Bedtime procrastination affects 51% of young adults. But what is it and why do we stay up late on purpose?
With most of us running busy lives throughout the daylight hours, bedtime is something that we keep as our personal, free time. For some, bedtime might feel like the only chance to catch up with a favourite show, reply to messages from friends and family and keep ourselves entertained by consuming social media content.
This is known as revenge bedtime procrastination. In other words, it’s when we realise that staying up late will negatively impact our sleep, yet we still continue to do it. Let’s look at the reasons why.
Why do we stay up late on purpose?
With 51% of young adults sacrificing sleep for personal time, the pattern of staying up late is a common one. While it is still being studied by sleep experts, there are a couple explanations of why this is happening.
Daytime stress
Nowadays many of us are working either completely remotely, or have hybrid roles. While a flexible arrangement that has its positives, it can also lead to long working hours, leaving little or no room for ”free time”. Some cultures are working under the “996 schedule” which translates into working from nine in the morning, to nine at night, six days per week. Naturally, this leaves people feeling like they lack control during the day, overcompensating at night.
Intention-behaviour gap
While most of us are aware that we should be getting 7–9 hours of sleep every night, not all of us have enough self-control to get sufficient hours of sleep. This is otherwise called the intention–behaviour gap. Mostly common in exercise and healthy diet, intention–behaviour gap is also apparent in sleep schedules.
If we’re leading busy and stressful lives, at the end of the day, it becomes harder to have the capacity to self-control and prioritise sleep. Especially, when night-time might be the only time to have some quiet relaxation, away from emails and messages.
Different biological rhythms
Some of us function better at night and those people are known as ”night owls”. They experience a delayed melatonin cycle, which keeps them up at night. With spare time on their hands, they might use this time to scroll on social media or binge-watch TV shows.
However, night owls don’t usually have severe daytime dysfunction, unlike people who might consider themselves as night owls but are, in fact, experiencing Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome – not able to easily fall asleep at night, finding it difficult to wake up and function during the day.
How bedtime procrastination affects your health
Staying up late on purpose can eventually cause sleep deprivation. This snowballs into disrupted natural circadian rhythm, which leads to a weaker immune system, higher risks of heart disease, diabetes and impaired mental as well as cognitive health.
It also has a correlation with depression, anxiety and cardiovascular problems. Needless to say, a couple hours of ”me time” at night-time can lead to lifelong health problems.
Tips on how to stop revenge bedtime procrastination
Overcoming revenge bedtime procrastination can sound easier said than done but, in reality, it requires some form of boundaries and discipline. Try going to bed and waking up at the same time each day, including weekends too. While it might be difficult at first, after a while, your body will get used to this routine and you will feel yourself drift to sleep at the same time each day.
Reducing screen time also makes a difference. A helpful way to do this is to add screen time reminders, turning on sleep mode or simply ensuring that your phone is on the other side of the bedroom.
The sleep environment matters more than many realise. A cool and dark bedroom, good airflow and consistent indoor temperatures can do wonders for prioritising sleep. More importantly, having a comfortable mattress can help your body signal that it’s time to rest.
If you’re amongst the 51% of people experiencing revenge bedtime procrastination, it might be time to take control of your health and find a Mammoth stockist near you to test-drive our range of Medical Grade foam mattresses.