At 2:38 a.m., Dave lies in bed, wide-eyed and wired. His inbox scrolls across his brain like a breaking news ticker: the half-baked budget draft, the client who’s ghosting, the slap-down from his boss in Monday’s staff meeting. He’s tried everything to fix his workday-fueled insomnia—melatonin, chamomile tea, melatonin, sleep podcasts, magnesium, and even a weighted blanket which felt like being slowly crushed by a depressed St. Bernard.

Nothing works. The moment his head hits the pillow, his thoughts light up like a pinball machine—kicking, flashing, ricocheting. Sleep? Shot. Energy the next day? Toast.

Dave’s not alone. For many, the brain stays logged on after the official workday ends. Their minds churn through unclosed tabs: unfinished projects, awkward conversations, strange vibes from leadership. Add in the background hum of AI anxiety, climate chaos, layoffs, inflation, and the occasional democracy-in-peril headline, and they’ve basically inhaled a cognitive cocktail that pairs poorly with REM sleep.

If your second shift kicks off just when you’re desperate for rest, here’s your way out.

Close out your workday like a bartender locking up.

Your brain may continue churning all night because you haven’t told it: We’re done here. It’s okay to power down. Think of your end-of-day routine like a bartender locking up: last call, lights out, chairs on tables.

Three cues help your brain shift from work mode to off duty:

• Jot down your top 2–3 tasks for tomorrow. Now your brain doesn’t have to keep holding them.
• Name one or two wins from the day. This helps signal that you’re allowed to feel done.
• Shut your screens, for real. That includes Slack. No “just one more thing.”

Retrain your brain

You might’ve stepped away from your desk, but your brain never clocked out—especially if you grab your iPad at 2:43 a.m. to “just make a quick note.”

Here’s the reality: Your nightly spiral through work stress siphons your time, energy, and creativity—and you’re not even getting paid for it. That’s exploitation—by your own over-functioning self.

Give your brain something more fun than work.

If your brain spirals into nightly hyperdrive, give it something fun to do. Think: An evening hike. A book with short chapters. Curling up with your honey. A laugh-out-loud podcast where no one gets murdered. And please—for the love of circadian rhythm—ditch your phone. Doomscrolling at 3 a.m. when your brain wakes you throws gasoline on a small electrical fire.

Dig the problem out by its roots

Here’s the real kicker: A lot of work-induced insomnia stems from powerlessness. You’re juggling urgent deadlines, endless Slack pings, shifting expectations—and no one’s handing you the reins. That mismatch between high demand and low control breeds chronic stress, the kind that crawls into your chest and whispers at 2:00 a.m., you forgot something.

If that’s what’s keeping you up, lavender spray isn’t going to cut it. What helps? Boundaries that claw back your agency:

• Decline the meeting that doesn’t need you.
• Push back on scope creep.
• Ask your boss to prioritize the six “highest priorities.”

Even small shifts in boundaries can help your nervous system stop running emergency drills all night.

Don’t normalize nightly unpaid overtime

You’re not more dedicated because you dream in spreadsheets. You’re not more valuable if your brain won’t turn off. Real productivity requires recovery. So, clock out tomorrow night. Your mind deserves a soft place to land.

Lynne Curry, PhD, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, authored “Navigating Conflict” (Business Experts Press, 2022); “Managing for Accountability (BEP, 2021); “Beating the Workplace Bully,” AMACOM 2016, and “Solutions 911/411.” Curry founded www.workplacecoachblog.com, which offers more than 850 articles on topics such as leadership, HR, and professional development and “Real-life Writing,” https://bit.ly/45lNbVo.  Curry has qualified in Court as an expert witness in Management Best Practices, HR, and Workplace issues. You can reach her at https://workplacecoachblog.com/ask-a-coach/ or for a glimpse at her novels and short stories where she fictionalizes workplace incidents, visit, lynnecurryauthor.com. © 2025