Checklist

Sleep environment checklist

This is for anyone who sleeps badly and wants to rule out the simple, fixable things in the bedroom and the hour before bed. Most items cost nothing and take a few minutes. Tick them off as you go; your ticks are kept in this browser, and you can print the page.

1. Light
2. Noise
3. Temperature and air
4. Bed and bedroom
5. Screens and the hour before bed
6. Food, drink and habits
7. Talk to a clinician if

Your ticks are saved only in this browser, on this device. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Why this order

Light, noise and temperature come first because they are the quickest to change and the most commonly named in public guidance. The evening and daytime habits matter just as much, since the body clock responds to light, meals and routine, not just the bedroom. The last group is not a to-do list but a prompt: if these steps do not help, the cause may be something a clinician should look at. Change one or two things at a time so you can tell what helps, and give each change a week or so.

What this checklist does not do

It does not diagnose, rank your sleep or promise results. Sleep needs and sensitivities differ, and some people sleep fine in conditions that bother others. Use it to notice what you can easily change, and use the sleep diary to see whether anything changes.

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Where this comes from

The items follow healthy-sleep-habit guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (a quiet, relaxing, cool bedroom, a consistent schedule, no devices for at least 30 minutes before bed, no large meals, alcohol or late caffeine) and from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (a quiet, cool, dark room, daylight and activity, short early naps, avoiding nicotine and alcohol, and seeing a doctor when habits do not help). Both were read in October 2026. The prompts to see a clinician reflect that guidance and the general principle that persistent sleep trouble deserves medical review.