Are You Losing Sleep?

“A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.” — Irish proverb

I woke up this morning at 4:30 am.

Not in a dramatic, heart-racing way—just with that quiet, familiar alertness that tells you sleep is over, even if the night isn’t. I checked the time, wrapped myself in the covers, and tried to coax myself back under. I waited, and waited. After what felt like an eternity, I looked again: 4:37.

My mind was already busy—turning over emails, plans, worries, to-do lists. And so, like many mornings lately, I gave in and got up.

I often think about my dad in moments like this. “I’m lucky,” he says. “I can sleep anywhere. I’ve never had a problem.” And it’s true. The man could nap in an airport, on a train, even in a ditch during his army days. It’s a gift. One I didn’t inherit.

When sleep comes easily, you take it for granted. When it doesn’t, you begin to understand how essential it really is.

Sleep isn’t just rest—it’s repair

We know sleep is important. But we forget how much it does for us. It restores chemical balance, strengthens memory, clears mental clutter, and helps the body heal. When we’re consistently deprived of it, our concentration suffers. We become forgetful, emotional, reactive. We start to get things wrong. We procrastinate more. We lose the ability to cope with the everyday demands of life.

I know this not just from the research, but from experience.

Sleep deprivation crept into my life slowly. At first, it was just a few restless nights here and there. Then it became normal. A permanent undercurrent of tiredness. And eventually, it became one of the warning signs I couldn’t ignore—one of the symptoms that led me, undeniably, into burnout.

When your brain won’t switch off

If you’re someone who struggles with sleep, you’ll know that the worst part isn’t just the exhaustion—it’s the frustration. You feel tired but wired. You finally lie down, and your brain decides it’s time to process everything you didn’t have time to think about during the day. The quiet becomes a spotlight for everything unresolved.

Sometimes, the reasons are obvious—stress, caffeine, scrolling too late into the night. Sometimes, it’s subtler. A mind that hasn’t had space to pause, finally demanding attention.

Over time, poor sleep becomes more than just a bad habit. It becomes a signal. A quiet nudge that something in your rhythm, your routine, your way of living—isn’t working.

Reclaiming rest

The solution isn’t always simple. But there are ways to invite sleep back in.

Sometimes it begins with boundaries—finishing work earlier, saying no more often, giving yourself permission to stop doing, and simply be. For some, it’s the rituals that help: warm baths, books that don’t overstimulate, soft lighting, the gentle act of preparing for rest instead of falling into it out of exhaustion.

For others, it’s less about the night itself and more about the day that precedes it—how we move, eat, work, relate. The truth is, good sleep is less about a perfect pillow and more about how we treat ourselves across all hours.

But most importantly, if sleep has become a struggle, don’t ignore it. Not because there’s a quick fix, but because it matters. More than we often admit.

A closing thought

Sleep may not solve all our problems. But when it returns, even in small amounts, it restores something vital—a sense of steadiness, clarity, and calm.

So if you’re tired—really tired—not just physically, but emotionally and mentally, consider this your permission slip to rest.

Not just when you’ve earned it. But because you need it. Because you’re human. And because, as the old Irish proverb reminds us, “a good laugh and a long sleep” really do work wonders—sometimes more than anything else.