After a long day, getting ready for bed can feel like the ultimate reward. You’re showered, maybe your favorite comfort show is playing (hello, Girlfriends fans), and it’s finally time to rest. But instead of drifting off peacefully, you find yourself tossing and turning, struggling to fall asleep. And it’s not hard to see why.
With so much happening in the world right now, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. A quick scroll through social media brings constant reminders of the recession, financial pressure, and global uncertainty. And for the more than 600,000 Black women who have been laid off, that stress can feel even heavier.
Unfortunately, when all of that pressure builds, sleep is often one of the first things to suffer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Black adults are more likely to experience shorter sleep duration and poorer sleep quality compared with other racial groups. Chronic stress, financial strain, and the everyday pressure many Black women carry can make it harder for the body to fully relax—even when the hours of sleep are technically there.
“My mind is racing right before falling asleep, and it picks up the moment I open my eyes,” says Marsha Badger, a journalist who has been navigating increased financial stress after being laid off last year.
That experience feels familiar to journalist Angelica Wilson. “Every ounce of my physical being just wants to relax, but my mind is still flipping through thoughts like a money counter,” she says, describing what it feels like to be physically exhausted but mentally alert.
To quiet her mind, Wilson sometimes has to talk herself through the moment. “Sometimes I have to tell myself, ‘we’re trying to go to sleep, let’s go to sleep,’ just to slow my thoughts down.”
The Mayo Clinic reports that most adults need at least seven hours of sleep each night to function properly. Consistently getting less than that can lead to a range of health issues, including weight gain, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, and other long-term health concerns.
But for some people, exhaustion lingers even when they are technically getting enough sleep. Because even when rest eventually comes, it doesn’t always feel restorative. Instead of waking up refreshed, many women start their mornings with brain fog, fatigue, and the feeling that their body never fully reset overnight—making it harder to focus, concentrate, and move through the day with energy. “On average, I get seven to eight hours of sleep every night,” Badger says. Still, she often feels exhausted and finds herself yawning by 10 a.m.
Funke Afolabi-Brown, MD, FAASM, a triple-board-certified sleep medicine physician and the founder of RestfulsleepMD, says persistent exhaustion can sometimes be a sign of non-restorative sleep. “Non-restorative sleep means you slept enough hours but never reached the deep healing stages of sleep where the real recovery happens,” she explains. “Chronic stress, hypervigilance, and undiagnosed conditions like sleep apnea quietly rob us of that depth without us even knowing.”
For Black women juggling demanding roles, that stress can keep the nervous system stuck in a heightened state of alertness.
“When you are carrying the weight of work, family, and community on your back every single day, your nervous system stays in survival mode,” Afolabi-Brown says. “The fight-or-flight response leaves you in a state where restorative sleep is not attainable.”
Over time, that prolonged stress response can leave people feeling what many describe as “tired but wired,” with the body exhausted but the mind still active. “It is a sign of cortisol still running high, even though you are drained,” she further explains.
The good news is that small, consistent habits can help signal to the body that it’s safe to rest. Afolabi-Brown recommends starting with the basics that have the strongest evidence: consistent sleep and wake times, a cool, dark bedroom, morning sunlight, cutting alcohol, and moving your body regularly. She also emphasizes that ongoing fatigue shouldn’t be ignored. If it persists despite healthy routines, it may be time to get screened for sleep disorders. “Exhaustion that persists despite good habits may suggest an underlying sleep disorder,” she says.
Beyond helping you feel rested, sleep plays a critical role in overall health. “While you sleep, your brain is literally detoxing; your hormones are setting; your immune system is rebuilding; and your emotional resilience is being restored,” Afolabi-Brown says.
For the Black women who are navigating chronic stress and long-standing health disparities, protecting sleep is more than just self-care—it’s essential. If you’ve been wondering why you still feel exhausted even after seven or eight hours of sleep, it may be worth taking a closer look at both your sleep habits and the stress your body may still be carrying.
And if you’re someone who wears many hats, true rest can feel hard to come by. But protecting your sleep isn’t selfish. It’s necessary, especially in a world that constantly demands more from Black women. Because real rest isn’t just about the number of hours you spend in bed. It’s about giving your body the space to finally exhale.