BEDTIME PROCRASTINATION

Bedtime procrastination is the act of going to bed later than intended while no external circumstances are accountable for doing so. That is, choosing to delay bedtime without a practical reason for this delay. Apparently, young adults and adolescents are the most obvious bedtime procrastinators. Too many young adults put off sleep to watch videos, listen to music, or send text messages. However, the reasons behind this purposeful delay remained unclear. There may be a connection between heightened daytime stress and bedtime procrastination.

The more an individual had to “resist desires” during the rest of their day, the more likely they would be a bedtime procrastinator.

This means that the less enjoyable things a person could do during the day, the likelier it was that they would try to reclaim that time at night and engage in the more pleasurable activities they had not been able to do during the day. This concept is termed "revenge sleep procrastination". One of the significant causes of revenge sleep procrastination is where our current working culture intersects with our personal and leisure time expectations. It all comes down to trying to reclaim that much-needed “me time”. The desire to gain a level of personal freedom drives a desire to stay awake beyond a time that will provide an optimal level of sleep.

Undoubtedly, the “revenge” aspect of bedtime procrastination comes almost as an act of rebellion against ever-increasing demands at work and at home, which leave many of us little time or energy to invest in leisure activities.

It is late at night almost 12 am. Your day’s work — day job duties, homework for your course, house chores — is all done. You glance at the clock: it is past midnight already. You are all ready for bed and so tired that you could almost pass out. However, instead of closing your eyes and drifting off to sleep, something else happens. You start reading a book, watching an episode of your favorite show, saw an interesting post on Linkedln by Aniekeme lmo . Before you know it, one more page has become five more chapters, you have binge-watched an entire season of that show, one click turned to more clicks or writing posts.

By this time, however, it is 3.00 am., and you know you have to wake up at 6.00 am. You are very tired, and you know you will be sleep-deprived, but you could not help yourself. Why? If this scenario seems familiar, it is because many people around the world have been increasingly engaging in this form of behaviour. You are experiencing revenge sleep procrastination.

While anyone can engage in bedtime sleep procrastination, some people may be more likely than others to delay going to bed. It appears that women and students are most likely engage in bedtime procrastination. Ever wonder why women (mother/wife) would be awake at dead night and will wake you up to discuss an important topic? Okay. The thing is the chance of severe bedtime procrastination is more than twice as high for females than for males.

Lack of sufficient, good quality (uninterrupted) sleep will definitely affect both one's physical and mental health. Researchers have tied sleep not just to our ability to focus on work and being productive but also to mood regulation, weight gain, cardiovascular health, and inflammation, among others.

Sleep deprivation, reduced decision-making capacities, and challenges with cognitive performance are all potential negative effects of sleep procrastination.

Sadly, the only positive with revenge sleep procrastination is that there’s a false appearance that you have more control over your life. This is very reinforcing and will entice you to continue this behaviour, even though the risks outweigh the rewards. There is no genuine positive effect to reducing the quality and time of your sleep. Consistent and good quality sleep is the foundation of sound physical and mental health.

It can be difficult to dislodge the feeling of regaining freedom and control over one’s life, even when a person knows that the sleep deprivation that tends to follow bedtime procrastination can feed a vicious cycle of exhaustion and lack of productivity. With the awareness of the importance of sleep often present in those who procrastinate, the solutions often lie in setting boundaries around working patterns, considering flexibility in work, and creating psychological separation between work and home environments. The importance of having a digital curfew cannot be overemphasized. We should have a time at which we consciously put our digital devices aside. This is important because screen time particularly before bed has links with less and poorer quality sleep.

It is important to note that sometimes sleep refuses to come despite our best efforts and intentions, resulting in the inevitable tiredness the following day. The number one thing is to accept it and not fight it.

No one wants to hear this, but, in my opinion, the best mechanism for effectively coping with sleep deprivation is exercise. This doesn’t mean signing up to a gym. Personally, I am not a fan of the gym too but exercising here I meant just hitting the streets. Not just running or jogging but simply going for regular walks. The important thing is getting outside. There is definitely a primordial relationship between the great outdoors and sleep. This trick have helped many people deal with insomnia.

Top tips and tricks for sleep hygiene include:

• Make your sleep environment as cold and airy as possible. The worse sleep humans experience is during high-heat, low air levels.
• Protect your sleep environment and associate your bed with the joys of sleep. It’s a simple and effective idea. If you’re wide awake, get up and (move) away from your sleep zone.
• Have a regular wake-up time and bedtime
• Snack on nuts, seeds, and pulses, which are sources of the amino acid tryptophan, which helps produce melatonin
• Take vitamin D and magnesium supplements, which may help induce sleep
• Stay hydrated
• Only drink caffeinated beverages in the morning.

For people who struggle to go to sleep because they feel there was not enough time in the day to engage both in chores and in leisure activities, the answer may be to learn to compartmentalize their worries as much as possible.

We all need time to mentally detach and distance ourselves from working and do something meaningful. Finding a healthy way to create that space while still being kind to ourselves is the key to finding harmony that doesn’t put us at risk of burnout, chronic stress, and reduced health.