Researchers have created a new smartphone app that uses cognitive science to help people sleep.
The app, called mySleepButton, activates a mechanism that can cause someone to fall asleep, while simultaneously preventing thoughts that interfere with slumber, according to IBNLive.
mySleepButton allows users to imagine different objects or scenes in rapid succession. This process is based on the "cognitive shuffle" technique created by Luc Beaudoin, researcher at Simon Fraser University in Canada.
"For example, one moment, users may be directed to think of a baby, then next a football game, then beans, a ball, London and so on," Beaudoin said.
Beaudoin uses the term sleep onset "mentation" to describe all kinds of mental activity. The disconnected nature of this activity is what his technique is based on, The Times of India reported.
"As you fall asleep, you tend to entertain various detached thoughts and images. The app gets users to think in a matter that, like sleep onset, is both visual and random," he said. "In a nutshell, it's a case of fake it until you make it."
Sleep can be delayed by planning, worrying, problem solving and other brain functions that are needed while a person is awake, IBNLive reported. The app can help shut down these brain functions by encouraging users to interpret and visualize words.
"While you're thinking about random objects or scenes, you can't think about your mortgage, an important meeting or an impending divorce," Beaudoin said. "That's because, to a certain extent, we all have one track minds. It's very hard to think about multiple distinct things at the same time."
Beaudoin added that along with helping people get more sleep, mySleepButton can help users increase their cognitive productivity, The Times of India reported.
"Quality of work decreases when people are sleep-deprived," he said, "and getting adequate sleep is very important for cognitive performance."
