This week, we’re chatting with activist, speaker and author Ellie Middleton.

Hi, Ellie! If you could recommend One Good Thing everyone can do to improve their mental health what would it be, and why?

I find a before-bed brain dump super helpful!

As someone with a very busy ADHD brain, there are always tons of thoughts and ideas floating around my head, so having the chance to get them all onto paper before getting into bed helps me wind down and have a better chance at getting to sleep more easily. It also encourages me to reflect on the day, practise gratitude and stay organised.

Sounds good! How do we do it?

Every night, before bed, I write a brain dump in my journal. I start off with three things from the day that have made me smile, and then I write down a to-do list for the following day. After this, I’ll write down anything that I need to keep track of but isn’t specifically on my list for tomorrow, and then I’ll do a general brain dump section of any things I need to remember or ideas that are floating around my head that I could come back to at a later date.

One Good Thing: how doing a ‘brain dump’ before bed could help your mental health