Writing a to-do list before bed can help you fall asleep faster

Researchers at Baylor University brought 57 young adults into a sleep lab and gave them five minutes at bedtime to write. Half wrote a to-do list for the next few days. The other half wrote about what they had already finished. Then the lights went out and their brain waves were recorded.

The people who wrote a to-do list fell asleep about nine minutes faster. And the more detailed and specific their list, the faster they dropped off. Writing about finished tasks didn't help.

The likely reason is that unfinished tasks keep nagging at the mind, which keeps trying to hold on to them so they aren't forgotten. Putting them on paper tells your brain it can let go for the night, because they are safely written down.

Try it tonight - Keep a notebook and pen by the bed, not your phone. Screens wake the brain up. - Spend five minutes writing everything you need to do tomorrow and over the next few days. Be specific. - If something pops up once you are in bed, jot it down in the dark and go back to sleep. - If worry, rather than tasks, keeps you awake night after night, it may be anxiety, and it responds well to treatment.

Where this comes from - Scullin MK et al. The effects of bedtime writing on difficulty falling asleep: A polysomnographic study comparing to-do lists and completed activity lists. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2018.