Revenge Bedtime Procrastination

Revenge bedtime procrastination is when we put off going to bed so that we can have some “me-time” within our busy days. We stay up later than we need to (meaning there isn’t any real reason for our late nights, and we know staying up is going to cause us to be tired in the morning).

Sleep is your superpower | Matt Walker

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[Hello-gfog]

I stay up late because I don't want to wake up tomorrow and suffer through the same things I suffer every day, again.

[naddyn]

OMG have been doing this throughout lockdown. I also feel subconsciously it’s like a self-punishment. It’s about hanging on to the today and not wanting tomorrow to arrive.

[harisankar]

Me watching this video at 3am: "totally understood!"

[selenawhite]

I’ve found getting ready for bed in different chunks really helps. Go ahead and change into pjs as soon as you get home, or right before dinner. Then, right after dinner, just take care of your oral hygiene routine. Then take an hour to watch a show, catch up on YouTube, read a book, whatever, then do your skin care routine. You can tweak these steps to whatever works for you, the basic idea being that your breaking up your “getting ready for bed” routine so it doesn’t feel quite as daunting.

[WeirdHeather]

Omg it’s not just me!!! I just figured I was terrible at the kind of self discipline every other grown up seems to manage.

[emilydurkee]

This is super normal for people who are neurodivergent (so like people with ADHD and Autism). We need an average of two hours in the evening to just be alone.

[agees]

It’s so hard being an introverted, hobby based person and stuck at a boring desk job for 10 hours a day. I do this all the time because I feel like my life has no meaning otherwise.

[shadowboy]

Ive been doing this since high school as an attempt to get free time to do things you want to do at the expense of sleep.

[reallifepsych]

Sleep hygiene is such an important topic. This is how our mental health can really affect our physical health and vice versa. Lack of sleep can lead to fatigue, irritability, depression and poor nutritional choices just to name a few.

[GK-qcry]

This is me. I did it yesterday, felt rough this morning. I put this down to not wanting the next day to start so you go through the same repetitive routine again.

[yagmurdulger]

I did this last night until 4 am after having a busy week and was even feeling somewhat angry and revengeful while doing so. This explains a lot and could not be better timing.

[csillaborbath]

i have been doing this since my early childhood. i would stay up late reading books. now I'm watching tv shows or livestreams but it's the same. it's been a real problem and i have insomnia because of it. my theory is that i live in a very toxic and controlling household. the only time i can be myself is at night when they probably won't bother me. i think another part of this is that i am transgender and bisexual and closeted to my family.

[robscott]

This is almost a guaranteed issue for those of us with ADHD especially if the person also tends toward the highly sensitive end of the sensing spectrum. Any number of non-neurotypical traits affecting executive function can easily contribute significantly to revenge bedtime issues because that may in fact be the only time of the whole day when they can be allowed to quiet their inputs and distractions.

I’m ADHD and HSP, and I’m also a tech worker who gets work done by sitting at a computer all day long. All of that adds up to decades of revenge bedtimes for me. The downside is less sleep, but the upside is the uninterrupted quiet time that I need to maintain even reasonable mental health.

[blacklegolas]

Yup yup. That’s me. My inner child throws a tantrum everyday and i suffer every night 😩😩😩

[ImprovementPath]

RBP is something I am now dealing with big time. Thank you for all you do ❤️

[rosep]

The great thing about staying up late is that it really IS time to myself because everyone is asleep

[marygabaree]

OMGosh!
I’ve been doing that for decades!
It’s quiet & the time is our
Lots of Moms can relate to this I think

[strangeturtle]

Holy---. Look I was telling myself if I didn't sleep now tomorrow would suck for me, but I couldn't help but open YouTube and no kidding this was the first video on my feed.

[erinmichellem]

Not me procrastinating my bedtime watching series till 2 am right now 😳😅

[alphaaxis]

ive been suffering from this "RBP" for supposedly 3 - 4 years now, at this point im used to the feeling and it becomes a subconscious nature to stay awake, and when i try to sleep my mind is overrun with thoughts like "you'll be waiting another whole day for the next moment of free time", "why would you sleep wasting time and not being productive?" and i absolutely hate it, another problem thats almost polar opposite is that during the weekends, i feel like ive wasted all the time given and that i need to be productive, so its just constantly either "im too unproductive" or "i need to be unproductive".