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You fall asleep without much trouble. Then you're awake at 3am, mind running through tomorrow's meeting, an email you haven't answered or a decision you haven't made.
Sometimes you drop back off. Sometimes you lie there until the alarm.
If that sounds familiar, you're far from alone. It's one of the things leaders mention to us most often.
Many people judge their sleep by how quickly they drop off. But waking in the night and struggling to get back to sleep can leave you just as tired as lying awake at 11pm.
The NHS describes waking several times during the night, or lying awake at night, as common signs of insomnia. Stress and worry are among the common causes it lists.
For senior leaders, that rarely comes as a surprise. The working day doesn't always stay in the working day.
It's worth looking at the hours before bed as much as the night itself.
None of these is a failing. They're what a busy role often looks like. But they add up.
When do you stop working? When do you go to bed? When does the alarm go off? Note the difficult days too, not just the good ones.
Patterns usually become clear quickly. Many leaders find their sleep problems cluster around travel, late meetings or particular days of the week.
Even 30 to 60 minutes away from email and screens can help your mind slow down. If thoughts keep coming, write them down so they're out of your head and on paper for the morning.
You don't need to give either up to make a difference. Moving your last coffee earlier, or having fewer drinks on weeknights, is often enough to notice a change.
A consistent alarm, even after a poor night, helps keep your sleep pattern more stable than trying to catch up with lie-ins.
If poor sleep has been going on for weeks, is affecting your daily life or comes with other symptoms, speak to your GP. Ongoing sleep problems can have medical causes, and it's worth ruling those out rather than putting it down to a busy job.
Sleep is usually where we start, because it affects almost everything else: energy, focus, food choices, training and patience under pressure.
When Haresh came to TRUTH, he was sleeping three to four hours a night alongside high blood pressure and brain fog. Read Haresh's story to see how he approached it.
His experience doesn't explain anyone else's sleep. But it shows why we look at the whole week, not just the night.
It can be. Stress and worry are common causes of waking in the night, but there are others, including some medical conditions. If it's persistent, talk to your GP.
Alcohol can make you feel sleepy at first but can disrupt sleep later in the night. Many people notice better sleep when they drink less on weeknights.
It varies. Some people notice small improvements within a couple of weeks. Building routines that hold up through busy periods usually takes longer.
If tiredness has started to feel normal, you might find our article on being tired despite exercising and eating well useful too.
Or take our free Executive Health Diagnostic. It covers sleep alongside your habits, training and food, and gives you results straight away. You can then talk them through privately with a TRUTH coach if you'd like to.
