Track your insomnia

Difficulty falling or staying asleep has a massive impact on your cognitive and physical health. Tracking your wake patterns is the first step toward improving your sleep hygiene.

Why track this symptom?

  • Identify if your sleeplessness is early-night or middle-of-the-night.
  • Track the impact of caffeine, evening screens, or stress on sleep onset.
  • Monitor for the success of new sleep routines or medications.

How Trace Health helps

Trace Health's history view helps you see the 'shape' of your sleep week. Instead of just knowing you're tired, you'll see the exact nights your insomnia peaked and find the reasons why.

Common causes

Stress and anxiety are the most frequent causes of acute insomnia, often creating a cycle where worry about sleep further disrupts rest. Chronic insomnia commonly results from poor sleep hygiene, irregular schedules, or underlying mental health conditions like depression or anxiety disorders. Medical causes include chronic pain, acid reflux, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, and hormonal changes during menopause. Medications, caffeine, alcohol, and excessive screen time before bed also significantly impact sleep quality.

When to see a doctor

See a doctor immediately if insomnia is accompanied by chest pain, severe anxiety, or thoughts of self-harm. Seek evaluation if you experience loud snoring with gasping or choking during sleep, which may indicate sleep apnea requiring urgent treatment.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I record in an insomnia log?

Track bedtime, time to fall asleep, number of awakenings, total sleep time, sleep quality rating, caffeine and alcohol intake, screen time before bed, stress levels, and any sleep aids used. Morning energy levels are also valuable data.

How can tracking insomnia improve my sleep?

A sleep log reveals patterns you might not notice otherwise, such as caffeine affecting you more than you thought, or stress correlating with poor nights. Doctors use this data to recommend specific behavioral changes or determine if a sleep study is needed.

When should I consult a doctor about insomnia?

Consult a doctor if insomnia occurs three or more nights per week for over a month, affects your daytime functioning, or if you rely on sleep aids regularly. Bring your sleep log to help distinguish between behavioral insomnia and conditions like sleep apnea.

What's the best way to track sleep when I'm lying awake for hours?

Avoid constantly checking the time, which increases anxiety and makes sleep harder. Instead, estimate times when you log the next morning, focusing on patterns rather than exact minutes. Use simple markers like 'took a long time to fall asleep' or 'woke up 3+ times' rather than precise timing. Consider using a sleep tracking device that monitors automatically without requiring you to interact with screens.

How long should I track my insomnia before seeing patterns?

Track for at least 2 weeks to establish meaningful patterns, including both weekdays and weekends. Most sleep specialists want to see 1-2 months of data to distinguish between temporary stress-related insomnia and chronic sleep disorders. Include weekends and stressful periods in your tracking, as these often reveal important triggers. Consistent tracking over time shows whether interventions are actually improving your sleep quality.

Your health data stays on your iPhone.

No account. Private. No personal information is ever requested. Your health data stays on your iPhone by default. A backup option to your private iCloud is available. Trace Health never collects or sells your health data.

What people say

Rated 4.8 out of 5 from 62+ ratings on the App Store.

  • “Ok so I try so hard to track symptoms but apple health doesn’t have a widget for that and it’s kind of a pain to track down every little thing… Now this app!!!! Everything is right there, there’s widgets, it’s fast and simple and syncs! I freaking love this app! I’m still playing with it so I haven’t seen if it has a “how are you feeling right now” feature but it is everything I have ever wanted the symptoms on health to be!” (grofica82, United States)
  • “This has given me a great tool to discuss my health issues with my doctor” (WVa Smitty, United States)

Read the complete guide: How to Track Insomnia: A Complete Guide →