Read this beautiful personal story on grief:

Yes — there is a very strong, scientifically supported and spiritually coherent connection between unresolved grief, early trauma, chronic stress, and insomnia.

If you’re already sensing it, you’re right:
the same survival energy that once helped keep you alive — the fight-or-flight nervous system — is often the same energy that now keeps you awake when your body should be resting. 

 When someone experiences sudden loss, prolonged stress, or grows up in an unpredictable or aggressive environment, the nervous system adapts by staying alert.

This survival mode keeps stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline elevated longer than they should be.

Over time:

• The amygdala (the brain’s threat detector) becomes hypersensitive
   
• The prefrontal cortex (responsible for calming, reasoning, and regulation) becomes less active
   
• The body learns that nighttime is not safe, even when nothing appears wrong
   

The result is a nervous system that struggles to downshift into deep, restorative sleep.

This is why many people with grief-related insomnia report:

• Racing thoughts at night
   
• Sudden alertness when lying down
   
• Waking between 2–4 a.m.
   
• Feeling exhausted but “wired”
   

This isn’t weakness.
It’s a protective adaptation that never got the signal to stand down.