Let me help you fall asleep

Like most people, I occasionally have trouble falling asleep, and so I was interested in this story at the Washington Post about a technique that seems relatively new:

If you often find yourself lying awake in the middle of the night worrying, sleep experts say that cognitive shuffling might be worth a try.

Start by thinking of a word — something neutral or positive, like the word “house.” Then, think of as many words as you can that start with the first letter: horse, harmonica, honey. Try to picture each object or idea for 5 to 15 seconds, maybe even imagining a scene with yourself in it. (You’re riding a horse. ... You’re playing the harmonica. ... You’re harvesting honey!)

Beaudoin recommends against finding connections between the words. Just let the images wash over you. Whenever you find yourself having a hard time coming up with another word, move on to the next letter — in this case, o — owls, oasis, ocean and so on. Come up with images for each letter in your original word until you fall asleep. If you run out of letters before you fall asleep, pick a new word.

“It’s hard to think of random material, but this little technique helps people,” Beaudoin said. (He also developed an app called MySleepButton for people who want help with the technique.)

In addition to mimicking the kind of thinking that happens right before sleep, the method also requires a certain amount of brain power — enough to interrupt the worrying or problem-solving that often keeps us awake.

The article notes that it mimics the "micro dreams" that people have when falling asleep.  I'm certainly aware of those happening, and I have long wondered about them when the standard story is that true dreams happen under REM sleep.  (I wouldn't mind betting that some people aren't aware of them, just as some adults say they never remember dreams of any kind.)

So, this technique makes some intuitive sense to me.