Checking the clock at night? Why it keeps you awake
Do you check the clock when you can’t sleep? Seeing the time often starts the math: “only three hours left.” This Short sums up what a lab study found about clock-watchers, and ends with a small tip: turn the clock to face the wall.
Watch on YouTube · SleepBetter channel · Sleep Tips & Sound Tests
Made with AI. Parts of this video are AI-generated (see “How this was made” below).
What it says
Seeing the time at night can set off worry about how little sleep is left, which makes sleep harder. In a 2007 lab study, people asked to watch a clock while falling asleep reported more worry and took longer to fall asleep than those who did not. Turning a bedside clock to face the wall, or putting the phone face-down out of reach, is a small change that removes that cue.
If you want a darker wind-down
Keep phones out of arm’s reach once you lie down, and use a near-black sleep video such as our 8-hour deep brown noise (the video this Short points to) so the room stays dark. For how darkness helps sleepiness, see why darkness makes you sleepy. Our sleep calculator can help you plan bedtime so you are less tempted to check the hours left.
This is general information, not medical advice.
About these Shorts
Our “Why your body does this” Shorts explain one odd or useful thing that happens around sleep, with the source listed below. There is no voice: the points appear as text over an AI-made night window, with a simple clock graphic.
Not knowing can help
Without the numbers, the night is just rest. You do not need to track every minute for sleep to work; most of the useful planning happens earlier in the evening, when you choose a bedtime.
Transcript
There is no narration. The on-screen text, in order:
Why your body does this
Do you check the clock when you can't sleep?
Seeing the time sets off the math: “only 3 hours left.”
In a lab study, clock-watchers worried more and took longer to fall asleep. (Tang, Schmidt & Harvey, 2007)
Tonight: turn the clock to face the wall.
How this was made
No voice. The night window is an AI-generated still image; the clock graphic, text and soft pad underneath are made by SleepBetter.
Keep watching
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SoundBrown noise for sleep
The deep, low rumble. What it is, why people like it, and how to use it all night.
Free toolSleep calculator
Pick a wake-up time and get bedtimes that line up with roughly 90-minute sleep cycles, or work forward from tonight.
Sleep videos and guided relaxation are for general wellness, not medical advice. If poor sleep is affecting your days, talk to a doctor or a sleep specialist.