The solution to procrastination seems to be pretty simple till the time the procrastinator is only avoiding a task with a deadline. For instance, for me, just starting work on the task helps a lot. When I see there is a task with an approaching deadline, I instantly know I might procrastinate. And hard as it may sound, most of the time I manage to beat my demons by just initiating efforts on the “scary” task and cutting out distractions.
Once I am in the requisite flow state, the cravings to do something else less important naturally subside. A non-procrastinator might never understand how much mental strength it takes each time. Often it takes years for people like me to master this simple technique.
It can be a complex situation, however, when the procrastinator concerned is not putting off some task but SLEEP—the most precious of all things in human life. Yes, you heard it right—this delinquent is called: revenge bedtime procrastination.
It is “the decision to sacrifice sleep for leisure time that is driven by a daily schedule lacking in free time,” says Eric Suni, staff writer for sleepfoundation.org.
The term has its roots in the Chinese language where it was called “bàofùxìng áoyè,” the earliest usage of which can be found in a 2018 blog post by a man from Guangdong province in China. In his blog, he complains about belonging to someone else during the day and finding relief from the mundane only at night when he is back home and can lay relaxed in his bed. Reading a translation of his post in English helps us understand how nighttime is a metaphor for freedom and joy in his life.
The term was popularized in the summer of 2020 when journalist Daphne K Lee tweeted about it.
Over the last couple of years, there has been a lot of buzz around this topic. Everyone from health experts to sleep coaches have expressed their views on the problem.
The common consensus is that people with highly stressful daytime routines are more likely to practice this unhealthy bedtime pattern. The main reason for this is the lack of “me time” during the day. For instance, a working mom juggling many roles throughout the day will be more likely to put off sleep at night because she wants to use some time to entertain herself by watching a TV series or a movie on Netflix, scrolling through social media, or whatever else she finds relief in.
So, “Netflix and Chill,” a popular inference for hooking up or indulging in sexual activity, can also be for many a euphemism for revenge bedtime procrastination or sleep procrastination.
Wait, didn’t the Netflix C.E.O. Reed Hastings say something on similar lines at an industry summit: “you get a show or a movie you’re really dying to watch, and you end up staying up late at night, so we actually compete with sleep” and he also added, “and we’re winning!”
Well, we are letting Netflix win.
Often the “revenge” of sleep procrastinators is rooted in negative feelings the person experiences throughout the day in being part of tasks that are not fulfilling.
College students are also quite likely to experience these feelings when their days are packed with back-to-back classes and assignments with little room for downtime. A corporate employee with a fatiguing 9 to 9 work schedule is also bound to experience the same spite and mental tiredness at the end of his workday.
Since the procrastinator is bound to daytime duties, they grow vindictive by the night and end up losing vital sleep hours in the process. As morning again brings the same challenges and mundane tasks and there is often no getting away from them, one stands the risk of losing employment or being debarred from a program if they choose to sleep in to cover up for lost nighttime sleep hours each morning. The consequences are often harsh—and the procrastinator knows it well.
So, what should be done?
Understand the Problem
When people throw at procrastinators solutions to their problems, there is little emphasis on the need to properly understand the problem at hand. If you are a bedtime procrastinator, the first step should be to understand why it’s happening. Asking yourself some tough questions is more likely to help you find solutions: Why are you revengeful by the end of the day? Why is sleep important? How do you feel in the mornings when you cannot sleep in? Are you experiencing optimal health?
There are no quick fixes to any kind of procrastination and often the person suffering the problem has to work continually on implementing strategies that suit them the best.
Schedule Downtime
There is enough evidence that downtime is essential to our brain health, creativity, and self-worth. It is important for us to somehow manage some free time to clear the cache clogging our brains. And scrolling through social media or watching a movie doesn’t really count as downtime. Just letting your mind wander and not forcing it to process more information or focus on any task at all is what qualifies as proper downtime.
Learn to Say No
Of course, you cannot say no to the basic tasks your job role needs of you but both in your personal and professional spheres, there are many opportunities to say no to things you don’t have to do. Cutting the extraneous helps us find more room for the much-needed me time even during the day.
Cut your Gadget Time
If you are fully aware you cannot sleep in the next day, keep your phone away! Or get into the habit of counting your sleep hours. If you are not getting an average of 7-8 hours of shut-eye every night, try to find out why. Our phones figure quite big on our list of bedtime distractions.
There is a lot of information available on the topic and the solutions to the problem are closely connected with those that experts commonly offer for a healthy work-life balance. Sleeping adequately, taking time off, and prioritizing health and well-being over everything else are general pieces of advice.
Just like I have learned to overcome my everyday procrastination related to urgent tasks, you might have to learn to overcome this problem in your unique style.
Love thy downtime! 🙂
Ambika Singh,PhD 