Does falling asleep feel like a battle to you? Do you find yourself tossing and turning and just giving up trying to sleep? Well, here’s something that might help. Like me, you might have already tried counting sheep or counting “Mississippily “. Well, here’s something new try-cognitive shuffling. It sounds dramatic and sophisticated, right? But on the contrary, it’s quite simple.
Some people might be wondering why write about sleeping? Research shows that around 25% of people in the United States experience insomnia (a condition where it gets difficult to sleep) each year, but approximately 75% do not develop a long-term problem. Short-term insomnia leads to daytime fatigue, focusing issues, and other issues. In the long term, it may increase the risk of various diseases and conditions, like obesity, cardiovascular diseases, depression, diabetes, etc.
What is cognitive Shuffling?
Dr. Luc P. Beaudoin developed the Cognitive Shuffle—Serial Diverse Imagining (SDI) to help patients tackle their insomnia. It jumbles up your thought pattern. The Cognitive Shuffle requires imagining various random objects that are simple to picture, non-threatening, and sleep-inducing. This keeps your attention off the things that keep you awake at night- my overthinking brain can now finally fall asleep. Additionally, because for Cognitive Shuffle to work, you need to visualize random items. This tricks your brain’s sleep regulators into believing it’s time to sleep. It aims to create a “super-somnolent” mentation state.
The Cognitive Shuffle requires imagining various random objects that are simple to picture, non-threatening, and induce sleep. It’s just a technique that bores your brain and tricks it into sleeping. You may either do it on your own or with the help of an app to practice cognitive shuffling.
According to Beaudoin’s website, here are step-by-step instructions to try cognitive shuffling. Here’s how to do it :
- Getting into bed is the first step.
- Secondly, conjure a random, emotionally neutral word made up of at least five letters. As an example, Beaudoin uses the term “bedtime.”
- Once you’ve decided on a term, begin to spell it out mentally.
- Then, for each letter of the word, come up with a word that begins with that letter and visualize the object that the word represents.
- Continue until you’ve run out of words for each letter. The initial letter, for example, is “M.” Mango, man, marinate, mustache, and other words that begin with the letter “M”. Don’t forget to visualize each word; for example, when you’re thinking of a mango, try to picture it.
And, try to imagine words without any link between them, else it breaks the pattern. So the next time you have trouble sleeping, don’t forget to try Cognitive shuffling. Hope this helps you sleep like a baby!
Also Read: What Would Happen To You If You Have Sleep Deprivation.
