Sometimes it seems impossible to fall asleep.

Even if you are exhausted, you may find yourself tossing and turning in bed. Stress, alcohol consumption or uncomfortable temperatures are all factors that can prevent you from visiting dreamland.

But luckily, there are techniques you can use to make the job easier. One of them is the doctor-approved shuffling method.

On TikTok, dermatologist Dr. Scott Walter shared a trick he wished he had known before his 30th birthday. And he calls it a real “game-changer.”

Dr. Walter explained: “I am a doctor and sometimes have trouble falling asleep. I will tell you about the method, which was like an aha moment for me when I learned about it.”

All you have to do is try a “simple mental exercise” called “cognitive shuffling,” which basically means “rearranging or reorganizing” your thoughts like you would when shuffling cars. The idea behind it is to “distract your mind from conscious thought patterns” that may be keeping you awake.

So how does it work? First, Dr. Walter recommends: “Just think of random words and objects that have nothing to do with each other, for example, cow, leaf, sandwich.” Repeat these words in your mind until you fall asleep.

If thinking up random words requires too much brain power for you, there is another method. “First, choose one letter of the alphabet, then two, start counting your heartbeat, and then every eight beats, think of a word that begins with that letter,” explained Dr. Walter.

The doctor says this works because it mimics “microdreams” that we experience when we start to fall asleep, so when you initiate this, you’re telling your brain that it’s “safe” to go to sleep – very clever!