No more counting sheep ... If your mind is racing and keeping you up all night, there's a clever new trick you can try, and it doesn't involve counting sheep. It's called "cognitive shuffling," and it's all about distracting your brain with something neutral and boring enough to let sleep take over. Here’s how it works: Pick a simple, emotionally neutral word -- something like blanket, for instance. Then, in your mind, go letter by letter. For each letter, think of random, unrelated words and briefly picture them. For example, for "B" you might imagine a bike, a banana, or a butterfly. For "L" you might imagine a lime or a lizard. Then, move on to the next letter. The goal isn’t to finish the word -- it’s to give your brain something low‑stress to focus on. Most people drift off before they’re done.