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Scientists have an idea [what / that] could help us get to sleep faster. All you [need / needed] is a pen and paper. The scientists are from Baylor University in Texas, USA. They did research into how we can [fall / falling] asleep more quickly. They found that [written / writing] a to-do list helps people get to [sleep / slept] faster. Doctor Michael K. Scullin was the lead [research / researcher] of the study. He said to-do lists make [us / them] relax because we don't need to worry [about / of] the things we have to do. He said that if we write down the things we need to do, we can forget about them, so we become calmer. He added: "We live [on / in] a 24/7 culture in which our to-do lists seem to be constantly growing and causing us to [worry / worried] about unfinished tasks at bedtime."

The researchers looked at the sleeping [patterned / patterns] of 57 male and female university students [aged / ages] between 18 and 30. Half of [us / them] had to write down a to-do list five minutes [after / before] they slept. They had to turn the lights out by 10:30pm and could not have [excess / access] to technology. The researchers found that the [participates / participants] who wrote to-do lists fell [asleep / sleep] an average of 9 minutes faster than those who didn't. They also found that the students who wrote [real / really] detailed lists fell asleep faster than students who wrote [simple / simply] , general lists. The USA's National Sleep Foundation said that around 40 per cent of American adults have difficulty falling asleep at [least / last] a few times each month.