Revenge bedtime procrastination. The title itself seems self-explanatory, but what does the phenomenon entail and what is the psychology behind it? The common psychological phenomenon of diverting one’s hours of sleep to other activities that involve self-care and entertainment purposes was defined as ‘bedtime procrastination’ in 2014 by Dr. Floor Kroese, a Dutch behavioral scientist. It was only when this term became popular on social media that the word ‘revenge’ was added as a prefix. This phenomenon occurs with people who are busy during the day with a variety of workloads, whether it relates to one’s home life or job. Their lack of control over their workload leads to them finding new ways at night to regain a sense of control through personal time and entertainment, even if they must sacrifice their sleep. Since revenge bedtime procrastination is a relatively new phenomenon, not many studies have been conducted to determine who it affects the most. However, one study concluded that women and students are most likely to be affected by this phenomenon. Unfortunately, until this topic is further explored by psychiatrists and scientists alike, many details of revenge bedtime procrastination will remain undiscovered.
The psychology involved within the inner workings of revenge sleep procrastination is very interesting in the way it demonstrates the power of human behavior and its effects on the human body and its functions as a whole. A 2014 study conducted by the journal Frontiers of Psychology suggested that bedtime procrastination is determined by a conflict between one’s behavior and intention. Although one may feel exhausted after a heavily-scheduled day, their behavior does not allow them to go to bed and actually, diverges their bodies and minds from going to bed. This is especially concerning since the human body acts as a hypocrite; sleep is the most fundamental aspect of human health and yet, those affected by bedtime procrastination choose not to participate in getting more hours of sleep.
The guilty pleasure of taking a few more hours of personal time after a busy day rather than using those vital hours for sleep is experienced by many people across the world. Revenge bedtime procrastination is a concerning psychological phenomenon that is rising in popularity, and it does not discriminate against anyone.
