Holiday Stress and Insomnia: Try These Surprising Hacks to Catch Some Z's
The holiday season is known for its bright lights, cheerful decorations, and joyful atmosphere – but for many people, it's also a time of stress and anxiety. The shorter days and increasing darkness can leave us feeling sluggish and tired, making it even harder to fall asleep at night.
While it's tempting to reach for quick fixes like sleep aids or melatonin supplements, experts suggest trying some unconventional hacks instead. One such hack is called "cognitive shuffling," a mental game developed by Dr. Luc Beaudoin, a cognitive scientist from Simon Fraser University in Canada.
Cognitive shuffling involves thinking of a word and then coming up with other words that start with each letter of the original word. This technique, also known as "mindless word association," is designed to distract your mind from stressful thoughts and worries, replacing them with more neutral and dreamlike ideas.
For example, if you start with the word "cat," you might think of words like "cap," "cup," or "climb." As you work through each letter of the original word, you can visualize experiences or movements related to those words, which can help your brain disengage from problem-solving and worry loops.
While cognitive shuffling is not a proven treatment for insomnia, it has been shown to be as effective as writing down worries and thoughts before bed in a small study. Dr. Beaudoin also developed an app to help people with cognitive shuffling, making it easier to try this hack.
Another popular hack that's gained traction on social media involves closing your eyes and slowly rolling them side to side, up and down, or round and round. This technique may mimic natural eye movements during REM sleep or distract the mind from worries, but its effectiveness has not been scientifically studied.
Lastly, some people swear by wearing socks at night to improve their sleep. It may sound strange, but wearing clean, breathable socks can actually help lower your body's core temperature, signaling the brain to "get ready for sleep." This is because wearing socks warms your feet and helps dilate blood vessels, which in turn allows warm blood to come to the surface and shed heat.
While these hacks may not be a replacement for medical treatment, they're certainly worth trying if you're struggling with holiday stress-induced insomnia. So why not give cognitive shuffling, eye rolling, or sock-wearing a try? Your brain (and body) might just thank you.
The holiday season is known for its bright lights, cheerful decorations, and joyful atmosphere – but for many people, it's also a time of stress and anxiety. The shorter days and increasing darkness can leave us feeling sluggish and tired, making it even harder to fall asleep at night.
While it's tempting to reach for quick fixes like sleep aids or melatonin supplements, experts suggest trying some unconventional hacks instead. One such hack is called "cognitive shuffling," a mental game developed by Dr. Luc Beaudoin, a cognitive scientist from Simon Fraser University in Canada.
Cognitive shuffling involves thinking of a word and then coming up with other words that start with each letter of the original word. This technique, also known as "mindless word association," is designed to distract your mind from stressful thoughts and worries, replacing them with more neutral and dreamlike ideas.
For example, if you start with the word "cat," you might think of words like "cap," "cup," or "climb." As you work through each letter of the original word, you can visualize experiences or movements related to those words, which can help your brain disengage from problem-solving and worry loops.
While cognitive shuffling is not a proven treatment for insomnia, it has been shown to be as effective as writing down worries and thoughts before bed in a small study. Dr. Beaudoin also developed an app to help people with cognitive shuffling, making it easier to try this hack.
Another popular hack that's gained traction on social media involves closing your eyes and slowly rolling them side to side, up and down, or round and round. This technique may mimic natural eye movements during REM sleep or distract the mind from worries, but its effectiveness has not been scientifically studied.
Lastly, some people swear by wearing socks at night to improve their sleep. It may sound strange, but wearing clean, breathable socks can actually help lower your body's core temperature, signaling the brain to "get ready for sleep." This is because wearing socks warms your feet and helps dilate blood vessels, which in turn allows warm blood to come to the surface and shed heat.
While these hacks may not be a replacement for medical treatment, they're certainly worth trying if you're struggling with holiday stress-induced insomnia. So why not give cognitive shuffling, eye rolling, or sock-wearing a try? Your brain (and body) might just thank you.
the idea of wearing socks at night to improve sleep is actually kinda interesting... like who knew your feet could be so connected to your whole body's sleep vibes 
... sounds weird but maybe it's worth a shot? I mean, who doesn't need a good night's sleep during the holidays, right? But what really caught my attention was that sock-wearing hack 
. Like, who would've thought that wearing socks to bed could actually help you fall asleep faster? Maybe I'll give it a try and see if it works for me... or maybe not, lol.
its like everyone around me is super excited but honestly im just trying to survive till january when things calm down again 
what we really need is some stress relief not more pressure to be merry
And eye rolling? It may not be science, but it's definitely a weirdly soothing technique.
. I mean, I love the presents and all, but the stress and anxiety that comes with them is NO JOKE. And don't even get me started on insomnia - it's like, can't we just sleep through the whole thing?! 
. But let's be real, the sock thing is just plain weird... I mean, do we really need another excuse to wear socks all day?! 
Still, if it works, who am I to judge? 
.
but then some weird hacks come along like cognitive shuffling which is kinda cool i mean thinking of words that start with each letter is a fun game lol who knew it could actually help you sleep?! 
and then there's this thing about closing your eyes and rolling them around which sounds kinda silly but maybe it really works? 
. Like, what's next? Mindless word association for anxiety 
. Wearing socks to bed though? That's a new one 
. Maybe it's worth a shot if you're still up all night worrying about the holidays...
and now the stock market is having a meltdown, major losses everywhere 
. And don't even get me started on the rising cost of goods, inflation's going through the roof 
. And yeah, wearing socks to bed might sound weird, but who knows? Maybe it's just our brains' way of relaxing 
try anything that helps u relax during the holidays 
. Cognitive shuffling sounds like something my aunt would try and it's supposed to be some sort of therapy thingy. I mean, who comes up with this stuff? And what's with the app, just another way to make money off our sleep issues 
. and socks? really? it might sound weird but warming up those toes could be the answer to our sleep prayers