Revenge bedtime procrastination is a term that went viral in 2020 when journalist Daphne K Lee tweeted about it. Taken from the Chinese phrase bàofùxìng áoyè which means ‘retaliatory staying up late,’ it is the idea of letting go of sleep for the things one can’t do during the day because of a busy schedule.
High-stress jobs and revenge bedtime procrastination
“Revenge bedtime procrastination is a concept seen in people with high-stress jobs who try to find a few hours of entertainment at night (watching television, gaming, spending time with friends) even though it results in insufficient sleep. Revenge (frustration) results from high-stress jobs where the decision to sacrifice sleep for leisure time is taken despite awareness about sleep deprivation,” says Dr Sachin D, consultant, interventional pulmonology, critical care and sleep medicine, Manipal Hospital, Bengaluru.
According to Dr Shantanu Tandon, senior ENT surgeon, airway and sleep apnea specialist, Sakra World Hospital, Bengaluru, there is a blurry line between work and play and this could be a contributing factor for revenge bedtime procrastination. “Earlier, we could ‘leave work at work’ and come home to do the desired things. The more a person had to ‘resist desires’ or delay doing things, the more likely he/she would be a bedtime procrastinator,” he says. “In a genuine sense, it is an act of reclaiming or revenging the time ‘lost’ for pleasurable activities during one’s day. It could even be seen as an act of rebellion against having to do things and putting off those things we want to do.”
Who is more likely to suffer from revenge bedtime procrastination?
While anyone is susceptible to revenge bedtime, both Dr Tandon and Dr Sachin say that it is more common in women and younger adults (gen Z-ers and younger millennials).
Dr Tandon highlights the possible reasons for this.
“Women are more likely to care for children and the home than their husbands. Millennials and gen Z-ers are known for pushing against established organisational structures and so would struggle with their time having to be spent on what they have to do versus what they want to spend their time doing,” he says.
Revenge sleep procrastination is common among college students, says Arnav Singh (19) a final-year student at St Joseph’s University, Bengaluru.
“College students are under tremendous stress because of the constant workload. During the day, I am busy attending lectures, doing some extracurricular activities and doing my full-time remote job. This means I never really have time to introspect and be with myself,” he says, justifying why he stays up at night.
Singh says he usually spends his whole night gaming with his friends as it is his only free time to unwind and relax, even at the cost of not waking up for his 10 am lecture.
Like Singh, Kiara Rai (20), a final year commerce student at Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru, is unable to get eight hours of sleep no matter how hard she tries and wakes up with bags under her eyes every morning. “Waking up at 6 am daily, doing my regular chores, college assignments and interning is a constant struggle. Even if I am tired at the end of the day, I stay up until 2 am binging on Netflix or social media because it is my only free time,” she says.
The downsides
Dr Sachin points out that sleeping later regularly can lead to chronic sleep deprivation (sleeplessness over an extended period). “It [chronic sleep deprivation] causes excessive daytime sleepiness and impaired memory, concentration and thinking capacity affecting an individual’s overall physical, mental and emotional health.”
How to overcome revenge sleeping?
Experts recommend:
- Being punctual with the ‘lights out’ time.
- Being mindful of doing at least one thing a day for yourself and not putting it away till bedtime.
- Journalling all your thoughts.
- Protecting your sleep zone. Do not lay in bed until you are ready to go to sleep.
Takeaways
Revenge bedtime procrastination is the act of going to bed later than intended without a practical reason. Improper work-life or school-life balance can cause revenge sleep procrastination. Leading a less stressful life and following good sleep hygiene can help one deal with it.
2 Responses
I somewhat agree with it, when you say it’s mainly with high-stress jobs. But, I feel it’s more to do with how we handle our emotions. And in today’s era, I have seen that most people didn’t grow their capability to handle emotions compared to available options to ruin the day and night (TV series).
So, learning to handle emotions and thus actions will make life easy in every area of life including sleep.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us!