How simple word game gained popularity on social media for helping with insomnia

A sleep technique known as “cognitive shuffling” has gained widespread attention online in recent years, promising to help people quiet their minds and fall asleep more easily.

Originally developed by an academic and later popularised on social media, the method has been widely shared in videos that have attracted hundreds of thousands of views, according to an article by The Washington Post.

The approach is simple. A person begins by thinking of a random, emotionally neutral word — for example, “cake.” They then take the first letter of the word and mentally list objects that start with that letter, such as “car,” “carrot” or “cottage,” while picturing each item in their mind. Once they run out of ideas, they move to the next letter and repeat the process.

While the method does not guarantee instant sleep, experts say it can help shift the brain away from the racing thoughts that often keep people awake at night.

Mental “push and pull” toward sleep

Researchers explain that cognitive shuffling works through a push-and-pull mechanism in the mind. The activity occupies attention just enough to distract from anxious thoughts while gently guiding the brain toward the kind of mental state that naturally occurs before sleep.

The technique — also known as “serial diverse imagining” — was created more than 15 years ago by Luc P. Beaudoin, an adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University in Canada.

Beaudoin based the idea on his theory of “somnolent information-processing.” According to the theory, people with insomnia often become stuck in patterns of worrying, planning or rehearsing thoughts that keep the brain alert rather than allowing it to wind down.

Beaudoin said he developed the concept of serial diverse imagining through “a long process of guessing about the mechanisms underlying sleep onset” as well as “trial and error on myself”.

When reviewing research on insomnia treatments, he became interested in a practice called imagery training, where individuals focus on a single mental image for several minutes before switching to another. However, he believed the process moved too slowly.

"I figured that if people have an insistent worry, they would have difficulty focusing on a single image for a couple of minutes. Better to mix it up more quickly," he says.

Testing the method

In 2016, Beaudoin and colleagues tested the idea in a study involving 154 university students who had difficulty falling asleep. Participants were divided into two groups.

One group used an app created by Beaudoin that spoke random words, prompting users to picture various objects in their minds. The other group practiced a more traditional insomnia strategy — journaling about their worries and possible solutions.

The study found the image-shuffling method was “just as effective as” the journaling approach at improving sleepiness. It also offered the advantage of being something people could do while already lying in bed.

Mimicking the mind’s natural transition to sleep

Sleep researchers say cognitive shuffling works because it redirects attention away from intrusive thoughts that can prevent sleep. At the same time, it attempts to replicate the fragmented, dreamlike thinking that typically occurs as the brain transitions into sleep.

This state is known as hypnagogic mentation, the mental activity that appears in the boundary between wakefulness and sleep. Beaudoin describes the fleeting images that appear during this stage as “micro-dreams”.

"The theory is that during cognitive shuffling the brain is in some relevant respects (not all) like normal sleep onset," he says. In other words, "varied imagery is not just a byproduct of falling asleep, it's a cue".

Several smartphone apps based on the technique have also emerged, including mySleepButton and SleepWords, which have collectively attracted thousands of downloads on Android and iOS devices.

By Nazrin Sadigova