Writing a To-Do List Before Bed: Can It Help You Fall Asleep?

Writing a to-do list before bed is one of the simplest sleep tips going, and one of the few with a sleep-lab study behind it. If you lie down and your brain immediately starts running through tomorrow's jobs, getting them onto paper can help you let go. This guide covers what the research found, why it may work, how to write a list that actually helps, how it compares with journaling and worry time, and when a list isn't enough.

The short answer: spending five minutes writing a specific to-do list for the next few days, just before bed, may help you fall asleep faster. In a sleep-lab study, people who wrote a to-do list fell asleep about nine minutes sooner than people who wrote about tasks they'd already finished, and the more specific the list, the faster they fell asleep. It seems to work by offloading unfinished tasks so your mind stops rehearsing them. Use paper rather than your phone, keep it short, and if worries rather than tasks keep you up, try "worry time" earlier in the evening.

What the research found

The key study comes from Baylor University in the US and was published in 2018. Fifty-seven healthy adults aged 18 to 30 spent a night in a sleep lab. Before lights out, half spent five minutes writing a to-do list of things they needed to remember to do over the next few days. The other half wrote about tasks they'd completed in the previous few days. Their sleep was measured with polysomnography, the same equipment used in a clinical sleep study (source).

Group	Average time to fall asleep
Wrote a to-do list	About 15.8 minutes
Wrote about completed tasks	About 25.1 minutes

The to-do group fell asleep about nine minutes faster. And within that group, people who wrote more detailed, specific lists fell asleep faster still.

The researchers concluded that bedtime writing can help some people fall asleep. They were also clear about the limits: it was one night in a lab, the participants were young and healthy, and the study didn't include people with diagnosed insomnia. It also didn't directly measure worry, so the reason it works is a well-supported guess rather than proven.

Why it might work

When you have unfinished tasks, your mind tends to keep them active so you don't forget them. That's useful during the day and unhelpful at 11pm. Writing them down seems to tell your brain they're captured and safe to drop for now.

Writing about what you've already done doesn't have the same effect. If anything, the study suggests it may keep you thinking. The difference is offloading versus reviewing.

It also fits with established Australian advice. The Sleep Health Foundation suggests writing out your main worries and some options for dealing with them, then folding the "worry page" over and reminding yourself in bed that you'll revisit them the next day (source).

How to write a to-do list that helps you sleep

1. Use paper. A notebook by the bed avoids picking up your phone and getting drawn into messages or scrolling. See screens before bed.
2. Give it five minutes. That's what the study used. You don't need to plan your whole week.
3. Be specific. "Email Sam the roster by 10am" beats "work stuff". In the study, more specific lists were linked with falling asleep faster.
4. Cover the next few days, not just tomorrow, so the bigger looming jobs are captured too.
5. Don't solve anything. Write the task, not the plan. Problem-solving is for the morning.
6. Close the notebook. Physically putting it away is a small signal that you're done.
7. Keep it by the bed so if something pops into your head at 2am, you can jot it down without turning on a bright light.

To-do list, journaling or worry time?

These are related but not the same. Choosing the right one depends on what keeps you awake.

What's on your mind	Best tool	When
Jobs and reminders for tomorrow	To-do list	Last five minutes before bed
Worries, problems, what-ifs	Worry time	Earlier in the evening, well before bed
Feelings about the day	Journaling	Evening, not right at lights out
Spinning, random thoughts	A mental game such as the cognitive shuffle	In bed

For worries, the Better Health Channel suggests scheduling half an hour of "worry time" well before bed, then reminding yourself once you're in bed that you've already done your worrying for the day (source). The Sleep Health Foundation also recommends setting aside a worry time in the evening to make plans and possible solutions (source). For more, see racing thoughts at night.

Fitting it into your evening

A to-do list works best as the last step of a short wind-down, not on its own:

• Lights down about an hour before bed.
• Get tomorrow ready: clothes out, bag packed, keys by the door.
• Write the list, close the notebook.
• Something calm, like reading or slow breathing. See 4-7-8 breathing for sleep.
• Set your alarm and leave it. Checking it again and again keeps your mind on the morning. See alarm anxiety.

For a fuller routine, see bedtime routine for adults.

When a list isn't enough

If you lie awake for a long time most nights, the Sleep Health Foundation suggests getting out of bed and doing something relaxing in dim light until you feel ready for sleep. See your GP if trouble sleeping lasts for weeks, if worry or low mood is affecting your days, or if you feel anxious most of the time. Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia is an effective option your GP can help you access. For support with anxiety, you can contact Beyond Blue, or Lifeline on 13 11 14. This guide is general information, not medical advice.

Where the Sovune Nudge fits

We make the Sovune Nudge, a silent alarm wristband, so we're not neutral. Writing a list helps you stop thinking about tomorrow. A reliable alarm that isn't on your phone helps too.

• Set on the band itself. No app, no phone, no Bluetooth, so your phone can stay out of the bedroom.
• Three separate alarms, handy if tomorrow's list has an early start and a reminder later on.
• Each alarm lasts a full minute, and you can switch it off sooner.
• Wakes you with vibration on your wrist, starting as a gentle tap and building through three intensity levels.

It comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Quick answers

Does writing a to-do list before bed help you sleep? In one sleep-lab study, people who wrote a to-do list fell asleep about nine minutes faster than those who wrote about completed tasks.

How long should I spend writing it? About five minutes. That's what the study used, and it's enough to capture what's on your mind.

Should I use my phone or paper? Paper. It avoids the light and the pull of notifications.

What if it's worries, not tasks, keeping me up? Try worry time earlier in the evening, and see your GP if anxiety is affecting your sleep most nights.

For every type of silent alarm compared, see our complete guide to vibrating alarms in Australia.

See the Sovune Nudge →