How to sleep: 'I'm a doctor and I use a simple bedtime hack to help me nod off in minutes'

Dr Arthur Joustra, who is training in NHS paediatrics, said he discovered how to nod off in minutes despite being constantly exhausted from his demanding schedule.

Sharing his pearls of wisdom on TikTok, he broke down a method known as "cognitive shuffling".

The method has proven to be a game-changer for people who struggle with racing thoughts at bedtime, by giving the brain something to focus on.

Ultimately, this helps improve sleep quality and makes it easier to fall asleep by engaging with mind in a mundane task.

Research into the method shows it can be easier to maintain than other methods, like structured journaling.

Dr Joustra shared: “This is how I’ve learnt to get to sleep in a matter of minutes as a doctor who does loads of night shifts and that is chronically sleep deprived.

“[Cognitive shuffling] lets your brain know that it is safe to go to sleep; [by] getting away from that anxious state of fight or flight that makes your thoughts race around your head and keeps you up literally all night.

“To do cognitive shuffling, all you have to do is think of a completely random word and then visualise the thing that that word represents.

“From there, think of a second word, then a third, and a fourth that are all completely unrelated.

“The aim is to give random thoughts to your brain to stop it from being anxious and allow you to get off to asleep."

The expert also described an easier variation of the exercise, using the last letter of each word to start the next one.

“So if we start with Elephant, that ends with a T, we go to tree, that ends in an e, we go to engine, and so and and so on," Dr Joustra explained.

“Keep going on until you go to sleep. It will take you a matter of minutes, and I promise it will surprise you just how easy this technique is to do and how well it works.”