Drift: Fall Asleep in Minutes
Cognitive Shuffle Sleep Aid
Free · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.
Mind racing at night?
Drift is a drug-free sleep aid for insomnia and sleep anxiety — built around cognitive shuffling, a science-backed sleep technique developed by cognitive scientist Luc Beaudoin. It helps you fall asleep without medication and stop overthinking sleep when calm apps and stories haven't worked.
The method: a calm voice whispers one neutral word at a time. Mushroom. Lantern. River. Your brain does gentle sleep visualization — a bedtime brain trick that turns each word into a fleeting image. Before long, those images blur into micro-dreams, and you're asleep. Many people experience something close to sleep in seconds once the loop starts.
No meditation experience needed. No content libraries to get lost in. No sleep tracking. Just one sleep hack, done exceptionally well.
Why it works
When you're anxious or overthinking, your brain loops on coherent, stimulating thoughts — plans, worries, replays. Cognitive shuffling interrupts racing thoughts by flooding your mind with random, unrelated, emotionally neutral imagery. This mimics the brain's own natural transition into sleep, signaling that it's safe to let go.
In a published study, participants using cognitive shuffling fell asleep just as quickly as those using evidence-based journaling techniques — while lying in bed, with zero effort.
Sleep for an anxious mind — including ADHD sleep
Drift was designed for people whose minds won't stop: insomnia driven by worry, sleep anxiety, and neurodivergent sleepers who need a different rhythm than slow meditation. If you've tried white noise, sleep stories, and meditation apps and still lie awake staring at the ceiling — this is different. Cognitive shuffling works on Night 1.
How it works
Open Drift at bedtime
A soothing voice whispers one word every 8 seconds
Picture each word as vividly as you can (your own sleep visualization)
Close your eyes and listen — most people fall asleep fast and don't make it through the first letter sequence
Features
Science-backed cognitive shuffle technique
Professional voice audio for every word (no robotic TTS)
Hint screen teaches the technique in 10 seconds
Screen stays on — phone face-down, eyes closed
Mute toggle for silent use
Auto-loops through new word sequences all night
No account required, no tracking
The research
Cognitive shuffling (serial diverse imagining) was developed by Luc P. Beaudoin at Simon Fraser University. A 2016 study of 154 university students showed it reduced presleep arousal and improved sleep quality — and it's been featured in the BBC, Fortune, CNN, and The Guardian.
Ratings & Reviews
- This app hasn’t received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
Translated into spanish
The developer, Nicolas Torres Gussoni, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- Nicolas Torres Gussoni
- Size
- 54.7 MB
- Category
- Health & Fitness
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 15.1 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 15.1 or later. - iPad
Requires iPadOS 15.1 or later. - iPod touch
Requires iOS 15.1 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 12.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
- English
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- Copyright
- © bedtimefable.ai
