02/04/2026
Switching off
There is a pattern that shows up consistently in high-functioning professionals.
They finish work. They close the laptop. They do what they're supposed to do — step away from the desk, eat dinner, attempt to wind down. By 9pm they're physically tired. By 10pm they're in bed.
And then they can't sleep.
Or they sleep, but lightly. Or they wake at 2am with a mind that has apparently been waiting for the opportunity.
The assumption is usually that something is wrong with their sleep. In most cases, something is wrong much earlier in the day.
The system doesn't switch off when the screen does
This is the part most sleep advice misses entirely.
The nervous system does not operate on your schedule. It responds to signals accumulated across the entire day that tell it whether the environment is safe enough to downshift, or whether it needs to stay on.
Device bleed is what happens when those signals are absent.
It is not a screen time problem. It is a containment problem. A failure to create clear energetic and cognitive boundaries around digital input particularly during the hours when the system most needs to begin its descent towards rest.
In practical terms, it looks like this: notifications running throughout the day keeping the nervous system in a state of low-grade alert. Work platforms mentally open well after hours. A quick scroll that turns into twenty minutes of fragmented attention. A late email check that leaves three unresolved threads sitting in the background of the mind.
If switching off and getting a good nights sleep is an issue for you
Call Stuart to discuss how techniques can help allow you to switch off and enjoy restful sleep
Stuart -07825 07825 599340
[email protected]
Stuart Downing is a top life coach, personal coach & executive coach working in London, across the UK, and worldwide via coaching online.
