
One bedtime habit can help us fall asleep faster
You've had a cup of warm milk, read a book, or even counted sheep, but sleep just won't come. If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. Many people take up to half an hour to fall asleep, even though it should be faster. A simple trick that only takes five minutes could help you, and it involves something you already do every day – making a to-do list for the next day.
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Adam Benjamin, a CNET editor, discovered that creating a to-do list for the night helped him fall asleep faster, even though that wasn't his original intention:
"Every night before bed, I would write down three things I wanted to do and the next day I would also write down one good thing that happened that day, no matter how small."
A 2017 study, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, showed that participants who did to-do list before bed fell asleep significantly faster, exactly nine minutes faster, compared to those who wrote down their daily achievements.
The more detailed the list, the faster they fell asleep. The study authors concluded that writing down tasks helps to “get” them out of your mind, reducing the need to think about them while you’re trying to fall asleep.
This concept is known as cognitive load., a process by which we reduce the mental effort required to perform a task. Examples include writing a shopping list, setting a reminder on your phone, or leaving an item in a specific place so we remember it.
Why does that work?
A 2014 study of German IT workers found that employees who didn't finish their tasks by the end of the week had worse sleep at the weekend because they were thinking too much about the unfinished business. By writing down your tasks, you get them out of your head, reducing the anxiety that can keep you awake.
"Writing a list brings a sense of satisfaction and a reminder that it's night and you can't do anything about those tasks now, but you can solve them tomorrow," concluded Dr. Vsevolod Polotsky, a physician specializing in sleep medicine.