Method note · 11.18 · November 2025

The bedside index

A small protocol for making notes about sleep without asking the notebook to become a diagnostic instrument.

Materials

• One paper notebook and a pen that writes reliably in low light.
• A single page per morning; no retrospective filling-in.
• Three margins labeled time, texture, and residue.

Procedure

Before checking a device, mark the approximate waking time. In the first margin, write one sensory detail. In the second, use one adjective for the overall atmosphere. In the third, record anything that follows you into the morning: a phrase, a task, a bodily feeling.

Stop after five minutes. The limited duration prevents the record from becoming a polished story and makes repetition easier over several weeks.

Reading the index

Review entries weekly rather than daily. Look for recurrence in form rather than subject: repeated rooms, weather, voices, or transitions. The method is descriptive only; it is not a clinical assessment and should not be used to interpret distressing sleep experiences.