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NHS GP and ITV's resident doctor, Dr Amir Khan, has shared a medically proven bedtime activity that he promises will help you fall asleep quickly if you're struggling. In the UK, approximately one in three adults experiences sleep difficulties , and surveys indicate that around 30% of adults have poor sleep quality. These figures suggest that a significant proportion of the population is not getting enough sleep . Some statistics even reveal that almost three-quarters of adults fail to achieve the suggested seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Getting to sleep can be hard because of things like stress, anxiety, and bad sleep habits (like not having a regular schedule or doing exciting things right before bed). There are also problems in our surroundings, such as loud noises or an uncomfortable room. Choices we make in our lives, like drinking caffeine or alcohol late in the day, along with health issues like chronic pain or sleep disorders, can make it even harder to get a good night's sleep. However, there are some tips and tricks that can help. There are more obvious and well-known options, such as avoiding caffeine and blue light screens before bed, listening to calming music, sipping a warm cup of chamomile tea, or even 'counting sheep'. But results can vary and heavily depend on the person's needs. Dr Amir Khan, though, has highlighted a hack he says has been medically proven and sends you off to sleep quickly. He also claims that people whom he has recommended the hack to have come back to him to say it has been great for them. Dr Amir Khan is an NHS GP, working full-time and as a partner at a surgery in Bradford. When he isn't appearing on TV shows like This Morning, Lorraine, and Morning Live, he shares educational and medical advice on his social media platforms. Most recently, he has launched a new podcast, No Appointment Necessary, with co-host Cherry Healy. In each episode, the pair discuss various health concerns, life hacks and relationship dilemmas. In a recent episode, they discussed the importance of sleep and what people can do to ensure they are getting the right amount of quality sleep. Telling viewers of the medically proven hack, he said: "If you really want a helpful technique to get off to sleep, there's this thing that we use in medicine. It's called cognitive shuffling." He continued: "Cognitive shuffling just gives your brain random things to think about that aren't stressful and can be quite calming. The best thing to do is to go through the letters of the alphabet. Start with the letter A, think of all the names beginning with A, then move on to B, then move on to C. I promise you." Several people in the comment section thanked the doctor for explaining the hack. One said: "Amir my sleeping pattern is terrible... thought I’d give it a go, wow it worked like magic. I can definitely recommend it. Thank you so much, I use it quite a lot now to get to sleep." A second said: "I have started doing this and it helped me." A third put: "I do this with fruit, veg, boys names, girls names, countries etc, it does work." Cognitive shuffling can help you fall asleep by softly distracting your mind from racing or anxious thoughts. This method engages your brain in a simple , low-stress, random activity, similar to how you naturally drift off to sleep, which helps lessen mental noise. It may not be effective for everyone, but it has shown promise in helping people fall asleep quickly and is considered a straightforward technique to use. Although it isn't the primary method for treating chronic insomnia, early studies suggest that cognitive shuffling may help some people by calming them down before sleep and improving their sleep quality. This method distracts the mind from anxious, fast-moving thoughts by engaging in a simple and enjoyable activity that reduces mental noise, which in turn helps people fall asleep more easily. A 2016 pilot study on cognitive shuffling, a technique developed by cognitive scientist Luc Beaudoin, also showed promising results in helping people with racing thoughts fall asleep faster and with less effort.
