The sleep trick that actually quiets a racing mind

WHEN YOU CAN’T FALL ASLEEP because you’re too stressed, counting sheep might not be enough.

- BY ANGELA HAUPT

Instead, experts suggest a simple mental trick that can quiet even the busiest thoughts.

The technique is called cognitive shuffling, and it’s a mental exercise that gives your brain something neutral and mildly engaging to focus on, so it can drift toward sleep instead of churning. Here’s what to know—and how to tell if it might work for you.

HOW TO DO COGNITIVE SHUFFLING

Once you go to bed, pick a word that doesn’t carry much meaning to you and is five to 12 letters long. “The word should be emotionally neutral, so not something tied to stress or strong feelings,” says Patricia B. Pedreira, a health psychologist and postdoctoral associate at Duke University Medical Center who specializes in behavioral sleep medicine. “We want to avoid words like money or deadline or anything that might trigger worry chains.” Some of her favorites: blanket, garden, bedtime, and kitchen.

With your word in mind, work through it letter by letter, generating as many unrelated words as you can think of for each one. For example, if you chose bedtime, your shuffling might look like this: B: butterfly, basket, bagel.