How to Unwind In the Evening and Stop Feeling Tired and Wired

Feeling tired in the morning but wired in the evening? You want to recharge but you just can’t drift off to sleep… And even if you get your 7-8h sleep you still wake up feeling like being hit by a car until you get the first coffee… In this post Im going to share with you first what keeps you constantly wired or even anxious. Then, I will share my 3 methods how to unwind in the evening, sleep better and crush your week with better energy and productivity.

Too much screen time and scrolling on the phone in the evening for sure has an impact! But… there is something else that is keeping you awake and drains your energy.

It’s cortisol – our body’s stress hormone. Unfortunately women are more prone to the cortisol knock out effect compared to men…and more likely to develop adrenal fatigue or oestrogen related anxiety.

Something I Will Never Forget

One night, during an intense period in my previous finance role, I woke up in the middle of the night because of a dream I had. I dreamt about…Fixing some accounting system issues. I was so determined to solve this problem that I couldn’t stop thinking about it, even 5 hours after leaving work. And, as you can imagine, the dream wasn’t restful at all. Our thoughts can have serious effect on activating stress response and cortisol release! Cortisol is the hormone that keeps us wired all the time and also affects our sleep quality and our physical and mental wellbeing.

Evolution vs. Modern Work-Life Imbalance: Navigating the ‘New Normal’

Evolution has equipped us to handle short-term stress quite well, but it’s a completely different story when it comes to ongoing chronic stress or living constantly in the activated ‘fligh or fight’ state. Being busy and rushing from one thing to another without taking a little break moves us into that ‘flight or fight’ state.

Then also our thoughts that can switch on our stress response as well and pump cortisol into our system!

The desire to stay at the top of the game while juggling a career, family, and social life occupies our minds 24/7. Unfortunately there is a limit of how much our body can handle without adverse effects on our energy, mental wellbeing and our focus and performance. Knowing how to unwind while we work towards our goals is the key!

Sometimes I wish there was a ‘switch off’ button we could just press to unwind or…a control light that would turn red when we push ourselves too much for too long.

We do not want to rest.

We want to get better.

We want more.

However, when these high-stress days with a million of thoughts spinning in our heads till late night start happening more frequently, turning into an almost everyday experience – that’s when they start to take a toll on our physical and mental health and if not managed well, it can lead to burnout, adrenal fatigue (low energy and feeling constantly tired) and also ruin our career and other life goals in a long term.

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Understanding Cortisol Pattern and When It Starts Causing Sleep Problems & Fatigue

Cortisol is one of those key hormones that we all need but in the adequate amount and at the right time. We should have:

• High cortisol in the morning to wake up refreshed and ready for the day,
• Moderate levels throughout the day to help us focus and do the work and
• Low levels in the evening so our body can produce enough melatonin*, activate GABA (calming neurotransmitter) and help us fall asleep easily and more importantly get a good night restful sleep.

With chronically elevated cortisol, the melatonin-cortisol pattern starts reversing which leads to being more active in the evening and more depleted in the morning. Overtime when our adrenals become too tired to keep up with production of cortisol, we start experiencing more and more fatigue…

Be Ambitious But Also Smart

Life will always keep us challenging.

There will always be more to accomplish and achieve.

If we’re thinking big and long-term about our career and other life goals, it’s crucial to understand the IMPACT of being constantly ‘switched on.’

Knowing WHEN and HOW to switch off is essential so we can recharge, keep going and keep crushing our goals without burnout.

The Vicious Cycle of Being Constantly Wired

Let me explain something important. Our brain doesn’t differentiate between actual danger, like running away from a tiger, and the stress we feel thinking about a presentation at work, approaching a deadline, or worrying about a recent disagreement with the boss.

Physiologically, the response is the same: it triggers the release of cortisol.

Regular lack of restful sleep because of elevated cortisol levels , increases circulating cortisol even more! Our brain thinks we need to be ready and we can’t rest.

When cortisol is chronically elevated, it disrupts our circadian rhythm and contributes to an overactive HPA axis. This leads to even more cortisol being released into our system, even when it’s not necessary. Overtime it contributes to adrenal fatigue and burnout.

So we stress, we can’t unwind in the evening, we don’t sleep well and then… The lack of sleep creates even more stress and more sleep problems. Lack of sleep and too much cortisol overtime develops into more health issues and eventually burnout

Keeping Cortisol in Check and Sleep Quality High Is Your Secret Weapon for Sustainable Energy and Long Term Success

Managing your daily stress and negative thoughts effectively + getting good quality sleep can be like a superpower for our brain and overall health. Good night sleep sharpens our thinking, aids in making decisive choices, and helps us stay at our best.

But here’s an even more intriguing part! When we don’t sleep well, we often crave the wrong foods – think sugar and caffeine – which can also damage our health, focus and energy. Click here to read more about other 10 causes of sugar cravings

Excessive consumption of simple sugars leads to more blood sugar spikes, more energy dips during the day, eventual gut dysbiosis, inflammation, and even brain fog.

You can read more about brain fog and thyroid connection here as well.

So…If there is one skill we should all master is how to effectively switch off!

How to Unwind in the Evening to Balance Cortisol, Improve Sleep & Crush The Week with High Energy?

So, what worked for me? Here are three things that helped me a lot and you can implement them straight away. Consistency is the key! Don’t expect magic results overnight but once you start working on it, you will notice a MASSIVE difference! In terms of how you feel, your energy and productivity.

1. 3-2-1 rule to unplug.
   • Dine Early: Finish your dinner 3 hours before bed. It gives your body time to wind down.
   • Work-Life Boundary: Close your laptop and end work tasks 2 hours before bedtime. Your brain needs this time to switch from work mode to rest mode.–
   • Screen Curfew: Put away those screens an hour before bed. Read a book or journal. Trust me, your sleep will thank you.
2. Schedule daily check-in with yourself. Put 2-3 times reminders in your calendar during the day (before lunch, afternoon and end of the day for example). That way you can take a quick 5 min break and reflect.
   • How is the day going and how am I feeling?
   • Am I getting too stressed, too overwhelmed etc, and what can I do about it.
3. The sleep elixir. If you want to add additional support, passionflower tea is one of my favourite ones!. Drink it before bed as it helps to drift off and improve sleep quality. And…If you want to really maximise you sleep, energy and focus, go to bed no later than 11pm.

Hope that was helpful and if you have your own ways to switch off and improve sleep – comment below! 🙂

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Sandra