A short to-do list before bed may be worth trying if unfinished tasks occupy your attention. One small experiment found faster sleep onset after listing future tasks than after listing completed activities. It did not show that every form of bedtime journaling improves sleep.
In this article
Scullin et al. (2018), Table 1. One laboratory night; averages are not individual predictions. Neither group skipped writing.
Read the chart data
| Writing task | Mean, minutes | Standard deviation |
|---|---|---|
| To-do list | 15.82 | 14.07 |
| Completed activities | 25.09 | 15.94 |
Standard deviation describes variation within each group; it is not a confidence interval.
What the comparison can tell us
The difference between the group averages was about nine minutes. There was no group that did no writing, so the study cannot determine whether a to-do list helped, a completed list delayed sleep, or both. Total sleep time did not differ significantly. This was one laboratory night, not a trial treating chronic insomnia.
Turn an unfinished thought into a practical note
A list can be very ordinary: send the document, put the parcel by the door, ask which time the appointment starts. You do not need to plan your entire life or solve tomorrow before going to sleep.
Compare “sort everything out” with “ask Sam which part of the report is needed first.” The second is a more usable task description. This is an editorial example of clear planning, not a claim that particular words will make you sleep sooner.
A simple routine to experiment with
- Set aside a few minutes to list tasks for tomorrow and the next few days.
- Write down enough detail to understand each item later.
- Leave the list somewhere you can return to it.
Keep the activity brief. If planning turns into an expanding work session, move it earlier in the evening or stop. Paper works too; the experiment does not establish an advantage for a phone app.
The experiment compared two five-minute writing tasks during one laboratory night. This diagram is a practical adaptation.
Do not turn the chart into a promise
Your bedtime may differ from the participants’ setting, age range and health. The chart shows group averages, not a target to beat. A difficult night is not evidence that you wrote incorrectly. If sleep difficulties continue or affect daily life, seek appropriate professional advice rather than relying on a writing routine alone.
What to put on the page
Try three specific unfinished tasks and leave space for the next action: “Appointment: check the confirmation email,” “Parcel: put it beside the door,” “Report: ask which section is needed first.” This is an optional example, not the laboratory instructions. The aim is to leave a usable note for tomorrow, not to finish those tasks tonight or measure how quickly you fall asleep.
Sources and research notes
Research checked October 2, 2026. This is an editorial explanation of selected studies, not a systematic review or a clinical evaluation of memoir. Practical examples are ours unless identified otherwise.