Journaling your way to better sleep
To fall asleep more quickly, or if you have trouble falling back asleep when you wake up during the night, spend some time journaling before bed. Many people find that they ruminate on a worry or things they have to do tomorrow in bed, and journaling before sleep can help clear your head.
Pre-sleep or middle-of-the night rumination around your concerns or anxieties can be a big impediment to quality sleep.
It leads to delayed sleep-onset and can keep you up after you wake up in the middle of the night for any reason - even just going to the bathroom.
Journaling about thoughts and emotions can help offload those from your consciousness, so you are in a more relaxed or less anxious state for sleep.
In today’s ‘24/7’ world, many people also hold extensive to-do lists in their head that can result in excessive rumination, especially at night. Writing down your list before bed can offload these tasks from your mind until the next day.
Different journaling techniques can work better for different people, depending on their evening mindset.
Want to learn more? Check out these studies.