Why do we sometimes struggle to fall asleep even when exhausted? I recently gave a lecture at the University of Ottawa’s sleep laboratory, led by Dr. Rebecca Robillard, exploring the cognitive and neural processes involved in falling asleep, and how the cognitive shuffle taps into them.
The lecture introduces somnolent information-processing (SIP) theory, which seeks to explain how cognition, motivation, emotion, and neural mechanisms interact during sleep onset. It also examines the scientific reasoning behind the cognitive shuffle, the family of sleep-onset techniques implemented in mySleepButton. Of particular interest is the distinction between mental processes that interfere with sleep (insomnolent) and those hypothesized to facilitate it (pro-somnolent).
Journalists, sleep researchers, psychologists, and cognitive scientists interested in the cognitive shuffle and the science behind it are invited to read my new Substack article, How Does the Mind/Brain Fall Asleep? And Why Does It Sometimes Fail?, and watch an adapted version of the University of Ottawa lecture on YouTube. The presentation also identifies theoretical questions that warrant further scientific investigation.