Bedtime procrastination

Bedtime procrastination or revenge bedtime procrastination is a psychological phenomenon in which people stay up later than they desire in an attempt to have control over the night because they perceive themselves (perhaps subconsciously) to lack influence over events during the day.[1][2]

An image of a woman using her smartphone late at night

Origin of the term

The term "bedtime procrastination" became popular based on a 2014 study from the Netherlands.[3]

The "revenge" prefix was believed to be added first in China in the late 2010s, possibly relating to the 996 working hour system (72 hours per week).[4] "Revenge" because many feel like it's the only way they can take any control over their daytime self.[4]

Writer Daphne K. Lee, wrote about it on Twitter, describing it as "a phenomenon in which people who don't have much control over their daytime life refuse to sleep early in order to regain some sense of freedom during late night hours."[5][6]

Causes

An individual may procrastinate sleep due to a variety of causes. Bedtime procrastination commonly occurs when an individual is not necessarily avoiding sleep, but rather continuing to complete activities they deem more enjoyable than sleep (such as watching television or browsing social media). Due to the nature of constant distraction in the 21st century, obtaining distractions to delay sleep is much easier than decades before.[3]

People who take part in bedtime procrastination do not want to avoid sleep, rather they acknowledge that they want sleep, but they want control over their free time. This is also known as "inention behavior gap" Self control is one of the biggest controlling factors when it comes to bedtime procrastination. Self control is at it's lowest at the end of the day, so regardless of how tired or how much a person wants sleep, they continue to stay up.A 2014 study of Dutch individuals concluded that a potential cause for bedtime procrastination could be low self-regulation.[3]

Due to covid 19, 40% more people have had sleeping problems.[7]

A study done in 2021 found that boredom also leads to bedtime procrastination. Boredom increases the inattention in a person which leads to increased bedtime procrastination.[8]

A study done in 2018 tested 19 people which lead to three bedtime procrastination themes: deliberate procrastination, mindless procrastination and strategic delay. Deliberate procrastination results from a person believing they deserve more time for themselves, causing them to stay up later. Mindless procrastination results from a person losing track of time during their daily tasks. Strategic delay results from a person purposely staying up late in order to fall asleep easier. Strategic delay has also found to be linked with undiagnosed insomnia.[9]

Researches found that bedtime procrastinations main causes are low-self control and increased stress.[10]

Psychological Influences

Women, students and "night owls" are most likely to participate in bedtime procrastination. People with high daytime stress levels are more prone to bedtime procrastination.[1]

Sleep procrastination comes in other forms as well, such as delaying going to sleep (sleep procrastination) and delaying the time trying to fall asleep (while in bed procrastination).[2]

1/3 of Chinese students showed signs of sleep procrastination.[11]

Signs and Symptoms

According to researchers, there are three key factors to differentiate bedtime procrastination and staying up late. This means the individual experiencing bedtime procrastination must be decreasing their overall sleep time every night, there must be no reason for them to be staying up late (ie. location, sickness, etc) and lastly, the individual must be aware that the loss in sleep is impacting them negatively, but they do not care to change their routine.[2]

People with higher cell-phone addiction report more signs of bedtime procrastination.[12]

Consequences

A person who experiences bedtime procrastination is likely to face effects related to the delayed sleep. One study indicated that bedtime procrastination was frequently associated with sleep deprivation and experiencing more fatigue throughout the day.[3]

Bedtime procrastination results in poor sleep quality and can be a sign of poor self-regulation.[12]

Bedtime procrastination can cause sleep deprivation which leads to slow thinking, low attention levels, bad memory, bad decision making, stress, anxiety and irritation. If sleep deprivation is not treated quickly, long term consequences include heart disease, diabetes, obesity, weakened immune system, pain, hormone issues, and mental health issues.[10]

References
  1. "What is 'Revenge Bedtime Procrastination'?". Sleep Foundation. 23 February 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  2. Marples, Megan (15 February 2021). "'Revenge bedtime procrastination' could be robbing you of precious sleep time". CNN Health. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  3. Kroese, Floor M.; De Ridder, Denise T. D.; Evers, Catharine; Adriaanse, Marieke A. (2014). "Bedtime procrastination: introducing a new area of procrastination". Frontiers in Psychology. 5: 611. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00611. ISSN 1664-1078. PMC 4062817. PMID 24994989.
  4. Liang, Lu-Hai (26 November 2020). "The psychology behind 'revenge bedtime procrastination'". BBC. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  5. Mateo, Ashley (2 March 2021). "Revenge Bedtime Procrastination Is a Real Sleep Disorder—Here's What It Means and How to Stop Doing It". Health.com. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  6. Daphne K. Lee (27 June 2020). "Daphne K. Lee on Twitter". Archived from the original on 2021-04-27.
  7. "What is revenge bedtime procrastination?". www.medicalnewstoday.com. 2021-03-19. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  8. "New study sheds light on how boredom affects bedtime procrastination and sleep quality". PsyPost. 2021-04-03. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  9. Nauts, Sanne; Kamphorst, Bart A.; Stut, Wim; De Ridder, Denise T. D.; Anderson, Joel H. (2019-11-02). "The Explanations People Give for Going to Bed Late: A Qualitative Study of the Varieties of Bedtime Procrastination". Behavioral Sleep Medicine. 17 (6): 753–762. doi:10.1080/15402002.2018.1491850. ISSN 1540-2002. PMID 30058844.
  10. Starkman, Evan. "What Is Revenge Bedtime Procrastination?". WebMD. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  11. Ma, Xiaohan; Meng, Dexin; Zhu, Liwei; Xu, Huiying; Guo, Jing; Yang, Limin; Yu, Lei; Fu, Yiming; Mu, Li (2020-07-15). "Bedtime procrastination predicts the prevalence and severity of poor sleep quality of Chinese undergraduate students". Journal of American College Health. 0 (0): 1–8. doi:10.1080/07448481.2020.1785474. ISSN 0744-8481. PMID 33151847.
  12. Zhang, Meng Xuan; Wu, Anise M. S. (2020-12-01). "Effects of smartphone addiction on sleep quality among Chinese university students: The mediating role of self-regulation and bedtime procrastination". Addictive Behaviors. 111: 106552. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106552. ISSN 0306-4603.
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