The “sleepy but wired” loop — and how to exit it

You ever feel exhausted but alert at night?

That’s your nervous system stuck in sympathetic override — your body is tired, but your brain still thinks it needs to protect you.

What causes it?

• Evening blue light

• Eating too late

• High cortisol from overworking or overthinking

• A missing shutdown signal

Here’s one method that helped me:

The "reverse alarm clock" rule
→ Set an alarm 90 minutes before sleep
→ That’s the moment you start shutting down
→ No emails, no decisions, no high-input conversations
→ Lights dimmed. No music. No notifications. Just simplicity

You’re not trying to force sleep.
You’re inviting it by removing every signal that says, “Stay alert.”

Sleep isn't just about bedtime.
It’s about signaling safety early enough to matter.

📌 Full nervous-system-first sleep guide:
👉 The Sleep Architecture Protocol

🧱 All 4 guides here:
👉 Ultimate Nomad Gains Toolkit