Sleep Changes

Sleep often changes after loss.
For some people, it disappears entirely. For others, it comes in fragments, or only during the day, or not at all without exhaustion dragging it under.

You might lie awake with your body buzzing.
You might wake at 3am every night, heart racing.
You might sleep for twelve hours and still feel wrecked.

This isn’t weakness.
It isn’t something you need to “fix” straight away.

Grief activates the body’s threat system. Your brain has learned that something catastrophic happened — and it responds by staying alert, even when you’re exhausted. Hormones like cortisol stay elevated. Your nervous system keeps checking: Is it safe now?

That’s why sleep can feel impossible.
Your body thinks vigilance matters more than rest.

Broken sleep is protective, not broken.
It’s your system trying to prevent more loss.

Over time, sleep usually shifts again - sometimes slowly, sometimes unevenly. Naps replace nights. Nights return in pieces. Patterns change.

You don’t need perfect sleep to be okay.
You don’t need eight hours to be healing.

For now, rest counts however it comes:

• lying down with your eyes closed

• drifting in and out

• sleeping at odd times

• letting your body decide when it can let go

Nothing is wrong with you.
Your body is grieving too.