If you're like me it seems like I'm always tossing and turning in bed. It's like you're tired throughout the day but the second your head hits that pillow at night you're wide awake. Almost as if your brain suddenly remembers that embarrassing thing you did in the cafeteria in seventh grade and decides to replay it over and over. I've done a lot to help me get to sleep faster at night, I've changed my diet, I've cut out caffeine, I've tried meditating and I've tried reading before bed, but that one backfired on me because the book I was reading got real interesting and the next thing I knew it was 2 A.M.! But here's something I've never tried before; making a "To-Do" list before bed.

Anxiety/worry seems to be one of the factors that contributes to difficulty in falling asleep, at least that's according to Psychologists at Baylor University. To help figure out how to combat that they conducted a sleep study where they monitored 60 young, healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 30. Before sending them to sleep, they had half write down their accomplishments of the day and the other half wrote down things they needed to accomplish within the next few days, a to-do list if you will. They found that the participants in the "To-Do" list group fell asleep nine minutes faster than the ones in the accomplished list category! It doesn't sound like a lot, but nine minutes is nine minutes of extra sleep!

I'm going to have to try the "To-Do" list thing now and see how it works. What methods do you use to help you fall asleep faster? Are you like this guy who counts sheep?

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