Cognitive Shuffling Might Be the Weird Sleep Hack That Actually Works

Nothing is worse than lying in bed, feeling tired, knowing you need to wake up in seven hours—but you just can’t fall asleep. It’s awful. The more you think about it, the worse it gets.

That’s exactly the kind of spiral a technique called cognitive shuffling is designed to break. It’s been floating around TikTok and Instagram lately, but it’s not just another trend. There’s actual science behind it—and it’s surprisingly simple.

You pick a random word, like cake. Then you picture other words that start with each letter: C becomes cat, carrot, calendar. You pause on each one just long enough to visualize it. Then you move to A, then K, then E. That’s it. You’re not trying to make sense of anything. Just cycling through simple, unrelated images to keep your brain from going off on tangents.

Cognitive scientist Luc P. Beaudoin came up with the method—what he calls “serial diverse imagining”—more than a decade ago. “The goal is to think briefly about a neutral or pleasant target and frequently switch to unrelated targets,” he writes. In other words, it mimics the hazy, random thoughts that naturally show up in people who fall asleep easily.

What is Cognitive Shuffling and Does it Work?

That randomness matters. Research shows that good sleepers tend to drift off while imagining disconnected, dreamlike scenes. Insomniacs, by contrast, are often stuck planning, worrying, or replaying conversations. Beaudoin calls these “insomnolent” thoughts—exactly the kind of mental activity that keeps you awake.

His studies suggest that cognitive shuffling can help. Participants reported falling asleep faster, with less effort, and better overall sleep. It also lines up with what happens during hypnagogia—that weird in-between state when the brain starts generating surreal, fleeting images just before sleep.

It’s not magic, and it might not work on night one. Like anything, it takes repetition. And if it doesn’t work for you, that doesn’t mean you’re broken. Other strategies—like writing down your worries earlier in the day, sticking to a consistent wind-down routine, or learning how to observe your thoughts without getting pulled into them—can help, too.

When your thoughts won’t slow down, a little randomness might be exactly what they need.