Doing this simple task just before bed will help you fall asleep faster

We all know the feeling - you spend the day debilitated by tiredness, unable to do anything useful at work, passing every waking hour thinking about bed, only for you to finally make it there and boom, you’re wide awake.

Whether its worries about the day to come or just utter nonsense, our brains have a knack for turning on just as we lay our heads down for the night.

But now new research - a study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology - might have found a solution, and it’s one that won’t only help you fall asleep, but make tomorrow easier, too.

It’s simple - the study found that writing a to-do list before bed helps our brains turn off and lets us fall asleep quicker, and the more comprehensive the list, the easier it is to reach the land of nod.

The study took two groups of people. It asked the first group to write down a to-do list for the coming days before going to sleep, and asked the second group to write a list of the things they had achieved that day.

The results found that those who wrote the to-do list fell asleep on average nine minutes faster than those who wrote a list of their achievements.

And what’s more, those who wrote a more detailed list fell asleep 15 minutes faster - that’s three whole snoozes on your alarm clock.

Scientists believe that writing a to-do list helps our brains offload worries about the coming days, allowing them to relax and therefore switch off quicker.

By writing your list down instead of cycling through them in your head, you’re ensuring you won’t forget them, which in turn reduces your stress levels and lets your brain focus on the most important thing on your mind right now - blissful sleep.

(Images: iStock)