Learning the hard way: How ignoring sleep for late-night trading sessions backfired on my investments

Many beginners are told that relentless market monitoring, even at the cost of sleep, is essential for success. I strongly disagree, as my own experience showed that sleep deprivation clouded my judgment and hurt my returns. After weeks of staying up tracking after-hours movements, I made a hasty decision to sell a solid ETF based on fatigue-induced anxiety. In contrast, when I committed to a full night's rest, I avoided reactive trades and held through volatility, which improved my outcomes. Treating sleep as a non-negotiable part of my routine has been more valuable than any quick tip I've read. Shouldn't we frame rest as a foundational investment in our decision-making capacity?

3 comments

3 Comments

harperb877h ago

Tbh, @the_vera is right about it being a warning. I once tried to place a limit order at 3 AM and accidentally bought a meme stock instead of my intended index fund. Sleep deprivation had me seeing double, and not in a good way. Honestly, that loss stung more than my morning coffee was bitter. After that, I forced myself to log off by midnight, and my portfolio has been thanking me ever since. It's crazy how a clear head makes you realize most 'urgent' moves can wait for market open.

amy6921h ago

Ever calculate the cost of that lost sleep in actual dollars? I once set a sell order too low after being up for 20 hours straight. Woke up to find I'd missed out on a significant gain because my foggy brain picked a stupid price point. Now I have a hard rule: no platform access after 10 PM, period.

the_vera11h ago

Read about your ETF sale due to fatigue. That's a stark warning against sacrificing sleep for trading.