I don’t know about you, but there’ve been countless times that I go to bed exhausted only for my brain to suddenly decide it’s the perfect time to replay an awkward conversation from five years ago. If that sounds familiar, then I recommend giving the site Fall Asleep a try. It’s a free website with a small collection of exercises aimed at helping you quiet your thoughts so you can drift off to sleep.
Shutting your brain off at night can be easier said than done, especially when your whole life is full of awkward moments. The most successful method I’ve found is called “cognitive shuffling” and Fall Asleep has a really neat tool for this. Cognitive shuffling serves up random, unrelated words and images that you then visualize and focus on in your mind. The idea is to break up the connected, problem-solving thoughts that tend to keep your brain switched on when you should be sleeping.
Cognitive Shuffling works best for me, but Fall Asleep offers a few other tools like a simple guided breathing exercise and a tool called “Brain Dump” that encourages you to jot down your busy thoughts before bed. According to the site, nothing is shared and all data is stored locally on your web browser.
Unlike sleep tracking smart watches that overload you with anxiety-inducing data metrics, Fall Asleep keeps it low-key and that’s for the best. So the next time you’re lying awake at 1 a.m. staring at the ceiling, go ahead and fire up Fall Asleep and see if it helps.
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