekly shortfall, the caffeine cutoff calculator protects your night from late coffee and the sleep quality self-check points to your weakest area. All run in your browser.

Privacy: your data stays with you

Online does not have to mean uploaded. Our tools save entries in your browser's local storage and never send them to a server. You can download a copy or delete everything at any time from the My sleep page. Because nothing is synced, data on your phone will not appear on your laptop. Our privacy page has details.

Use it alongside a device

If you own a watch or ring, you can still use the diary as a cross-check. Note your own bedtime and wake-up time and compare them with the device's report. If they differ by more than half an hour, trust your diary for timing and the device for trends. Our guides to the best sleep tracker, Apple Watch sleep tracker and sleep tracker apps can help you choose one.

A two-week plan

Week one: log every morning without changing anything. Week two: choose one change, such as a fixed wake-up time or a caffeine cutoff, and keep logging. At the end, compare averages and ratings. If your sleep is still short or poor, speak to a doctor, and consider CBT-I, which uses the same diary.

Who benefits most from an online sleep monitor

It suits people who want to understand their routine without buying anything, privacy-conscious users, students and families trying to settle a schedule, and anyone who finds wearables uncomfortable or distracting. It also suits people who want to test whether tracking helps before they spend money on a device.

Adding to your home screen

On most phones, you can add the site to your home screen from the browser menu so that it opens like an app. After your first visit it works offline, which makes it a handy bedside tool. Your data stays on that device.

Signs you need more than a monitor

If your diary shows persistently short or broken sleep, or if you have symptoms such as loud snoring, breathing pauses, leg discomfort or severe daytime sleepiness, a monitor cannot solve the problem. Book an appointment with a doctor and bring your diary. Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia is available through many health services and as digital programmes.

Online sleep monitor versus sleep tracker app: which should you use?

The two ideas overlap, and the difference is where the work happens. A tracker app collects data from sensors and shows it to you. An online monitor, like our diary, collects data from you and shows it back. Sensor-based data is effortless but costs money, battery and privacy. Manual data takes a minute each morning but stays private and costs nothing. Many people begin with the manual route to find out whether they care about the numbers at all, then add a device later if they do.

If you do add a device, keep the diary going for a few weeks alongside it. The comparison teaches you how far to trust the device on your own sleeping pattern, and shows when it is guessing.

What counts as a good result

For most adults, a healthy week looks like average sleep of seven to nine hours, a bedtime that varies by less than an hour, a wake-up time that varies by less than an hour and ratings of rested of three or higher. If your numbers sit outside those ranges, pick one to change. Fix the wake-up time first, because it is the strongest anchor, then adjust the bedtime with the bedtime calculator.

Frequently asked questions