THE BALLAST PRINCIPLE

Sleep Cycle Calculator

Moderate evidence

Sleep cycle calculator: enter your wake-up time and get the best bedtimes based on 90-minute sleep cycles plus time to fall asleep. Free and instant.

Best times to fall asleep

9:45 PM

6 cycles · 9 h asleep · recommended

11:15 PM

5 cycles · 7.5 h asleep · recommended

12:45 AM

4 cycles · 6 h asleep

2:15 AM

3 cycles · 4.5 h asleep

Assumes ~90-minute sleep cycles plus 15 minutes to fall asleep. Cycles vary person to person (roughly 80–100 minutes) — treat these as good starting points, then adjust by how you feel on waking.