Sleep Thought Logging

Thought logging gives worries, unfinished tasks or recurring thoughts somewhere to go other than around your head. There is some experimental support for this principle. In a laboratory study, 57 adults spent five minutes before bed either writing a detailed to-do list or recording tasks they had already completed.

Those writing about upcoming tasks fell asleep faster, measured objectively with polysomnography. This does not mean every form of journaling improves sleep, but it suggests that getting unfinished thoughts onto paper may reduce some of the cognitive load associated with trying to remember and mentally rehearse them.