Waking up at 3 a.m. and lying in bed for hours, unable to drift back to sleep, is one of the most frustrating experiences a person can have, especially when an early morning alarm is waiting. The mind races with thoughts about work, money, family, and all the responsibilities that come with everyday life, making it feel nearly impossible to quiet down. Dr. Amir Khan, a physician well known from British television, has shared a surprisingly simple method that could help put an end to those agonizing sleepless hours. His advice has already reached hundreds of thousands of people online, and the response has been overwhelming.
Dr. Khan explained in a video posted to Instagram that many viewers had already seen his earlier content about why people tend to wake up around 3 a.m., and that the follow-up question was almost universal. “Many people asked me after that: ‘Okay, what do we do when we wake up at three? How do we fall back asleep?’” he said. The core of the problem, he explained, is that the brain interprets stress signals as a reason to stay alert and on guard. When your mind is flooded with anxious thoughts, your body essentially decides it is not safe to sleep, and it keeps you awake as a protective response. Counting sheep, the classic go-to remedy most people reach for in these moments, does not address this underlying mechanism at all.
The technique Dr. Khan recommends is called “cognitive shuffling.” The idea is to interrupt the loop of stressful thoughts by redirecting attention toward something light and non-threatening, allowing the brain to recognize that it is safe to relax and let go. “The idea is to break the cycle of thoughts and redirect attention so the brain more easily enters a sleep state and ‘realizes’ it’s safe to sleep,” he explained. The method works by giving the mind just enough of a task to stay occupied without triggering any real cognitive effort or emotional engagement.
To try it, you start by thinking of any neutral word that comes to mind. Then you focus on its first letter and begin mentally listing other words that start with that same letter, taking a moment to visualize each one as you go. Once you run out of ideas for that letter, you move on to the second letter of your original word and repeat the process. You continue working through the letters one by one, and as the mind gently wanders from image to image without any pressure or urgency, it gradually calms down and becomes primed for sleep again.
What makes cognitive shuffling different from other techniques is that it does not require you to suppress your thoughts or force yourself to relax, which often backfires and creates more tension. Instead, it gives your brain something harmless to latch onto, gently steering it away from the emotional loop that keeps you awake. Sleep researchers have long understood that the brain needs to feel safe and unstimulated before it can transition into sleep, and this technique works with that biology rather than against it. It is a low-effort, drug-free approach that anyone can try without any special tools or training.
Sleep is one of the most researched areas of human health, and scientists have identified it as foundational to almost every aspect of physical and mental wellbeing. Adults generally need between seven and nine hours of sleep per night according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, yet a significant portion of the population regularly falls short of that. Nighttime awakenings are extremely common and can be triggered by stress, anxiety, hormonal changes, environmental disturbances, or underlying sleep disorders such as sleep apnea. The phenomenon of waking specifically around 3 a.m. is often linked to the body’s natural circadian rhythm and cortisol patterns, as cortisol levels begin rising in the early morning hours to prepare the body for waking. Chronic sleep deprivation has been associated with a higher risk of conditions including heart disease, obesity, depression, and impaired immune function, which is why finding effective, accessible strategies for falling back asleep matters far more than most people realize.
If you have ever spent hours staring at the ceiling in the middle of the night, share what has worked for you in the comments.
