When sleeping is the worst…
One of my New Year’s goals is to have better quality and more hours of sleep. This is something that I have struggled with for the longest time, mainly because I work such weird work hours. I’ve never been one to get a full 8 hours of sleep but 100% wish that I could.
If you have any kind of fitness goals, sleep is one of the best ways of achieving those goals.
Lack of sleep can lead to increased hunger and cravings, reduced energy levels, and a slower metabolism.
Sleep deprivation affects the regulation of hunger hormones, increasing ghrelin and decreasing leptin, leading to increased appetite and calorie intake.
I could sit here and tell you just get better quality sleep. But for some of us it just isn’t that easy.
We have thoughts and stress from the day just running through our minds, constantly!
Even if we created the most magical bedtime routine where we actually go to bed that gives us enough time for at least 8 hours. We lay there thinking about the entire day and then some. We find ourselves not just thinking of the day but thinking of the future, the past and everything in between.
How does this happen? Why does this happen? We were supposed to get the best night sleep. I guess not!
You call it a fluke and try again the next day. Then the same thing happens, then you try again the next day. You just can’t catch a break. You have even tried some sleep aids. Those aren’t working either. There has to be another way.
Allow me to introduce you to, “Cognitive Shuffling.” Let me give you a quick synopsis of this idea. Developed by Luc P. Beaudoin, an adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University and cognitive scientist, created a different variation to “counting sheep.”
Here is how it works:
First, get yourself into bed, ready to go to sleep.
Second, think of a random, emotionally neutral word consisting of at least 5 letters. “HORSE” is a good to use.
Third, gradually spell out the seed word (e.g., “HORSE”). For each letter of the word, think of a word that start with that letter. Then imagine the item represented by the word. Repeat this many times for each letter.
Using our example word: “HORSE” starts with H. So, repeatedly think of a word that starts with H and then imagine it. For example,
H…
Hands
Hair
Hill
Hat
Heel
Once you’ve thought of all the words you can with the letter H. Move on to the next letter.
The next letter in HORSE is O. So think of words beginning with O and then imagine them.
O…
Otter
Oval
Opal
Oyster
Continue generating O words until you are done with the letter O or you can’t find words starting with O anymore. Then proceed to the next letter in the seed word (HORSE, in this example).
If you happen to make it to the end of the seed word, HORSE without falling asleep. Just pick a new seed word, such as BEDTIME, and repeat the entire process. I.e., for each of its letters, think of words that start with that letter, and imagine those words.
How does this help you sleep?
This helps you move from a high state of alertness, towards drifting off to sleep. Cognitive shuffling scrambles your thoughts so that your brain can't try to make sense of things. It interrupts the processes of memory, evaluation, planning, scheduling and problem solving.
If your goal, like me, is to get better quality sleep without ruminating on the things of the day. Give this a try.
If it works, let me know. Send me a DM, Tag me on social media, even email me.
I hope it helps! Like always, I appreciate you sunshine!
