Site Meter Encouraging Health » Blog Archive » Note to Self: Schedule Time to Worry

Note to Self: Schedule Time to Worry

by Brick ONeil

down-pillow.jpgUnpaid bills, overdue projects, groceries to get, and messes to clean . . . Worry pileups like these at the end of the day can make sleep as elusive as Bigfoot.

A better plan: Set aside time to worry about these things before you crawl under the covers. That way, the space between lying down and drifting off won’t be filled with sleepless fretting. Here’s how to make a date with your worries.

Make a Date with Paper
If nagging thoughts won’t let you nod off, give yourself 15 minutes before bedtime to grab some paper and a pen and jot down what’s on your mind, advise Paul Glovinsky, PhD, and Arthur Spielman, PhD, in their book The Insomina Answer.

suggest listing your concerns on the left page of a notebook and then brainstorming some solutions on the right side. And don’t shoot for perfect problem-solvers. Even temporary solutions should help you sleep.

Writing down what you’re thankful for is good for your health, too.
Are you in the habit of counting your blessings? Doing so could have emotional rewards.
In a recent study, people who recorded in a weekly or daily journal the things in their lives for which they were grateful experienced heightened feelings of well-being. The people who recorded hassles or neutral life events in their journals did not.

Keeping a journal also may help your memory. A study revealed that people who jotted down their concerns experienced improvement in their memories. Researchers speculate that jotting down worries may be a cathartic act. It gives people a designated place to deal with their concerns so that they can worry less at other times, thus freeing up cognitive resources for other things, such as remembering lists.

More Sleep-Better Strategies Keep a sleep diary.
Adopt healthy sleep habits.
Warm up your feet.
Start a walking routine.

Now that you have a primer on how to get to sleep, here’s a blog posting on 1o Reasons to Get Out of Bed

worry, stress, sleep, healthy lifestyle

, , ,


3 Responses to “Note to Self: Schedule Time to Worry”

  1. Sarah Says:

    This link made me giggle. We’ll see if anyone else responds to “I have to pee! That made me get out of bed.” :)

  2. Brick ONeil Says:

    Thx for responding, Sarah….loved the list, had to include it in today’s post ;)

  3. Boink Blogs Says:

    [...] to Self: Schedule Time to Worry Brick ONeil added an interesting post today on Note to Self: Schedule Time to WorryHere’s a small [...]

Leave a Reply


About Encouraging Health

EncouragingHealth.com shows a wide variety of issues and concerns about our health we all should be aware. Only when we are aware will we be able to make the necessary changes.

Through EncouragingHealth.com will be the education to invite ourselves to see our Health Care Providers, ask the questions and expect helpful answers.

EncouragingHealth.com will cover a wide variety of issues, concerns and helpful hints to lead healthy lives.

Encouraging Health Author(s)
    » Brick-ONeil

Science & Health Channel Posts

  • Gifts For Migraineurs
    'Tis the season and all that happy crappy. If you have migraines or chronic headaches, chances are most of your family does, too. Or perhaps you have a good friend or lover who happens to be a [...]
  • Russian Roulette
    Everyday we play Russian roulette with our health and well being. We eat things that we know aren’t good for us, in unhealthy portions. We smoke, drink and have unprotected sex. Always taking a [...]
  • Cards For The Depressed
    According to the National Insititute of Menatal Health, one in four adult Americans has a mental illness (including all of the types of depression). This comes to about 57.7 million people. That's [...]
  • Thanksgiving Story
    This was probably the worst Thanksgiving I've had in a while.  I emerged from the bed all week only to go to the doctor on Monday, Urgent Care on Wednesday night and the Emergency Room on [...]
  • Diabetic Women More Likely to Die After Heart Attack
    Women younger than age 65 with diabetes tend to have worse cardiovascular risk profiles than diabetic men of the same age, leading to higher death rates following a heart attack, research [...]
  • How astronauts stay fit, on and off the planet
    A new exercise machine sent to space station functions like a weight machine Astronaut Clay Anderson says space travel is generally physically easy People can be accepted to space program even [...]
  • Bush, first lady mark World AIDS Day
    President says program has treated 2 million in disease-ravaged Africa President Bush says his presidential initiative has already met its goal of treating two million people with the deadly AIDS [...]
  • Nutritional Label Innuendoes
    In a nutritional whirlpool of claims - low fat! high in fiber! helps prevent disease! - it's hard to know what to believe and what to pass by. Some of these packaging remarks are regulated by the [...]
  • Health groups team up for tasty, diabetic-friendly cookbook
    “If you or a loved one has diabetes, you need to eat heart-healthy meals,” says the back cover of a new cookbook for diabetics and those who eat with them. “To stay on track, you need [...]
  • Twix and pizza — are these really diet foods?
    Don't judge a food by its glycemic index. A guide to good and bad carbs Here's a riddle: What do a Twix candy bar, a Pizza Hut supreme pizza, and a Betty Crocker chocolate cake have in [...]

Hot Off The Press

  • Episode 5X09: Me and My Town
    Good morning, everyone. How about that episode last night? Now that is what I’m talking about. In case you missed it, don’t worry! I’m about to give you a run down. Let’s start off with Susan [...]
  • Vanna Bonta Has a Wild Thanksgiving
    Hello guys! Belated Happy Thanksgiving. Now that we’ve mentioned thanksgiving, our feature for today is another guest post about Vanna Bonta; her thanksgiving holiday. So here goes [...]
  • The Week That Was
    This was a rather askew week for fantasy football and the NFL alike, mostly as a result of a fucking monsoon devastating the 4PM and Sunday night games taking place in the eastern time zone, but it [...]
  • Bush, first lady mark World AIDS Day
    President says program has treated 2 million in disease-ravaged Africa President Bush says his presidential initiative has already met its goal of treating two million people with the deadly AIDS [...]
  • Brad On The Cover of Architectural Digest
    I'm loving this photo of Brad on the cover of Architectural Digest, even though it looks highly photoshopped...this is the magazine that will be on stands in January of 2009 (wow does that sound [...]
  • Nutritional Label Innuendoes
    In a nutritional whirlpool of claims - low fat! high in fiber! helps prevent disease! - it's hard to know what to believe and what to pass by. Some of these packaging remarks are regulated by the [...]
  • Photo: Dwight Meets Gareth
    Rainn Wilson and Mackenzie Crook both played the same parts in The Office. Rainn does Dwight in the USA version, while MacKenzie does Gareth in the original BBC version. Last November 18th, [...]
  • UK Singles Chart New Music Videos
    ALESHA DIXON - "THE BOY DOES NOTHING" GEORGE SAMPSON - "HEADZ UP" [...]
  • Russian Roulette
    Everyday we play Russian roulette with our health and well being. We eat things that we know aren’t good for us, in unhealthy portions. We smoke, drink and have unprotected sex. Always taking a [...]
  • Michelle Ray Smith Returning to Guiding Light
    Michelle Ray Smith (Ava) will be returning to Guiding Light for a quick visit doing the Christmas holiday. [...]