All day you have been running on empty, counting down to the moment you can finally lie down. Then the light goes off and, instead of drifting away, your mind picks that exact moment to switch on and start working through everything. It is a maddening pattern, and a few small changes can help loosen its grip.

The tired but wired loop

When work drains you, your body does not always get the message that the day is over. The stress hormones that help you push through a busy day can stay switched on into the evening, so you end up exhausted and alert at the same time. A poor night then leaves you with less in the tank, which makes the next day feel heavier, which feeds back into the next evening. Research consistently links work stress and disturbed sleep, with each tending to make the other worse. The encouraging part is that you can loosen this loop from either end.

Give the working day a real ending

When work and rest happen in the same space, or the laptop stays open on the sofa, your brain never gets a clear signal that the day is done. A short, deliberate end to the working day helps mark that line, and it does not need to be elaborate. A few minutes to close things down can be enough to tell your body it is allowed to step back.

Options include:

• Writing tomorrow's first task on a note, then shutting the laptop so the thought is parked somewhere.
• Changing your clothes or stepping outside for a few minutes to break the day in two.
• Keeping work out of the bedroom where you can, so the room stays linked with rest.

Help your body wind down

Sleep tends to come more easily when the hour before bed feels calm rather than switched on. Bright screens and busy scrolling keep the brain in daytime mode, so easing off them gives your body a chance to shift gears. Warmth and quiet do a lot of the work here.

You could try:

• Dimming the lights and lowering screens for the last hour or so.
• A warm shower or bath, which helps your body cool afterwards in a way that supports sleep.
• Something slow and undemanding, like reading a few pages or a gentle stretch.

If you would like to try a guided stretch to unwind, VIDA has a short video you can follow at your own pace.

If your mind will not switch off

Lying in bed running through work is one of the most common reasons sleep will not come. The tricky part is that trying hard to fall asleep tends to keep you awake, because effort and worry are quite alerting in themselves. If you have been lying there a while and feel wound up, it often helps to get up rather than fight it.

You could try:

• Getting up and doing something quiet and dull in low light until you feel sleepy again.
• Keeping a notepad by the bed to offload the thoughts that keep circling.
• Reminding yourself that one rough night is not the whole picture, which takes some of the pressure off.

Keep your mornings steady

It is tempting to sleep in after a bad night, but a fairly regular wake-up time is one of the more reliable ways to help your body clock settle. Getting some daylight soon after waking, even for a few minutes, helps signal that the day has started and supports better sleep the following night. It is a slow build rather than an overnight fix, so being patient with it tends to pay off. Your work resilience check is worth coming back to over time, as a way to see whether things are starting to ease.

In short

• Give the working day a clear ending before you try to relax.
• Ease off bright screens for the last hour where you can.
• If sleep will not come, get up and do something quiet rather than lying there.
• Park circling thoughts on a notepad by the bed.
• Keep your wake-up time fairly steady and catch some morning daylight.

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