When Wordload Wakes Us Up

“Rise and grind.”
“I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
“Sleep is a luxury I can’t afford.”

Fist bumps and grim smiles.  

$40 billion. Annually.
That’s the cost of going to sleep in the US.

And the irony is thick. We also spend $110 billion on coffee per year.
$150 billion for “On” and “Off” switches.
$150 billion to REcover and REanimate.

Insomnia also creates a $411 billion economic impact in lost productivity.
And it’s growing.

But economists can’t help with the other costs of insomnia:

·       Hyperarousal: Logic and impulse control are impaired. Our emotional centers are  also overwhelmed making everything feel like a crisis. ·       Cortisol belly: Hypertension, weakened immune systems, and higher risk of cardiovascular disease.
·       Brain fog:  Microsleeps and slowed reaction times that are as dangerous as legal intoxication.

Oh, then there is the mental and emotional toll.
·       Emotional fragility: The small setbacks that feel catastrophic. Lack of patience or the ability to regulate mood.
·       Cognitive distortion: Insomnia feed the “I’m not good enough” script because the brain doesn’t have external checks and balances of reality. Negative thoughts scale rapidly.
·       The Anxiety Loop: The bedroom becomes a battleground, not a sanctuary for sleep. The anxiety about not sleeping actually prevents sleep.

The unanswerable question?
The toll at home.
·       On our marriages.
·       On our kids.
·       On our relationships
·       On ourselves.

What if the answer isn’t in our workload.

It’s our wordload?

“What if…”
“I can’t…”
Eyes open.

“He / She will…”
“I have to…”
Heart rate up.

“They’ll think…”
“I should’ve…”
Doomscroll.

Thoughtful phrases.
Exhausting phrases.

And nothing changed. It’s 3 AM.
Are the words worth it?