The Sleep Debt Nobody's Talking About

The Sleep Debt Nobody's Talking About

From HER Extraordinary LIFE By Design by Leslie Gaudet

April 3, 2026 · 36 min · Season 4 · Episode 173

About this episode

Leslie Gaudet discusses the importance of sleep for high-achieving women and the consequences of sleep deprivation on their well-being and performance.

In this solo episode of HER Extraordinary LIFE By Design, Leslie Gaudet says the thing nobody in your world is probably saying — you need more sleep than you're getting, and the fact that you're still functioning isn't proof that you're fine. Leslie explores why high-achieving women have turned sleep deprivation into a quiet badge of honor, what's actually happening inside a nervous system that never fully restores, and why the cost doesn't show up where you'd expect it to. You'll hear an honest examination of how chronic sleep compromise erodes decision-making, emotional regulation, and the quality of thinking that makes you exceptional — not all at once, but so gradually that the depleted version of you becomes the version you measure everything against. And you'll be introduced to what might be the most expensive confusion a high-achieving woman can carry — the belief that functioning and thriving are the same thing. This episode is the first in the April solo series — Living By Design: Health and Vitality on Your Own Terms — and it's for women who are still delivering, still capable, and quietly running on less than they've been willing to admit…

People in this episode

Host: Leslie Gaudet

Topics covered

  • sleep deprivation
  • high-achieving women
  • nervous system
  • decision-making
  • emotional regulation
  • health and vitality

Keywords

  • sleep debt
  • chronic sleep compromise
  • functioning vs thriving
  • health
  • vitality
  • women in law

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