Is Sleep Impacting Your Retirement? Repo Market Returns To Normal, LFG Daily - November 5th, 2025

Dream Bigger, Sleep Better

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Luke Lloyd, CEO Lloyd Financial Group

The Mind–Market Connection

Financial markets run on human emotion and decision-making — and those are both directly tied to mental alertness. Researchers have found that when investors experience sleep disruption or cognitive fatigue, their performance in the stock market tends to decline. This isn’t just theory; data shows that investor behavior becomes more impulsive, less analytical, and more prone to bias when mental alertness drops.

In other words, a tired brain can cost you money.

The Science Behind It

A landmark study from researchers at Berkeley and other institutions used sleep data to correlate local time-zone fatigue (such as after daylight saving shifts) with reduced market efficiency. On average, days following sleep disruptions saw lower trading volumes, slower price adjustments, and weaker returns.

It’s not that traders forgot how to invest — it’s that their cognitive sharpness declined. Reaction times slow, pattern recognition weakens, and emotional decision-making takes the wheel. This means investors are more likely to sell on fear, chase performance, or miss opportunities due to hesitation.

The Investor Implications

For everyday investors and professionals alike, the lesson is simple but powerful: mental performance is financial performance.

Here’s how lack of alertness can quietly undermine investment results:

• Overconfidence Bias: Fatigued investors may take larger, riskier positions without fully processing downside risks.

• Loss Aversion: Lack of sleep amplifies emotional sensitivity, leading to panic-selling in volatile markets.

• Decision Paralysis: Cognitive exhaustion can make investors second-guess data and freeze on opportunities.

• Poor Timing: Fatigue reduces reaction speed — leading to mistimed trades or slow rebalancing decisions.

  
  

Mental Fitness as a Financial Strategy

Just as portfolio diversification reduces risk, mental fitness protects against bad decision-making.

Here are a few “behavioral alpha” strategies to maintain financial alertness:

1. Prioritize Sleep: Aim for 7–8 hours. Consider it your mental liquidity — you need it for sound judgment.

2. Schedule High-Stakes Decisions Early: Make key allocation or trading decisions when your mind is sharpest, often in the morning.

3. Reduce Information Overload: Limit how many screens, alerts, and opinions you absorb. Mental clutter leads to poor clarity.

4. Build Discipline Systems: Pre-set investment rules and automated strategies reduce the influence of emotion and fatigue.

5. Step Away During Stress: Recognize that exhaustion and anxiety distort perception. Sometimes the best trade is no trade.

   
   

Why It Matters in Today’s Market

With the rise of 24/7 financial news, social media, and after-hours trading, the temptation to stay “always on” has never been higher. But the constant flood of information can wear down cognitive capacity and increase reactionary trading.

Smart investors now realize that resilience and alertness are just as valuable as research and analytics. In fact, the best investors often outperform not because they know more — but because they think clearer.

Financial Planning Starts with Mental Energy

You can’t make sharp financial decisions if your brain is running on fumes. Treat mental clarity as part of your financial plan. Here’s how:

1. Budget When You’re Fresh: Schedule financial reviews early in the day or week when your mind is sharp. Avoid making money decisions late at night or when you’re mentally drained.

2. Automate Smart Habits: Automatic savings and investment transfers remove the need for daily decision-making, protecting you from emotional or tired-day spending.

3. Create a “Pause Rule” for Purchases: Before any large expense, force a 24-hour cooling-off period. This helps override impulse decisions driven by fatigue or emotion.

4. Link Health to Wealth: Track your sleep, exercise, and stress levels alongside your budget. They’re all inputs into your financial performance.

5. Set “Focus Days” for Money Tasks: Pick one day per month for deeper reviews — checking investment performance, updating budgets, and re-evaluating goals. Treat it like a meeting with your future self.

   
   

The Bottom Line

Your mental state is the hidden variable in your portfolio and financial planning. Markets reward discipline, patience, and clarity — all of which depend on rest and focus.

So before you analyze another stock chart or chase another headline, ask yourself a more fundamental question:

Are you mentally alert enough to make a rational decision?

Because sometimes, the best investment you can make isn’t in a stock — it’s in a good night’s sleep.

Don’t leave your financial future up to chance. Let’s build a plan that gives you confidence today and peace of mind for tomorrow. Click here to schedule a meeting — I’m here to help you take the next step toward financial freedom.

Colin Symons, CIO Lloyd Financial Group

The repo market returned to normal, so that sign of stress seems over.

The government shutdown is now the longest, ever. Congratulations?

WSJ says talks to reopen the government continue. The sides seem optimistic on a solution but uncertain on timing.

Yen strength seems to be hitting the carry trade, putting pressure on US and Japanese stocks. Those negative flows had markets down overnight, but yen strength has since reversed, greatly lessening stress on stocks. Was that peak stress and we can start to recover? The Nikkei had been -4% and is now -2%.

AMD was down -4% despite strong earnings and guidance.

In general, markets seemed to hit big levels overnight and bounced. Is the positioning unwind over? We’ll see how the rest of the week goes.

ADP jobs and ISM Services, today. The Supreme Court should also be issuing a ruling on Trump tariffs, today.

What does it all mean? We’ve run into a lot of positioning stress this week, but FX and repo pressures seem to be moderating. Can markets relax, now?

Don’t leave your financial future up to chance. Let’s build a plan that gives you confidence today and peace of mind for tomorrow. Click here to schedule a meeting — I’m here to help you take the next step toward financial freedom.

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