April 20th, 2022
Imagine this: you wake up at 7 am for your day and are feeling exceedingly tired. Unfortunately, you have hit your snooze button too many times already and you have to rise from your slumber. For most of the day, you find yourself feeling lethargic in meetings and conversations. You yearn for an opportunity to take a nap, but that time does not come as the day is booked.
And while you are tired, you find it hard to feel bad for yourself because you were laying in bed scrolling through Tik Tok until 1 am. You wanted to see what was happening on social media because you had no time to keep up with it throughout the day. It is ok though, tonight you will go to bed early and reset your bedtime routine. However, when the night comes, you find yourself delaying sleep by reading your new novel and accepting that your sleep deprivation continues.
If this sounds like something that you experience often, you are not alone. Most of us engage in this behavior at some point in our lives. I, for one, found myself in this pattern just last night while trying to complete the New York Times crossword puzzle and am now experiencing the aforementioned fatigue as I write this piece. This experience has been largely defined as revenge bedtime procrastination.
The phrase “revenge bedtime procrastination” was made culturally popular after journalist Daphne K. Lee had a tweet go viral describing this phenomenon. On June 7, 2020, Lee tweeted:
“Learned a very relatable term today: “報復性熬夜” (revenge bedtime procrastination), a phenomenon in which people who don’t have much control over their daytime life refuse to sleep early to regain some sense of freedom during late night hours.”
This means that when we feel that we are unable to engage in leisure time throughout the day, we take “revenge” on our bedtime to engage in activities that we find pleasurable. These activities can range from watching television, reading books, scrolling through social media, etc., but results in significant sleep deprivation.
When describing revenge bedtime procrastination, it is important to note that there are a few key factors that separate this behavior from other patterns of behavior:
The short answer to this question is that those of us who feel like we do not have time to engage in leisure activities throughout the day are more likely to engage in revenge bedtime procrastination. However, other elements are believed to contribute to revenge bedtime procrastination aside from feeling overly busy.
Researchers report that people who engage in this pattern of behavior are more likely to experience difficulty with self-regulation. Though they want to sleep, they choose to stay awake. This disconnect in thinking and behavior is referred to as the “intention-behavior gap.”
Additionally, research suggests that those who struggle with procrastination in daily life are more likely to experience revenge bedtime procrastination. This means that if you experience challenges with self-regulation and procrastination, you are at higher risk of experiencing revenge bedtime procrastination.
Though in the short term sleep procrastination brings the benefit of being able to engage in leisure activities that do not feel accessible throughout the day, it can come with some serious consequences.
Some common impacts of sleep deprivation from revenge bedtime procrastination include:
Though I love to finish the New York Times crossword puzzle before bed, I know that if I do not get enough sleep, I am due for some challenges. Listed here are a few practices to implement if you find that you need support in no longer engaging in revenge bedtime procrastination:
Revenge bedtime procrastination may feel good at the moment, but over time it can lead to lasting consequences. Recognize your own behaviors and make positive changes where you can.
Written By: Sarah Kelly, LSW, CADC
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