Hazel Scott Shares Her Experience, Gives Advice on Sleep Routines for Busy Women

When Hazel Scott looked in the mirror one morning, she barely recognized herself. “I wasn’t old, but I felt older,” she recalls with a laugh that carries undertones of exhaustion. Dark circles, irritability, and constant headaches had become her normal.

As a 37-year-old project manager and mother of two living in Denver, Hazel had spent years pushing through fatigue, believing that a good night of sleep was a luxury—something for vacations or weekends, not for women balancing demanding careers and families. But everything changed the day she realized her lack of rest wasn’t just making her tired. It was affecting her immune system, her mental health, her productivity, and even her relationships.

“I used to think sleep was something to squeeze in between obligations,” Hazel says. “I joked about living on caffeine and chaos. But inside, I was falling apart.” What started as occasional late nights soon turned into chronic insomnia, unpredictable sleep cycles, and an emotional imbalance she couldn’t explain. She wasn’t alone. According to the CDC, one in three American adults doesn’t get enough sleep. Women, especially those juggling work and caregiving, report even higher rates of sleeplessness and stress-related sleep disorders.

Hazel reached a breaking point after a presentation at work went wrong. “I forgot entire sections of my speech,” she says. “My brain just shut down. That had never happened before.” She left the meeting shaking, embarrassed, and terrified. “That night, I didn’t think about my career or my responsibilities,” she says. “I thought about survival. I needed help.”

That moment began her journey toward understanding the science of sleep, the unique challenges women face, and the difference a structured sleep routine can make—even for the busiest women.

Why Busy Women Struggle With Sleep

Before Hazel could redesign her sleep routine, she needed to understand why she struggled so much in the first place. Through research, therapy, and conversations with sleep specialists, Hazel uncovered a reality she wished she had known years earlier: women’s sleep health is fundamentally different from men’s, and society rarely acknowledges that.

Hormonal fluctuations play a huge role in women’s sleep cycles. Estrogen and progesterone shift throughout the menstrual cycle, during pregnancy, postpartum, and perimenopause. “No one ever taught me that insomnia could spike during PMS or that postpartum sleep patterns might take years to normalize,” Hazel says. “I always blamed myself instead of biology.” According to the Sleep Foundation, women experience insomnia at nearly twice the rate of men—a statistic that shocked Hazel.

Stress was another factor. Busy women often carry what psychologists call the “invisible load”—the mental burden of planning, organizing, remembering, and caring for others. “Even when my body was lying in bed, my brain was making tomorrow’s grocery list or rehearsing work conversations,” Hazel recalls. “My mind never stopped.” Neuropsychologists have confirmed this phenomenon; cognitive arousal, or “mental overactivity,” is a major contributor to sleeplessness among professional women.

Because Hazel believed she simply needed to “push through” the exhaustion, she ignored early warning signs—daytime drowsiness, irritability, forgetfulness, and weakened immunity. “I didn’t realize how sleeplessness was affecting everything,” she says. “My marriage, my work, my eating habits, even my sense of self-worth.” She later discovered that sleep deprivation increases cortisol, the stress hormone, which explains why she felt anxious, overwhelmed, and emotionally unstable.

Her doctor gently told her: “You don’t need discipline. You need recovery.” Those words changed her life.

Hazel’s Turning Point: Learning the Science Behind Sleep

Hazel dove into sleep science with the kind of determination only someone who’s hit rock bottom can understand. She read studies from Harvard Medical School, listened to sleep podcasts, and joined online forums for women with insomnia. “I was shocked by how scientific sleep actually is,” she says. “It’s not mystical or random. It follows rules—rules I had been breaking for years.”

She learned that the human body, regardless of gender, is governed by the circadian rhythm—a natural 24-hour clock that regulates alertness, hunger, hormone levels, temperature, and yes, the sleep-wake cycle. But women’s circadian rhythms tend to run slightly shorter and are more sensitive to environmental disruptions like stress, blue light, and irregular schedules.

“I had been treating myself like a machine,” Hazel admits. “But our bodies aren’t built to operate nonstop. They’re built for cycles—work, rest, recovery. I was doing work, work, work… no recovery.” She began journaling her sleep patterns, noting when she felt alert or tired, when anxiety hit, when caffeine helped or hurt. Patterns began emerging. “It was like decoding my own biology,” she says.

What stood out most was the transformative effect of even small improvements. On days when she slept seven hours instead of five, she felt calmer, clearer, and more patient. “It wasn’t just about physical energy,” Hazel explains. “It was mental clarity, emotional stability, creativity. Everything was better.”

Creating a Sleep Routine That Fits a Busy Woman’s Life

The biggest challenge for Hazel wasn’t learning the science—it was applying it in a realistic way. “I wasn’t going to meditate for an hour at sunset or quit my job,” she laughs. “I needed a sleep routine that worked for real life.” So she created one. And it changed everything.

Step 1: The 90-Minute Evening Wind-Down

One of the first strategies Hazel adopted was the 90-minute wind-down ritual, based on research from sleep experts at Stanford. She learned that the body needs time to transition from high activity to rest; jumping straight into bed from work emails or household chores confuses the nervous system.

Her wind-down routine began with simple steps:

Lowering the lights in her home to reduce stimulation.

Setting her phone to “Do Not Disturb.”

Making a cup of chamomile tea or warm water with lemon.

Spending 10 minutes stretching her back and shoulders.

Listening to “brown noise” or soft acoustic music.

“I didn’t do all of that at once,” she says. “I added one habit at a time.” Within weeks, her brain started associating these cues with rest. “It became my signal to slow down,” she says. “Almost like telling my nervous system, ‘It’s safe now.’”

Step 2: The Consistent Bedtime

Consistency was a game changer. Hazel had always gone to bed at different times—midnight one night, 9 p.m. the next. Her circadian rhythm was constantly confused. With encouragement from her therapist, she set a fixed bedtime: 10:15 p.m. every night, even weekends.

“At first, it felt impossible,” she says. “But after two weeks, something clicked. My body started getting sleepy naturally.” Sleep researchers confirm that consistent bedtimes anchor the circadian rhythm, improving both sleep quality and energy the next day. “It was like discovering a cheat code,” Hazel laughs.

Step 3: Controlling Light Exposure

Blue light from screens was one of Hazel’s biggest sleep disruptors. “I went to bed every night with my phone,” she says. “Emails, social media, news—my brain was overstimulated.” She learned that blue light suppresses melatonin, the sleep hormone, tricking the brain into thinking it’s daytime.

The solution: slow and steady changes. No screens for 60 minutes before bed. Warm, dim lighting in her bedroom. A sunrise alarm clock that wakes her gently with light instead of noise. Blue-light-blocking glasses while working late.

“The change was dramatic,” Hazel says. “My mind felt quieter. I fell asleep faster.”

Step 4: Building a Bedroom Designed for Sleep

Hazel transformed her bedroom into what she now calls her “sleep sanctuary.” She invested in a weighted blanket, cooling sheets, and blackout curtains. She removed her laptop from the room and kept only items that symbolized rest.

“I didn’t realize how much my environment was influencing my anxiety,” she says. “Once my bedroom felt calm, my mind followed.” Studies from Mayo Clinic support this, showing that cool, dark, distraction-free rooms significantly improve sleep quality.

Step 5: Managing Stress Before Bed

Hazel used to lie awake replaying the entire day. “I was mentally writing emails at midnight,” she says. To break the cycle, she added a 10-minute nightly journaling ritual. She wrote down: One thing that went well today. One thing that stressed her. Her plan for tomorrow.

“It was like clearing mental clutter,” she explains. “My brain didn’t have to keep rehearsing tomorrow’s tasks.” She also used simple breathing exercises recommended by sleep therapists, such as the 4-7-8 method and box breathing. “The first time I felt my body relax from breathing alone, I almost cried,” she admits. “I had forgotten what calm felt like.”

The Emotional Transformation That Followed

Improving her sleep did more than restore her energy—it transformed her emotional landscape. Hazel describes the shift as “rediscovering herself.” She went from feeling reactive and overwhelmed to grounded and intentional.

Her relationships improved as well. “I had more patience with my kids,” she says. “I had real conversations with my husband instead of snapping at him.” At work, she felt sharper, more confident, and more creative. Her boss noticed. Her friends noticed. Her family noticed.

“Sleep didn’t just give me rest,” Hazel says. “It gave me back my life.”

Hazel’s Advice for Busy Women Trying to Improve Their Sleep

Hazel now mentors younger women and moms in her community, sharing realistic strategies for managing sleep. Her advice is compassionate, practical, and deeply personal: