Ever gone to bed early, only to lie awake writing your to-do list in your mind for the rest of your life? As the minutes tick by, sleep slips further away—and your mind is wide awake.
One simple technique may help: cognitive shuffling. Developed by cognitive scientist Dr. Luc Beaudoin, it’s a way to gently distract your mind with random, neutral thoughts—mimicking the way our brains naturally drift into sleep.
When we’re about to doze off, our thoughts become scattered and nonsensical. Cognitive shuffling speeds up that process by giving your brain something harmless to focus on, instead of spiraling into worries.
How to Try It
- Get comfortable: Create a calm sleep environment: dim lights, silence notifications, maybe add white noise.
- Pick a simple word: Choose something basic and emotion-free, like “lamp” or “bowl.”
- Break it into letters: For each letter, think of as many words as you can starting with that letter. “Lamp” could be: lemon, ladder, laptop… then apple, ant, arrow… and so on.
- Let your mind drift: If you lose track or forget your word, that’s fine. The goal is to relax, not stay perfectly focused.
- Repeat if needed: If you’re still awake, choose a new word and start again.
Why It Works
- Lightly occupies your mind so it’s too busy to overthink
- Mimics natural sleep onset, when thoughts become random
- Reduces nighttime anxiety by steering away from stressful topics
- Simple and accessible with no special tools required.
Like any habit, cognitive shuffling may take a few tries to click. Don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t work immediately. The key is consistency and a gentle approach with no pressure to “fall asleep fast.”
What We Have Learned
Cognitive shuffling may help you enter that dreamy, disorganized state that leads to restful sleep. Sweet dreams—and happy shuffling.
Dream big, work hard, and sleep ambitiously.
Joe Castignani
