A few “hot” topics about sleep have been making their rounds on the web. One that caught my attention, and may have caught yours, is “Cognitive Shuffling.” Cognitive Shuffling is a technique designed to pull your attention away from worries and other uncontrollable thoughts that interfere with falling asleep. The technique is based on the idea that when falling asleep, our mind “shuffles” across random thoughts and images that are fleeting and superficial. The Cognitive Shuffling technique tries to replicate that mental experience.
No Scientific Support
I won’t go into more detail because, quite frankly, there is virtually no valid scientific support for the technique. When first reading about it, I assumed there would be at least one published research article supporting its effectiveness. Unfortunately, I could find only one unpublished study that was presented at a scientific conference in 2016. That study was never published in any scientific journal, most likely because it was methodologically flawed. The primary flaw is the absence of a “no-treatment” control group. Without such a control group, it is impossible to conclude that any improvement in sleep was due to “Cognitive Shuffling.” Even more concerning, I could not find any subsequent published research is support of the technique. If it was effective, one would expect to see additional studies using better scientific methods. That does not appear to be the case.
Better Alternatives
I also question whether a technique like Cognitive Shuffling would be helpful. When our mind is racing and troubled, it is often difficult to distract ourselves. Waiting until bedtime to try to rein in racing thoughts also does not seem like a good idea. The SomniSkills Workbook recommends Cognitive Therapy and Constructive Worry to cope with worrying and uncontrollable thoughts. These techniques should be employed BEFORE trying to fall asleep. Unaddressed stressful thoughts are likely to interfere with falling asleep and staying asleep. It is true that sometimes we are so tired that it is possible to fall asleep with troubling unresolved issues on our mind. But doing so poses a risk of waking up in the middle of the night thinking about those same issues, making it more difficult to fall back to sleep.
Using Cognitive Therapy and Constructive Worry before bedtime may not fully resolve stressful thoughts. But these techniques can bring you closer to a resolution. They should enable you to come up with a plan to for handling the problem, or a way of viewing the issue that is more rational, less emotion provoking. If you are still mentally aroused after using Cognitive Therapy and Constructive Worry, try using a relaxation technique to calm yourself. Research supports the use of relaxation techniques, including meditation, to improve sleep. Bottom line: it makes sense to stick with sleep techniques that have received scientific support. You have a much better probability of success.