Counting sheep not working? Write a list
WRITING a to-do list can help you to fall asleep, neuroscientists have found. They say noting down ten tasks you need to achieve over the next few days can help you nod off up to 15 minutes faster.
That is because worrying about unfinished work and looming deadlines causes brain activity, which makes it hard to fall asleep.
Writing a to-do list eases that anxiety, it is believed, by ‘offloading’ nagging thoughts about the next day.
When 57 people were asked to write either a list of activities they had already done or a to-do list before bed, the second group fell asleep significantly quicker.
And people who wrote detailed to-do lists got to sleep 15 minutes quicker than everyone else.
The study’s lead author, Dr Michael Scullin, from Baylor University in Texas, said: ‘We live in a 24/7 culture, in which our to-do lists seem to be constantly growing and causing us to worry about unfinished tasks at bedtime.’
Dr Scullin’s research is published in the Journal Of Experimental Psychology.
He said: ‘Putting down simply that you have things to do is way too broad.
‘But writing that you have to return a call, pick up groceries, get milk or petrol – this specificity helps to offload all those things that are unconsciously ruminating around in your head.’