Revenge Bedtime Procrastination: Are You a Victim?

You’ve probably experienced revenge bedtime procrastination without knowing it. If you’ve ever been up late at night and shunned sleep in favor of scrolling endlessly your news feeds, hopped on social media for “just a minute” that lasts for hours, watched just one more episode—or three of four—of new binge-worthy show when you should be getting restful sleep, you may actually be creating an unhealthy habit of revenge bedtime procrastination.¹

Revenge bedtime procrastination is a form of behavioral sleep deprivation that results when we purposefully give up sleep in favor of activities we’d rather be doing, that we don’t have time for otherwise.² It’s how many of us get that vital “me” time we can never find time for during our busy, often hectic daytime hours. Revenge bedtime procrastination is understandable. It occurs because most of our time is taken up with activities that we must do, like work and all the tasks that go with it including time-consuming commutes. Maybe we also have to take care of other people, like our kids or elderly family members. But with all of these responsibilities, there’s no time in all of that for our own pleasures, hobbies, or entertainment—unless we sacrifice sleep.

Revenge bedtime procrastination is essentially the same phenomenon as bedtime procrastination, a concept first investigated and defined by Dr. Floor Kroese at the Utrecht University in 2014.², ³ It wasn’t until 2020 that journalist Daphne Lee added “revenge” to the mix, a reference to the Chinese phrase bàofùxìng áoyè, “retaliatory staying up late.”⁴

It’s important to note that revenge bedtime procrastination can contribute to insufficient sleep, negatively impacting mental and physical performance and health.⁵ It can disrupt our circadian rhythm, the natural and innate cycle of sleeping and waking regulated by the brain.6 Revenge bedtime procrastination does this by confusing cues that should be associated with sleep with environmental cues for wakefulness.⁶

Typically, when we’re getting ready to sleep, we stop paying close attention to much of anything, tune out from the environment around us, and drift into sleep. When we revenge bedtime procrastinate, we keep attending to our surroundings, forcing our brains to at least attempt to stay alert and wakeful.

Over time, habitually being awake when we should be sleeping may lead to sleep deficiency.

People revenge bedtime procrastinate for different reasons. Sometimes people have jobs that are so all-consuming they only find time for themselves in the small hours of the night. Parents with small children may only find time to engage in leisure activities after the kids have been put to bed. Students may have classes and work all day yet stay up all night to socialize.

If you’re wondering whether or not you’re a revenge bedtime procrastinator, check out these signs of putting “me time” ahead of “zzz time.”

These are the essential components of Revenge Bedtime Procrasination:³, ⁷

There aren’t really any benefits to revenge bedtime procrastination. It does allow a person to get in some time to themselves. But revenge bedtime procrastination also involves compromising in the short term. Over time, the procrastination can become a habit that is hard to kick from your daily routine. Like all forms of procrastination, we tell ourselves we’ll do the responsible thing later, but there’s no catching up on sleep.

Revenge bedtime procrastination reduces the amount of sleep a person gets, which has significant and negative consequences in the short term. Even worse, the effects of insufficient sleep are cumulative and become a bigger issue over time.

An occasional late night followed by an early morning isn’t problematic, but remember, revenge bedtime procrastination refers to habitually skipping sleep, leading to chronic sleep deprivation.

For adults, signs of sleep deficiency may result when a person gets less than 7 hours of sleep a night.⁸

Sleep isn’t an indulgence. Sleep is as important as food or water. Consider that our brains cycle through several phases or stages of sleep.⁹ They occur in a sequence and have regular durations. Regardless of when we go to sleep, these phases of sleep start at the beginning of the cycle and progress in order,⁹ which means if you do not allow time for sleep, there’s either not enough time to get through all phases or a phase will be interrupted by our alarm clocks.

Sleep is a part of the process by which information and experiences are transferred into long-term memory. Sleep is also a requirement for facts, processes, and behaviors we are trying to learn, to become fixed.⁹

Sleep is also vitally important for maintaining and regulating your circadian rhythm. Your body’s circadian clock is important for preparing your body to perform multiple functions, including when to exercise, feed, digest food, and sleep.¹⁰ A disrupted circadian rhythm can leave you feeling groggy when you wake up or restless when you should be asleep.

Sleep deficiency or deprivation can be harmful and contribute to physical and mental concerns—both in the near and in the longer term. Initial signs of occasional sleep loss may include:¹¹

• Fatigue, feeling tired or exhausted
  
• Irritability, feeling frustrated or cranky
  
• Impaired memory
  
• Poor ability to learn or slowed learning
  
• Poor performance at work or school
  
  Over time, sleep deprivation, may negatively impact weight, immune function, and that are linked to development of chronic health issues.¹¹, ¹²

These are some of the more well-known myths about sleep:

Reframing how we view sleep is a big part of getting our sleep routine back on track. Consider that many of us spend most of our time at work or preparing for work. We come home, attend to our activities of daily living, then go to bed, only to wake up and repeat that cycle, over and over.

You can take back control of your sleep habits. Practicing good sleep hygiene is essential for getting your sleep cycle back on track. ZzzQuil is here to help you on your journey to your best sleep. Sign up for ZzzQuil’s Better Sleep in 1-2-Zzz to learn more about how you can optimize your sleep routine.

Keep reading for five tips to help improve your sleep hygiene:¹³, ¹⁴