🗞️ The Wellness Briefing – Edition No. 07: “Tired But Wired” | August 12, 2025

Quick, high-impact wellness insights for ambitious professionals. Delivered Tuesdays.

Welcome Back to The Wellness Briefing

You're finally off the clock, but your brain didn’t get the memo. Instead of winding down, you’re reviewing tomorrow’s to-do list, doomscrolling, and wondering if you’re forgetting something important. Sound familiar?

This is what happens when high cortisol, overstimulation, and cognitive overload collide with poor recovery habits. “Tired but wired” isn’t just insomnia—it’s a stress signature. And you can't out-supplement, out-caffeine, or out-grind your way through it forever.

Let’s begin.

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🧠 1 Insight Worth Reading: "The Role of Trauma in Sleep Problems" – Sleep Foundation explains how chronic stress, trauma, and even perfectionism can keep your nervous system in a hyper-vigilant state, making true rest difficult. A validating read if your brain goes into overdrive right when your head hits the pillow. Read on Sleep Foundation

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📰 1 Study to Know: A 2023 study in Sleep Medicine found that pre-bedtime worry and cognitive hyperarousal are more predictive of poor sleep than screen time or caffeine.

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💡 What That Means for You: If your body is exhausted but your brain feels on edge, the issue isn’t just physical—it’s neurological. You don’t need more tiredness, you need less alertness before bed.

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✅ Try This: The 3-2-1 Sleep Wind-Down Method:

• 3 hours before bed: No heavy meals

• 2 hours before bed: No work

• 1 hour before bed: No screens

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🎯 Pro Tip from the Guide: If you’re too keyed up to sleep, try a somatic release: shake out your limbs, dance, stretch, or hum for 2 minutes. It sends “we’re safe now” signals to the vagus nerve.

Not sold on this? Try It! Right now take a big, deep inhale breath and on your exhale release with deep hum or lion’s growl. Do this for 3 to 5 breaths and then just feel how much relaxed your shoulders feel instantly.

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🎶 This Week’s Recharge Playlist: Spotify Link – “Goodnight Playlist”
Goodnight music picked just for you.

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📈 The Approval Matrix: A judgmental grid for high-functioning exhaustion. What’s nourishing, what’s draining— and what’s quietly sabotaging your week.

You’re exhausted—but you can’t turn your brain off. You crave rest—but can’t sit still. Welcome to the “tired but wired” loop: a nervous system stuck in go-mode, even when your body is begging for a break.

Want more support?

• Book your free 20-min burnout consult here

• Download your full Burnout Recovery Roadmap Guide

• Get future issues delivered to your inbox Sign up here.

See you next Tuesday.
– Michelle

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