尤物视频

For most of us, drifting off to sleep is anything but strategic. However, for Dr. Luc P. Beaudoin, a cognitive scientist and adjunct professor in the Faculty of Education at 尤物视频, the act of falling asleep is a process that can鈥揳nd should鈥揵e reverse-engineered.

Beaudoin is the mind behind the Cognitive Shuffle, a scientifically informed technique designed to outsmart the part of our brain that keeps us tossing and turning. It is the cornerstone of his widely covered work on sleep onset and the foundation for the app, a tool used by people worldwide to guide the mind toward sleep gently. But this idea did not come overnight. 

A Theory Decades in the Making

"I wondered: can I trick the sleep onset control system into thinking it is time to fall asleep鈥� recalls Beaudoin, who first began exploring the idea as a cognitive psychology student in 1989, when he struggled with what he now calls 鈥渋nsomnolence,鈥� a term he coined to distinguish occasional sleeplessness from clinical insomnia. 

That early curiosity led him to propose something new: the existence of a Sleep Onset Control System, or SOCS, which he described as an information processing system in the brain. From this theory emerged the Cognitive Shuffle, a category of techniques that includes Serial Diverse Imagining (SDI) and Serial Diverse Kinesthetic Imagining (SDKI). "One form of SDKI is a bit like playing Pictionary in your mind," Beaudoin explains.

From Paper to App 

Beaudoin first introduced his Cognitive Shuffle technique in a 2013 academic paper published through . In it, he proposed a new framework for understanding how thought patterns influence the ability to fall asleep. 

From this framework, he developed the Cognitive Shuffle to engage the mind in a way that is both somnolent and counter-insomnolent, gently nudging the brain toward sleep. In 2014, at his company, CogSci Apps Corp., Beaudoin simplified this technique into , an app that guides users through the process using curated, easy-to-imagine prompts. 

"The goal of mySleepButton is to be even simpler than do-it-yourself cognitive shuffling," Beaudoin shares. "All one must do is press the 'Put Me to Sleep' button. The list is curated, concrete, and easy to imagine."

The technique steadily gained traction over the next several years, especially among people looking for non-pharmaceutical sleep solutions. "It's simple, imaginative, and easy to understand. That is why it has resonated," says Beaudoin.

Global Spotlight in 2025

More than a decade after its introduction, interest in Beaudoin's work continues to grow into a widely recognized technique grounded in cognitive science. In March 2025, The New York Times , calling the technique "simple but surprisingly effective" for managing nighttime restlessness. Just weeks later, CNN featured it in a , highlighting its growing popularity among researchers and the public alike. 

"People are realizing that sleep problems often begin in the mind, not the body. That is exactly where the Cognitive Shuffle works," explains Beaudoin. "We're not just distracting the mind. We're giving it something to do that mimics how the brain naturally drifts toward sleep." 

A Vision for B.C. and Beyond

Beaudoin and his colleague Dr. Sheryl Guloy will publish a new chapter in the Cambridge Handbook of Sleep Models and Theories, offering an in-depth look at the SIP theory and its broader scientific implications. 

For Beaudoin, the vision goes far beyond better sleep. 鈥淲e are not just trying to help people fall asleep,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e are creating new ways of understanding how the mind works."

Learn more

• BBC Science Focus (February 10, 2025): 
• Beaudoin, L.P. & Guloy, S. (in press): . In D. Kay (Ed.) The Cambridge Handbook of Sleep Theories and Models. Cambridge University Press.
• CNN Health (April 8, 2025):
• New York Times (March 20, 2025):