Dr. Joe Whittington, 47, has been an emergency room doctor for 20 years, but after leaving the hospital, it can be difficult to calm your mind.
As he tried to doze off after a particularly chaotic shift, he continued to think of the victims of a motorcycle crash that had vital signs tanked, a patient who developed sepsis, and another patient whose heart suddenly stopped beating.
His tendency to play back night events and his irregular working hours often made it difficult for him to fall asleep. Over the years, he tried deep breathing, meditation and melatonin and finally stumbled upon a technique called cognitive shuffling.
Sleep strategies help Dr Whittington, who shares it on an Instagram account with over 750,000 followers, “force my mind from that loop into a state where I can finally rest.”
“Cognitive Shuffle” has been promoted on social media for years, but does it really work? We spoke with sleep experts and scientists who created techniques to learn more.
What is cognitive shuffle?
Cognitive shuffling is a psychomotor that involves focusing your mind on words that are not related to each other as a way to signal your brain that it's time to fall asleep. This task is intended to be attractive enough to distract you from thoughts that may be preventing you from falling asleep, but may not be interesting enough to make your brain feel better.
For example, start by shooting the random word “Pluto.” Next, think of as many words as possible starting with the same first letter. When the word “P” disappears, you can move to the next letter of the original word, the letter “L”, and do the same thing as “love, light, lemur, prolonged”. It takes about a second to visualize each word.
Research suggests that when people drift naturally, their minds often show bright images and distant thoughts, says Luc P. Beaudoin, a Canadian cognitive scientist who developed Canadian cognitive shuffling technology. The goal is to help your mind mimic that process, he added.
“These images don't create a clear storyline. They can help your brain solve problems and move away from the worry loop,” says Dr. Beaudoin, who sells apps based on the technique.
How did the idea come about?
Dr. Boydin had suffered from insomnia over 15 years ago and wanted to find a solution, so partly created cognitive shuffles.
In 2016, he and his colleagues decided to study it. They recruited about 150 students and assigned one group to do cognitive shuffle. The second group is how psychologists call constructive worry by writing down worries and potential solutions for 15 minutes in the evening. The third group was told to do both.
About a month later, the researchers found that each method was equally effective. However, participants who tried both were more likely to rated the cognitive shuffling technique as more useful and easy to use.
Dr. Beaudoin's research, featured at the 2016 Related Professional Sleep Association Conference in Denver, caught the eye of Forbes journalists. The concept quickly circulated widely online.
Should I give it a try?
probably.
Dr. Jorge I. Mora, assistant director of clinical practice at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Sleep Medicine, said there is not enough evidence to support the use of cognitive shuffling as a primary treatment for insomnia.
“This should be a consistent tool, like CBT-I, if you say this perfectly,” Dr. Mora said.
However, if it is used as a complement to evidence-based methods, it is not harmful to try cognitive shuffling, experts said.
“When it works, wow, it can really help some people,” said Shelby Harris, a New York City area clinical psychologist who specializes in behavioral sleep medicine.
As techniques become more popular, people have created their own variations. Dr. Harris may suggest that patients come up with random cupcake combinations until they drift away, such as red velvet with vanilla frosting or chocolate with cream cheese frosting.
However, if you try a cognitive shuffle and realize it's not working and you're frustrated, or if you're not sleepy after 20 minutes, Dr. Harris recommended you wake up and find something else to calm your mind.
She suggested doing quiet activities in the dim light, such as stretching, coloring, and working on jigsaw puzzles, and if she felt sleepy, she suggested going back to bed.
“I'm reading old cookbooks – I collect them – and then specify what I want to make in the end,” Dr. Harris said. “It helps you spend time and acts as a place holder for your busy brain.”
