How writing your to-do lists can help you sleep

Thinking of the long lists of tasks we have on our plates might leave most of us anxious. But a study suggests writing them down could help us get some sleep.

According to research from Baylor University, people in a research study who wrote down their to-do lists for the next day were able to fall asleep faster.

The study took 57 adults and split them into two groups. One group wrote down a list of things they had to do the next day, while the other group noted tasks they had already completed. Both groups were given five minutes to write, and were instructed to go to sleep at 10:30 p.m.

Results showed members of the to-do list group fell asleep much faster than those who focused on their completed lists.

"Most people just cycle through their to-do lists in their heads, and so we wanted to explore whether the act of writing them down could counteract nighttime difficulties with falling asleep." said Michael K. Scullin, Ph.D., director of Baylor’s Sleep Neuroscience and Cognition Laboratory.

Findings were published in the American Psychological Association’s Journal of Experimental Psychology.

Researchers used overnight polysomnography, a tool used to monitor brain activity during sleep.

Scullin said a larger study into the role of to-do lists with sleep could help people with disorders like insomnia. "Measures of personality, anxiety and depression might moderate the effects of writing on falling asleep, and that could be explored in an investigation with a larger sample."

Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.