Special Edition Sleep Under Pressure: How To Switch Off When Your Nervous System Won’t

Across the Gulf right now, many residents are living with a mix of gratitude and strain. 

Alert texts, unfamiliar noises in the night, and prolonged uncertainty can keep the nervous system in threat-detection mode, leaving people exhausted but wired.

In this ConnectForHealth episode, Scott Armstrong (mentl) and Maissa Al Khafajy (Cigna Healthcare Middle East and Africa) are joined by Dr Samira Cutts, neuroscientist and occupational therapist at King’s College Hospital London - UAE, to explain what’s happening in the brain during sustained stress, and what you can do to protect sleep without trying to force “perfect” rest. 

Highlights

•  Why disrupted sleep is a normal biological response during prolonged uncertainty 
•  What to do when alert texts spike your heart rate and make it hard to return to sleep 
•  How late-night news checking re-triggers the stress response and what to do instead 
•  Practical sleep hygiene that starts hours before bed: light, caffeine timing, and temperature 
•  Kids’ sleep and co-regulation: how children take cues from adult nervous systems 
•  Wearables and sleep tracking: why too much data can backfire 
•  Quick-fire advice on supplements and habits, including melatonin, magnesium, and creatine 

Why tune in

If you’re waking more, sleeping lighter, checking updates at night, or feeling tired even after “enough hours”, this episode will help you understand the pattern and leave you with practical steps you can start tonight. 

Chapter List

00:00 Welcome and why sleep is taking a hit across the Gulf 
02:00 The science of stress, threat vigilance, and sleep expectations 
03:27 What’s “normal” right now: survival mode and stress hormones 
06:55 The goalposts have moved: giving yourself slack 
08:10 How this translates for children: co-regulation and safety cues 
12:43 What to do when alerts trigger a spike: reassurance and a practical checklist 
18:39 Why checking news at night is the worst thing (and how to set windows) 
21:22 Poll 1: biggest sleep issues and what’s showing up most 
31:52 Trauma triggers, cognitive reframing, and creating safety in the body 
38:07 Sleep hygiene that works: light, caffeine timing, room temperature