Why Is My Brain Buzzing at Night Even When I’m Exhausted?
The high performer's recurring nocturnal anxiety
A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine — a designer and founder — sent me a voice note at 1:13 a.m. “Hey, got a minute? I’m wiped!” he said. “My eyes are heavy… but my brain is in full-blown TED Talk mode.”
He’d just finished prepping a pitch deck, closed his laptop, brushed his teeth — the whole nighttime routine. But instead of drifting off, his mind started editing copy, rethinking colour palettes, and wondering if his co-founder seemed a bit distant that day.
Sound familiar?
This is not recurrent enough to be insomnia. And it’s not a character flaw either. It’s just what happens when high-performing brains don’t get a proper off-ramp.
Your Brain Is Overstimulated.
Most of us — especially those who live by ideas — spend the day in “go-mode”. Constant stimulation, decision-making, creative loops. And because you’re good at this pace, your mind adapts to keep up.
But just like a car doesn’t instantly cool after a long drive, your brain needs wind-down time — not just sleep time. Otherwise, it keeps running on fumes and unfinished loops.
The Brain Craves Closure, Not Chaos.
If you’ve ever laid in bed thinking about that one line you should’ve added to your email, or what your clients would think about a certain idea, concept, or solution, that’s your mind trying to close tabs — like a browser with too many windows open.
What’s interesting is: the more exhausted you are, the more your brain panics to tie up loose ends. That’s why mental chatter gets louder when your body finally slows down.
Remedies?
Try this:
Create a “mental landing strip.”