Fast Life, Tired Minds: Is Modern Speed Costing Us Sleep?

After just a week of enforced rest, life has slowed right down for me. I can’t physically do much, so I’ve been observing more , and it’s made me notice just how fast-paced our lives have become.

One evening I was watching Unspeakable and there was a man with a typewriter, slowly filling in a form. It pinged something in me: the sheer difference between then and now. What once took hours, maybe days, now happens in seconds thanks to digital systems and AI.

We celebrate the convenience, but is this speed actually good for us?

Our brains vs. modern life

The human brain evolved to deal with gradual change, not relentless acceleration. But every day, we’re bombarded with input: emails, notifications, breaking news, viral videos, content we never chose to see. Just yesterday, a two-minute scroll on TikTok confronted me with traumatic images I wasn’t prepared for.

A generation ago, this kind of constant exposure wasn’t possible. Now, our nervous systems are trying to process information, distress, and stimulation at a pace that simply doesn’t match how we’re wired.

The cost: busy brains, restless nights

It’s no surprise that sleep problems have risen alongside the speed of life. The people I work with often describe the same thing:

• Racing thoughts at night

• Trouble switching off

• Stress carried from the day into the bedroom

  
  

This “busy brain” state makes it harder to fall asleep, stay asleep, and feel restored. In fact, research suggests overstimulation and exposure to traumatic media can increase cortisol (our stress hormone), which directly interferes with sleep regulation.

Why slowing down matters

My own week of enforced rest has shown me the value of slowness. By stepping back, I’ve noticed how much space there is when you’re not filling every gap with noise, screens, or tasks. That space is where recovery happens, for both the body and the brain.

A question for you

We can’t turn back time to the days of typewriters, nor would we want to. But we can take responsibility for how we manage modern speed.

• How do you switch off from the busyness of everyday life?

• What helps you separate from the constant noise?

Your strategies might just help someone else protect their sleep.

Kerry x