How to fight the money stress ruins sleep and tanks productivity

A 2025 survey of 2,000 adults found that 78% lose sleep due to financial stress. Rising grocery bills, high gas prices, credit card bills, and fears of layoffs contribute to nighttime worry. Insufficient or disrupted sleep affects major physiological systems and can reduce daytime functioning. Heightened cognitive arousal and persistent worry interfere with falling and staying asleep, contributing to emotional instability and negative effects on immune function and work performance. Sleep loss reduces sustained attention, increases errors in tasks requiring prolonged focus, and limits complex decision-making and long-term planning. This can harm work performance and career growth, worsening financial stability and reinforcing the stress-sleep cycle.

"A 2025 survey of 2,000 adults from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine revealed that 78% of adults lose sleep to financial stress. That double whammy of financial stress and bad sleep can lead to a slew of health problems-as well as declining performance at work, which in turn could lead to actual (or even worse) money problems."

"“Individuals facing money-related concerns often experience heightened cognitive arousal at night, persistent worry, and stress, which interfere with the ability to fall and stay asleep,” Martin says, noting that this can lead to emotional instability and negative effects on both immune function and work performance."

"“This creates a cycle where financial strain worsens sleep-and poor sleep further limits financial stability,” she says. The stress becomes a cycle: As supported by research outlined in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, sleep loss reduces the capacity for complex decision-making and long-term planning, harming work performance and limiting career growth."

"“Clinically, insufficient sleep reduces sustained attention and increases the likelihood of errors, particularly in tasks requiring prolonged focus, which contributes to decreased concentration,” Martin says. (The bloodshot eyes, yawning, and dark circles aren't the most professional look either.)"

Read at Fast Company