Insomnia, Workplace Pressures, and Stress

As lawyers, whether we are fresh into the industry or have been in our careers for years, there are many challenges we face daily, aside from tough clients. Many of these may lead to internal mental and physical struggles, such as the effects of sleep deprivation and stress, which can hinder us from bringing out our best selves and meeting deadlines, and leading to disengagement and discontent in our work lives.

Below are some considerations and tips for lawyers for managing sleep deprivation and work pressures.

1. Sleep Deprivation

In law, working long hours often leads to high levels of stress, which may result in poor sleep and could, ultimately, lead to chronic sleep deprivation. Sacrificing sleep for work can have serious consequences. According to GOV.UK, some impacts include:

  • Decreased communication
  • Reduction in performance and cognitive function
  • Poor concentration and mood
  • Greater risk-taking behaviour
  • Inability to make necessary adjustments
  • Increased intake of caffeine and other beverages that counteract sleep
  • Increased sickness absence
  • Weight gain/loss and hypertension.

Some ways of combatting this might include:

  • Avoiding alcohol and other stimulants before going to bed e.g. nicotine, tea, caffeine etc.
  • Writing down any worries on your mind – this can help to put those thoughts on hold until morning and allow you to revisit with a fresh and energised mind.
  • Setting aside specific time earlier in the day to think about and try to ‘compartmentalise’ work and personal matters.
  • Improving your sleeping environment – for example, keeping the bedroom temperature between 16-18 degrees, removing electronic devices, and ensuring your environment is dark and quiet may help.
  • Regular physical activity – optimising your exercise routine by aiming for at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week, such as walking or biking, and avoiding intensive workouts close to bedtime, may improve sleep quality.
  • Increasing natural light exposure – e.g. by walking outside during lunch breaks, if possible. This is particularly key for lawyers who spend a lot of time in the office, or in court.  

It’s important to explore what works for you, and also very important to consult a GP if problems persist. It may also help to seek internal support from line-managers, and fellow colleagues.

2. Environmental Work Pressures

The need to maximise fee earning time makes for heavy workloads and tight deadlines. It will be no surprise to anyone that this can cause problems, when pressure and expectations become intense and unrealistic. According to the ‘Bellweather Report: Stress in the legal profession’, 66% of solicitors experience high levels of stress, while 75% felt that mental wellbeing was a prevalent issue in the industry[1]. Various aspects of the working environment can feed into this, such as caseload management, workplace culture, and changes to the industry (e.g. legal aid cuts), which have forced many firms to rethink the way they operate and function, and which, unsurprisingly, has impacted legal workers.

Tips to cope with these pressures include:

Asking for help and speaking up – This is the one we often dread, and makes us quiver in fear! Jokes aside, as well as speaking to friends, family, and seeking professional support, it is important to remember many other lawyers will be feeling the same stresses and emotions, whether your colleagues or superiors. Making managers and those around you aware of your situation can help with caseload management and relieving some of the pressure on you at work. Ultimately, having open & honest conversations may help to relieve you of your anxieties, and may help to create an open environment, encouraging important conversations among your team and others around you.

Recognise and address your feelings – It is natural for work pressure to threaten our wellbeing in many ways, particularly as human beings with an in-built ‘fight or flight’ stress response. In work environments, this is often counterproductive to our wellbeing, absent ‘real’ danger to our lives. Recognising and addressing our thoughts, emotions and bodily responses (with the help of a therapist, if needed), and developing healthy support networks may help us to conquer our challenges and feel stronger, strengthening our resilience and adaptability, especially during highly pressured times where the industry itself is facing huge developments and changes (e.g. Artificial Intelligence and the continued changes to the legal system).

Ultimately, as rewarding and satisfying as it can be to win a case, resolve a dispute, or complete a transaction, open conversations discussing some of the real challenges we all face are equally as important to the health of the legal profession. It will undoubtedly lead to us becoming bolder and brighter lawyers, whilst paving the way for a more open, healthier and enjoyable industry for current and future lawyers.

Imran Manzoor – Aspiring Solicitor and BSG Secretary

[1] https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/research-and-reports/bellwether-2019-stress-in-the-legal-profession-problematic-or-inevitable.html?utm_source=nonhub_see%20data-sf-ec-immutable=

RESOURCES FOR IMMEDIATE SUPPORT: