Red-Eyes, Hotel Rooms and the Low Hours Leaders Rarely Mention

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

For many senior leaders, the week is measured in airports. A morning flight out of St. Louis, two days of meetings on the coast, a late connection home, and then a board dinner the next night. The rhythm can feel normal after a while. The toll on sleep and mood is harder to see.

Travel by itself does not cause depression. But for someone already struggling, constant motion can strip away the things that help: regular sleep, time with family, exercise, a familiar bed and a familiar face at breakfast. What remains is a lot of time alone with one's own thoughts, often late at night.

Why sleep matters so much

Sleep and mood are closely tied. Short nights, time zone changes and early alarms can leave a person foggy, irritable and less able to cope with ordinary setbacks. When depression is present, poor sleep can make dark thinking feel louder and more convincing.

A composite example: an executive in her forties who crosses several time zones each month may find that her worst hours come around three in the morning, away from home. The meetings went fine. Her colleagues have no idea. Yet in that quiet stretch she finds herself thinking that everyone would be better off without her.

Thoughts like that are a sign of illness, not a verdict on a life. They deserve attention from someone qualified, not another cup of coffee and a push through the next meeting.

Warning signs on the road and at home

• Persistent insomnia or sleeping through alarms and missing commitments
• Leaning harder on alcohol in hotel bars or on flights
• Avoiding calls home or seeming flat and distant when they do connect
• Talking about feeling hopeless, trapped or like a burden
• Saying goodbye in ways that feel unusually final
• Losing interest in the work or people that once energized them

Checking in across the distance

If a colleague or spouse is often on the road and seems different, a phone or video call can be the place to ask. Be direct and kind: "I have been worried about you. Are you having thoughts of killing yourself?" Saying the word out loud makes the subject easier to talk about.

If the answer is yes, stay on the line and help them reach 988. If you believe they are in immediate danger and cannot reach them, call 911 for the area where they are or ask a 988 counselor to help you reach local emergency services.

Where a supervised clinic treatment fits

A leader whose depression includes suicidal thoughts may also hear a clinician describe Spravato. Spravato (esketamine) is a nasal spray the FDA has approved, taken along with an oral antidepressant, to treat depressive symptoms in adults with major depressive disorder who have acute suicidal thoughts or behavior. It is also approved for treatment-resistant depression. It is not a crisis treatment: it does not replace emergency care or a hospital stay when one is needed, and it has not been shown to prevent suicide or to reduce suicidal thoughts or behavior. It is given only in a certified clinic under a safety program called the Spravato REMS. The patient takes it there under supervision, stays at least two hours to be monitored, and does not drive until the next day after a full night of sleep. It is never dispensed for home use. Whether it fits is a clinician's decision after an evaluation.

Building in room to recover

Small anchors on the road can help in the meantime: a regular bedtime when possible, a call home at the same hour each evening, a walk outside between meetings. They are not treatment, but they keep a person connected while looking for it.

Depression is treatable, and recovery is possible on the road and off it. Getting well might mean trimming the travel schedule for a season, delegating more, or leaning on others for a while. None of that is weakness.

A lighter week between trips can hold one short, private conversation. Some clinics that provide this care set aside a free 30-minute consultation, booked around your travel, where you can ask questions and weigh whether an evaluation fits. Your partner can join in person or by phone.

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.