A doctor has shared his one simple and easy hack to fall asleep straight away – and called it a ‘game changer’ for those who may struggle to drift off at night
There’s nothing more frustrating than not being able to fall asleep at night – but there may be a simple brain game to play to help drift off.
Insomnia, along with other sleep disorders affect at least one in three people according to the NHS. While we know the classic ways to wind down including reducing screen time, a hot bath and camomile tea, it can become frustrating laying there wide awake.
So if you find yourself tossing and turning, no matter how many sheep you’ve counted, Dr Scott Walter has shared a sleep hack to fall asleep fast when your mind simply won’t get some rest.
He took to TikTok to offer his advice and said: “Say goodbye to the Sunday Scaries and fall asleep quickly with this doctor approved sleep hack,” and called it a “total game changer” adding that he wishes he knew about it in his thirties.
“I’m a doctor and sometimes I have trouble falling asleep, and I’m going to tell you about the method which was like a light switch moment for me, once I’d learned it. It doesn’t involve taking melatonin or other supplements, it doesn’t involve taking a hot shower before bed, or even reading. It’s a simple mental exercise we call cognitive shuffling,” the expert said.
He said it’s a way to “rearrange or reorganise your thoughts” and said it’s “similar to shuffling a deck of cards.” Dr Scott explained that this method is effective as it “distracts our minds from conscious thought patterns” that will keep us awake at night. These can be anything from worries to plans or even arguments.
Dr Scott shared that there are a few different ways you can do the cognitive shuffling and said to think of random words or objects. “For example, cow, leaf, sandwich, butter, liver, things like that. Just random things that make no sense. Then count your heartbeat. On every eight beats, you think of a word that begins with that letter.”
The expret then further explained how it works. He said that by doing this, it “mimics” micro dreams, and said these “occur during the transition of sleep. So it lets your brain know ‘hey, it’s safe to sleep now.'”
People were quick to share their own methods of falling asleep, as one person commented: “I found something easier. You go through the alphabet & for each letter you think of a place, a fruit, & a drink that begins with that letter. I rarely make it past E.”
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