2024-01-27 06:11:34
Some say it is the evil of our century: stress can be the cause of many problems in our daily lives. It is in particular what can prevent us from closing our eyes at night, when it absorbs our thoughts without us being able to get rid of them. Nocturnal anxiety is in fact one of the main causes of sleep disorders or insomnia. But how can we silence our brain, which is constantly buzzing at night, when we would just like to sleep peacefully? Certain anti-stress techniques can help calm our thoughts when they are agitated to encourage sleep. This is the case of the method of “cognitive mixing”highlighted by Marie Claire.
The idea is simply to try to distract your mind to prevent it from focusing on the things that stress us out and thus find it easier to sleep.
In any case, this is what the sleep expert explains, Sammy Margo in the columns of Stylist UK : “Cognitive shuffling is designed to distract the mind from thoughts that may prevent someone from falling asleep.” But how to achieve this? According to the specialist, it would be “engage in a mental task that is both absorbing enough to reduce anxiety, but easy enough to signal the brain that it is time to rest”. More concretely, we can for example use “visualizing positive or calming images or micro-dreams, which signal to the brain that you are safe” continues Sammy Margo.
How to practice cognitive mixing?
The aim is above all to stop verbal type thoughts, which are, according to the cognitive psychologist Luc Beaudoin, those which are responsible for anxiety and difficulty falling asleep. We speak of verbal thoughts to refer to those thoughts that occur in the form of words unlike sensory or visual thoughts. The problem with verbal thoughts, especially negative ones, is that they activate the frontal lobe to signal the brain that it is not ready for sleep.
One of the simplest exercises for practicing cognitive shuffling according to Sammy Margo is to start by choosing an object at random, visualizing it, then thinking of another object starting with the letter of the word you chose. Then visualize them and repeat the operation until you end up falling into the arms of Morpheus with beautiful images in your head. The main thing is to ensure that you go to bed in a relaxing, pleasant environment conducive to sleep.
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