What Is Revenge Bedtime Procrastination?
When was the last time you slept before midnight? Do you intentionally sacrifice sleep for some extra me-time?
You know the feeling—it’s time for bed, but you shake off sleep by scrolling through your social media feed or binging another episode of your favorite show.
You’re not alone.
In recent years, our generation slipped into a lifestyle where digital devices are always on, and so are our minds. It’s when we refuse to sleep until we’ve done something other than work, chores, or studying. Experts call it “revenge bedtime procrastination.”
Who engages in revenge bedtime procrastination?
It’s a typical behavior amongst people with high-stress jobs, busy academic schedules, or stressful home life. If you belong to these categories, you may try to “steal back time” by delaying your bedtime in pursuit of leisure activities.
This article discusses the causes of bedtime procrastination and ways to prevent it.
The Premise: What Is Bedtime Procrastination?
It’s a form of procrastination where you purposely stay up late in favor of recreational activities. You might also delay bedtime to make up for the missed hours of relaxation during the day.
A study called “Introducing a New Area of Procrastination” defined procrastination as the “voluntary delay of an intended course of action” despite the harmful consequences. In this case, you know you’re supposed to rest well and wake up early the next day.
Nonetheless, you intentionally indulge in activities that keep you up at night. The research lists general procrastination and poor impulse control as leading causes of the habit.
Like most “bad habits,” bedtime procrastination starts gradually before it becomes an integral part of your routine. For instance, you might start by spending 10-15 minutes on the phone before bedtime. With time, those 15 minutes can turn into an hour or two of recreational activity.
Later, you’ll start staying up late every day instead of just on the weekends. Once you’re hooked the desire to spend late night hours in recreation will become insatiable.
Despite your best efforts, you will find yourself in an endless loop of a 9 to 5 work schedule and insufficient hours of sleep.
Why Is It Called Revenge Bedtime Procrastination?
The not-so-healthy habit avenges the recreational time overworked employees, students, and at-home parents lose due to their hectic routines. These individuals don’t have the freedom to do what they want during the day.
Therefore, they use the remaining hours of the night for some much-needed downtime.
According to a BBC article, you can trace the first report about this behavior to China. Young workers led a 996 schedule where they worked from nine to nine and slept only for six hours.
They dubbed it the “revengeful staying up at night” activity, also called revenge bedtime procrastination. It’s significantly different from having sleepovers with friends, pulling all-nighters to complete projects, or studying for finals.
Basically, no external factors, like social events or deadlines, force you to stay up at night. Instead, it’s a personal choice. It’s when you spend hours mindlessly in front of a screen instead of catching up on sleep.
Sleep deprivation eventually affects your physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
As a result, you wake up tired, anxious, and groggy. The reckless cycle can continue for life until you make a conscious effort to break the pattern.
What Are the Causes of Revenge Bedtime Procrastination?
You tend to delay sleep when you’re overworked during the day. It can be because of your professional, academic, or familial responsibilities. In other words, your daytime routine affects your tendency to engage in revenge bedtime procrastination.
An insightful article on Insider discusses the causes and impact of this reckless routine in detail. The author says that procrastinating bedtime has become a common occurrence amongst individuals who don’t have much control over their daytime schedule.
We can see this in three instances:
A Stressful Professional Life
High-stress jobs often take over workers’ days. That’s why they have little or no time left for leisure activities besides eating, showering, and resting. These individuals might use nighttime as a way to steal some hours of control in their busy schedules.
These all-nighters can harm professional performances when things get out of hand.
Parenthood/Caregivers
If you’re a parent or take care of elderly parents, you might not have time for yourself during the day. Due to this, you may start dedicating nighttime to yourself.
Your little breaks can turn into a six-hour-long binge-watch, unnecessary scrolling, or gaming if you're not mindful.
The same routine applies to people overburdened with familial responsibilities. Families that lose one or both parents tend to have children taking over those roles.
At times like these, each day becomes a struggle where they juggle studies, work, and family duties. Nighttime for these individuals becomes a refuge where they can do as they please to unwind.
Students
Overachieving students might spend a significant amount of their hours studying and working on assignments. The ones that work while they study don’t get time to do anything else.
It’s when revenge bedtime procrastination takes over their nights.
That said, there are exceptions to these categories. There are also mental health and sleep disorders that interfere with sleeping habits. We discount those to focus on individuals who put off sleep to increase their recreational time.
How Does It Impact Your Health?
Revenge bedtime procrastination can affect your overall well-being. You may experience daytime fatigue, brain fog, memory lapses, and weight gain because of inadequate sleep. It can cause underlying health concerns and long-term chronic illness if you’re not careful.
Anything in excess can harm our bodies.
Sleep deprivation will begin to affect your health if you’re sleeping late and waking up early each day. Experts at VeryWell Mind remind us that poor sleeping habits affect physical health. Yet, when the situation worsens, you also see the adverse effects disrupting your mental health.
Here are some physical and psychological side-effects of your unbalanced routine:
● Daytime fatigue
● Lethargy
● Weight gain
● High blood pressure
● Poor heart health
● Lower immune function
● Memory lapses
● Headaches
● Brain fog
● Anxiety
● Mood swings
● Depression
Collectively, these health issues affect the way you think and act.
You’ll find it challenging to fulfill work and family obligations during the day. Additionally, you may experience burnout, forcing you to step back from your normal routine. Some of these side effects turn into chronic illnesses. These things can have a debilitative impact on your health. In turn, it prevents you from living a fulfilled and content life.
Luckily, early interventions can reduce risks. The key lies in making mindful efforts to fix your sleeping habits before things escalate.
The Solution: How to Fall Asleep Faster?
Healthy habits can help you sleep better and more peacefully. Begin by putting away your digital devices and making room for mindful practices. Eat well, rest more, and ensure that nothing disrupts your nighttime routine.
Self-control and mindfulness can curb revenge bedtime procrastination. You need to rationalize your desire to stay up late consciously. Also, try swapping screen time with habits that help you fall asleep faster. These could include meditation, stretching, showering before bed, and even reading a book (not an eBook).
Here’s a nighttime routine you can follow:
● Turn off digital devices at least an hour before bedtime
● Skip heavy dinners, caffeinated drinks, alcohol, and sugary treats at night
● Mediate for 10-15 minutes to sleep with a relaxed mind
● Use aromatherapy by lighting a sweet-smelling incense to promote calmness
● Put gentle music or white noise on to tune out your anxiety-ridden thoughts
● Regulate your sleep cycle by ensuring you get 8-9 hours of rest around the same time each day
In short, you can maintain better sleeping habits by prioritizing rest over highly engaging recreational activities. We strongly advise you to start small by doing a few of the abovementioned things. Then build up the best routine that helps you fall asleep faster.
Wrapping Up
If revenge bedtime procrastination has taken over your nights, you should try bringing your sleep schedule back on track. Take steps to eat well, exercise, and go on a digital detox after you wrap up work for the day.
Your new nighttime routine can help you break away from an unhealthy cycle. These small, well-intended changes will produce positive outcomes. The good thing is that you can gain healthy rewards in the long run.
Ready to start a newly improved sleep schedule?
Good luck!