Sleep and the Financial Costs If We Don’t Sleep Well
Sending “just one more email” before bed felt so productive.
Then my 5-year-old son told me I looked tired. Kids don’t lie.
That moment hit differently because I help professionals get satisfying sleep. Yet there I was, falling into the same trap as my clients, sacrificing rest in pursuit of productivity.
Earlier this month, I joined Junus Eu on The Building Financial Fitness podcast hosted by Mediacorp to talk about something we rarely discuss: how poor sleep costs us money, career growth and relationships.
The conversation challenged many assumptions I see daily in my work at Somnus Sleep Wellness. People come to us after years of accumulating sleep debt - the deficit between the amount of sleep your body needs and the amount it actually gets. This debt shows up as errors at work, strained relationships from emotional reactivity and eventually, health screenings that may reveal elevated blood pressure. The cost becomes undeniable when we want to sleep but can’t.
When we override our body’s signals of sleepiness by scrolling through stimulating content or pushing through “just one more work task,” we create hyperarousal. Our mind races when we finally lie down, making sleep nearly impossible.
Here’s 3 things that helped me:
⭐️ Seeing that sleep is not a waste of time: it’s a biological necessity that determines how well we show up for the people and work that matter most.
⭐️ Staying curious about the cost of poor sleep and benefits of good sleep. Until you actually see and feel it, behaviour change often takes a backseat.
⭐️ Working backwards from your desired bedtime and setting a hard stop for work tasks, giving your brain time to transition from “productivity mode” to “rest mode”.
This conversation and what my son said reminded me that prioritising sleep isn’t selfish. It’s one of the wisest investments we can make in our productivity, relationships and long-term health.
What’s one small change you could make this week to honor your body’s need for rest? ☺️