What Is Revenge Bedtime Procrastination?

Revenge bedtime procrastination refers to a phenomenon in which people put off going to bed to engage in activities that they don’t have time for during the day. It is a way of finding time for leisure and entertainment-at the expense of sleep. What is Revenge Bedtime Procrastination?

Signs

Staying up late isn’t necessarily a sign of bedtime procrastination. People who engage in the behavior are fully aware that it may lead to negative consequences, but they choose to engage in it anyways.

• This might affect people differently depending on their situation and why they feel the need to stay up late.

Start Your Nighttime Routine Earlier

Set an alarm for an hour before you would normally begin getting ready for bed.

Who It Affects

People who have high-stress jobs, those who work long hours, and parents who have little time to themselves during the day are just a few of the people who frequently engage in this behavior.

• It often starts small. You might stay up to play on your phone or catch up on your favorite shows, but 10 or 15 minutes can turn into an hour or two.

Assess Your Schedule

Take a hard look at your daily demands and eliminate things that aren’t important or are eating up all of your time

Causes

A general lack of free time during the day is the most common cause, but other factors also play a role.

• While people who engage in bedtime procrastination want to sleep, their behaviors do not align with their intentions
• Recent stress related to world effects, including the 2019 Global Pandemic, also appeared to worsen the behavior.

Schedule Time for Yourself

One way to deal with this is to plan and prioritize “alone time” how you would anything else.

A Word From Verywell

Revenge bedtime procrastination can be a tough habit to break.

• Because the behavior is ultimately motivated by feeling that you don’t have control over your time during the day, reassessing how you spend your time each day is often the first step toward overcoming it.

Impact

Staying up late on occasion isn’t likely to have a major impact on your sleep schedule, health, or overall well-being.

• The problem is when revenge bedtime procrastination becomes a regular habit
• Late nights followed by early mornings can result in sleep deprivation which can hurt your ability to function the next day and can start to affect your physical and mental health over time

Prioritize Sleep

Get to bed on time

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