Tired but wired, and why you can't switch off at night

Feeling tired but wired usually means your body is still in alert mode when you want it to rest. Ongoing stress, a body clock that has drifted later and evening habits can all keep your nervous system switched on, so you feel drained but can't actually fall asleep. The good news is that it's a pattern, and patterns can be understood and worked on.

What "tired but wired" actually means

There are two separate things going on. One is sleep pressure, the drive to sleep that builds the longer you've been awake. The other is arousal, how alert and switched on your brain and body are. To fall asleep easily, you need high sleep pressure and low arousal.

Tired but wired is what happens when both are high at once. You've been awake long enough to be exhausted, but your system is still running as if there's something to deal with. You feel heavy and foggy, yet your mind won't stop and your body won't settle.

Your stress response doesn't clock off on time

Your body's stress response is designed for short bursts. It sharpens your focus, raises your heart rate and keeps you alert so you can deal with a problem. Ideally it settles once the problem is over.

When stress is constant, from work, money, family or just a relentless schedule, the system doesn't get a chance to fully settle. Your stress hormones normally follow a daily rhythm, lower in the evening and rising towards morning, and long-term stress can flatten or shift that pattern. The result can be feeling flat in the morning and more alert at night, which is exactly backwards.

Your body clock may have drifted

Your internal clock is set mostly by light. Bright light in the evening, especially from screens and overhead lighting, tells your brain it's still daytime and delays the signals that make you sleepy. Not getting much daylight in the morning weakens the signal that anchors your clock.

Over time this can push your natural sleep time later. If you then have to get up early for work, you're trying to sleep before your body is ready and waking before it's finished. That gap between your body clock and your schedule can leave you tired all day and alert at night.

Evening habits that keep you switched on

A few common habits make it harder to wind down.

• Caffeine after midday, which can stay in your system well into the evening.
• Working or answering messages late, which keeps your brain in problem-solving mode.
• Scrolling in bed, which combines bright light with constant stimulation.
• Intense exercise late in the evening, which some people find leaves them buzzing.
• Alcohol to wind down, which may help you drift off but makes sleep lighter later in the night.
• Napping late in the day, which reduces the sleep pressure you've built up.

Ways to help your body switch off

Winding down isn't a ten minute job. If you've been running at full speed all day, your body needs time and signals that it's safe to stop.

Try creating a buffer of an hour or so before bed where work is finished and lights are lower. Some people find it useful to write down tomorrow's to-do list or whatever is on their mind earlier in the evening, so it's out of their head before bed. Slow breathing, a warm shower, gentle stretching or reading something undemanding can all help signal that the day is done.

Keep your wake time consistent, even after a poor night, and get outside in the morning light. It sounds unrelated, but a well anchored morning makes for a sleepier evening. If you're lying in bed frustrated, get up for a while and do something quiet in dim light until you feel sleepy.

When it's more than stress

Sometimes feeling wired at night has a physical driver. An overactive thyroid can cause restlessness, a racing heart and poor sleep. Anxiety and low mood commonly show up as trouble switching off. Hormonal changes, including around perimenopause, often disrupt sleep. And waking in the early hours with your mind racing has its own patterns, covered in why do I wake up at 3am.

How UHD BioHealth can help

UHD BioHealth is a doctor-led telehealth service available across Australia. You start with a detailed online questionnaire about your sleep, stress and daily routine, and an AHPRA-registered doctor reviews it within 24 hours. Where it's useful, your doctor will recommend bloodwork you can do locally, such as checking thyroid function, then you receive a written personalised plan with every cost listed before you pay, checked by a second, independent doctor, with follow-up care included. See what a doctor looks at for poor sleep.