I Tried Sleeping in Pearson Airport—Big Mistake

Ever tried to sleep in Pearson Airport during a nine hour layover?
Yeah. I wouldn’t recommend it.

Between the overhead announcements, other people’s 1am phone calls, blaring music, flickering lights, and plastic armrests that seem designed to repel comfort, I managed exactly zero minutes of actual rest.

Like my Garmin sadly told me when I wandered to my gate: Zero Sleep Detected.

Now sure, you might be thinking, why did this plucky girl think that sleeping in an airport was a good idea? I’ll tell you: The Sheraton is hecking expensive.
I thought, “What could be the harm? I’ll just sleep a little less, and I’ll save boatloads on hotel fees.”

Looking back, what I saved in dollars I lost in health = Definitely not worth it.

Turns out even people who teach stress management have moments of sleep sabotage.
And let me tell you—my body and brain paid the price for days.

Image by lookstudio on Freepik

When Tired Turns Into Total Chaos

I didn’t just feel tired. I felt frazzled, foggy, short-tempered, and weirdly snacky (IYKYK). Hello, overpriced airport snacks.

At first, I chalked it up to jet lag. But nope.

What happened next shocked me—and the crazy part is, I should’ve seen it coming.

So what exactly was happening to my sleep-deprived brain? Turns out, the science behind sleep deprivation is wild.

🔬 The Wild Science of Skipping Sleep

Pulling an airport all-nighter might seem harmless, right?! It’s just one night!

Let me stop you there and lay out a few jaw-dropping stats about what actually happens when you skip sleep:

🧠 What happens to Your Brain

Stress skyrockets. Even a single night of poor sleep can boost cortisol levels by up to 37%, leading to heightened anxiety, emotional reactivity, and brain fog.
Your brain mimics damage. After just 20–24 hours of wakefulness, the prefrontal cortex—responsible for rational decision-making—functions like someone who’s legally drunk.
Sleep is your brain’s cleanup crew. During deep sleep, your brain literally clears out stress hormones and metabolic waste—like a night shift cleaning up emotional chaos.
You become more emotionally reactive. Without enough sleep, the amygdala (your emotional alarm system) becomes up to 60% more reactive, which is why even small frustrations can feel overwhelming.

🫀 Your Body Takes a Hit Too

Your immune system crashes. One night of bad sleep can reduce natural killer cell activity by up to 70%, making you more vulnerable to illness and inflammation.
Chronic short sleep links to disease. Routinely sleeping less than 6 hours per night is associated with higher risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and even Alzheimer’s.

🍕 The Hunger Games Begin

Sleep less, snack more. Getting just 5 hours of sleep instead of 8 can lead you to eat an average of 22% more calories the next day, as your brain seeks quick energy to make up for exhaustion.
Hormones go haywire. Just one bad night increases ghrelin (your hunger hormone) and decreases leptin (your satiety hormone), making you feel hungrier and less full.

Here’s the kicker: everything I just described? That’s from ONE terrible night of sleep.

If you’re someone who regularly burns the candle at both ends—hello, 5-hour sleep schedule—your body is dealing with this chaos on repeat.

No wonder so many of us feel like we’re barely holding it together.

How My Body and Brain Totally Fell Apart

And I felt every single one of those effects.

I was more anxious than usual, snappy with people I care about, and totally unmotivated. My workouts (the few that actually happened) were half-hearted at best. I couldn’t focus on work. I needed ALL THE CAFFEINE. So many unplanned snacks occurred.

Everything felt harder and heavier.
Existential rage when someone I love is chewing loudly beside me? ✅ Check.
(They were just eating. I was just sleep-deprived.)

And don’t get me started on work. I spent 20 minutes staring at an email draft that should have taken 2 minutes to write. My usual sharp decision-making? Gone. I found myself googling ‘how to use Excel’ like I’d never had a job before.

And the worst part?
I kept blaming myself for feeling off—until I realized:
This is what happens when your brain doesn’t get its nightly reset.

Why Sleep Isn’t a ‘Nice-to-Have’ — It’s a Must

Sleep isn’t a luxury. It’s non-negotiable—especially if you want to manage stress, perform well, or just function like a decent human.

You wouldn’t skip therapy or bail on your best friend’s wedding just to work late. So why do we treat sleep like it’s some optional add-on — like extra guac?

Sleep is your brain’s version of therapy, your emotional RSVP to life’s big events. Skipping it? That’s like ghosting your own brain and expecting it to show up ready to rock.

If you want to protect your peace, regulate your emotions, or just survive Monday without snapping at your inbox, sleep matters. More than most of us realize.

We need to treat sleep the way we treat hydration, movement, or mental health—foundational, not frivolous.

🌙 Sleep: Your Secret Weapon Against Stress

Sleep and stress are intimately connected.
Stress ruins sleep. Sleep loss makes stress worse. It’s a vicious cycle—but one you can interrupt.

A few things I wish more people knew:

“Pushing through” is a lie. Sleep loss shrinks your ability to cope, focus, and bounce back.
Even small sleep disruptions add up. One rough night might seem manageable, but your mind and body feel the hit.
You can’t fix it with one good night. Recovery takes time. Consistency matters.
Rest is productivity. Memory, creativity, problem-solving, emotional resilience—they all rely on good sleep.

Sleep isn’t what you do after the important stuff.
Sleep is the important stuff.

Lesson learned: Next time I’m booking the hotel room, no matter the cost.

A few other things I’m doing differently: setting a strict phone curfew, keeping my bedroom cooler, and treating my 10pm bedtime like an actual appointment I can’t cancel.

Your Turn: What’s Your Worst Sleep Disaster?

So now I’m curious—ever had a total sleep disaster that wrecked your whole week?
Travel gone wrong, revenge bedtime scrolling, toddler chaos?

Tell me I’m not the only one learning this lesson the hard way. 😅

Drop your sleep horror story in the comments—or let me know how you’re prioritizing rest in a world that glorifies hustle.

Ditch Stress