Want to Worry Less? Go to Bed Earlier

Those who feel stressed and anxious all the time might want to try one simple remedy before others: Go to bed earlier. It's not just a matter of getting a good night's sleep, however. Researchers at Binghamton University say that when you go to sleep matters when it comes to fending off "repetitive negative thinking," according to a post at Eureka Alert. While they don't specify bedtimes, the researchers say that people who are night owls and thus wake later in the day tend to obsess about their problems more than people who keep more regular sleeping hours, reports Red Orbit.

"Making sure that sleep is obtained during the right time of day may be an inexpensive and easily disseminable intervention for individuals who are bothered by intrusive thoughts," says one of the researchers for the study published in Cognitive Therapy and Research. The scientists can't say exactly why this is the case, but it might have something to do with the body's natural rhythms, explains a post at Yahoo Health. As the researcher explains, the brain might be better suited to handle "high-level cognitive processes, like the ability to inhibit thoughts and images" in the morning. (Another recent study reaffirms that about eight hours of sleep is optimal.)