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Wind-Down Routine Timer Calculator

Enter your bedtime and routine length to get your wind-down schedule.

How it is calculated

Enter bedtime as a 24-hour time (HH:MM) and routine_minutes as the length of your wind-down routine. The tool counts backwards from bedtime:

start routine = bedtime − routine_minutes
screens off = bedtime − 60 min
last big meal = bedtime − 180 min

The two fixed offsets, 60 minutes for screens and 3 hours for the last meal, are built in and cannot be changed. Only the routine length is yours to set; it must be above 0 and no more than 240 minutes. The clock wraps around midnight, so a bedtime of 00:30 gives a routine start of 23:45. If your routine is longer than 60 minutes, the start time comes before the screens-off time, so screens go away partway through the routine.

Worked example

Your target bedtime is 23:00 and you like a 45-minute routine. Start routine: 23:00 − 45 min = 22:15. Screens off: 23:00 − 60 min = 22:00. Last big meal: 23:00 − 180 min = 20:00. So the evening runs: finish eating at 20:00, put screens away at 22:00, begin the routine at 22:15 and be in bed at 23:00.

Try this example →

Common mistakes

  • Entering the time you want to wake up instead of the time you want to be asleep. The tool counts back from the bedtime you give it.
  • Using 12-hour times with am or pm. The field needs 24-hour HH:MM; 11 pm is 23:00.
  • Putting the routine length in hours (1) instead of minutes (60); a value of 1 starts the routine only one minute before bed.
  • Expecting the screens and meal times to move when you change the routine length. They depend on bedtime alone: 60 and 180 minutes before.
  • Entering the time you start getting ready for bed as the bedtime. If you are in bed at 23:00 but start brushing teeth at 22:30, those 30 minutes belong inside the routine length.

About this calculator

A wind-down routine is the buffer period before bed where the body and mind transition from daytime alertness into a state ready for sleep, and sleep-hygiene guidance generally recommends starting it 30 to 90 minutes before your target bedtime rather than going straight from screens or activity into bed.

Within that window, timing matters for specific habits: screens should typically be put away at least 30 to 60 minutes before sleep because the blue light they emit can suppress melatonin production and delay drowsiness, and a large meal is best finished 2 to 3 hours before bed so digestion doesn't interfere with falling or staying asleep. Working backward from a fixed bedtime through these steps turns vague advice like “wind down before bed” into a concrete schedule.

Enter your target bedtime and how long you want your wind-down routine to be, and this calculator lays out when to start relaxing, when to put screens away (always 60 minutes before bed) and when to finish your last big meal (always 3 hours before bed). Only the routine length is adjustable; if you want a different gap for screens or dinner, simply shift those times yourself.

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