Hey sleep enthusiast, thanks for following your curiosity to find out about revenge bedtime procrastination. If you’re looking for some understanding about how and why it can turn up in life, as well as guidance on what you can do about it, I’ve got you.
What is revenge bedtime procrastination?
In my work as a sleep coach, I often hear from people who find themselves building a habit of going to sleep later than they intend to, or deliberately staying up late even when they know they know it will have consequences the next day. There’s a term to describe the phenomenon and it sounds like a cool villain title, a revenge bedtime procrastinator.
Where does revenge bedtime procrastination come from?
The phrase is believed to have originated in China where many people in cities work the tough nine-nine-six schedule. This refers to shifts from nine in the morning to nine at night, for six days a week. People reportedly then squeeze in socialising or other forms of staying up late after work to reclaim more of their leisure time, despite missing out on sleep.
What is revenge bedtime procrastination?
Revenge bedtime procrastination has resonated globally as people want to take their power back, just like those superhero villains! They want to reclaim some freedom, so choose to stay up late. This is a common antidote to not feeling like you may have much influence over the events in your day. It can look like socialising with friends beyond when you intended to call it a night, letting that Netflix series keep on playing ‘just one more episode’ past bedtime, playing video games, scrolling social media - pretty much any activity that brings distraction from sleep.
How to fix revenge bedtime procrastination?
If you're fed up of the revenge bedtime procrastination cycle, there are a few areas to address when it comes to breaking the habit. The first step is to look at the practical ways in which you can set yourself up for a good night's sleep, this is where sleep hygiene comes in and establishing a consistent sleep schedule, you can find out more about this here.
It can also be helpful to look at where there may be areas of tension and misalignment in your life that you may be avoiding dealing with, such as work overload or less effective time management. When it comes to making changes to daily habits and, in the longer term, re-organising your life, it’s common to come up against some resistance or limiting beliefs.
Revenge bedtime procrastination and limiting beliefs
As someone with inconsistent sleep patterns, you may have a thought along the lines of ‘I’m not going to sleep anyway, so I might as well enjoy some of my evening before the dreaded tossing and turning’. Or maybe you hope the late night activities can tire you out some more so there may be less racing thoughts at night, or anxiety about sleep? I get it and have been there.
These kinds of beliefs can be challenging to be with, especially if you’ve been getting by with inconsistent sleep for a while: it can be overwhelming to think about where to start. If you’d like to find out more about how to approach different kinds of unhelpful thinking and bringing in new possibilities to rest your mind, you can read more here.
Revenge bedtime procrastinator no more!
I hope this information about revenge bedtime procrastination has been helpful and given some ideas for alternatives to follow instead of letting that that pesky revenge bedtime procrastinator villain run the show!
The approaches shared in the guides for sleep hygiene and dealing with unhelpful thinking give a taste of what's explored in more depth in the Restful Sleep coaching process. This is how sleep coaching helps people who struggle with inconsistent sleep to get to the root cause of their insomnia quicker.
If you’d like to find out more about Restful Sleep coaching, you can do here, or to ask any questions about how it could help with your situation, you can book a free discovery call today.
Stay curious,
Maša
