Are You Hooked On Revenge Bedtime Procrastination?

Why do so many people scroll so late? They stay up well after the time they’d like to go to bed… maybe for hours.

Could it be “Revenge Bedtime Procrastination”?

You might get caught up in this behavior for a few reasons: getting moments of control over your time, feeling lonely, and/or avoiding your inner self.

To start, people who don’t have much control over their days (never-ending work or care of others) want some unending free time! This is especially true in the pandemic, with no clear separation when workdays stop. These folks refuse to go to sleep, even when they’re super tired, because AT LAST they can decide what they want to do. And to push off tomorrow.

We’re also lonelier, with no live end-of-workday rituals or casual in-person connections. Social media provides a conduit to other people’s lives, joys, sorrows, lessons, and connections.

And third, many people want to be SO exhausted their body just shuts down to sleep. Then they don’t have to acknowledge how they feel. (Or so they think….) The reality is that these unacknowledged feelings don’t disappear. They show up in chronic tension, anxiety, waking in the middle of the night, and exhaustion.

It’s true, you really do meet yourself when you rest. This can be a lovely gift, yet it can feel difficult when life is getting the best of you. I teach people to manage difficult emotions as they learn to rest into themselves.

This article is an interesting read, and if you stay up late this way, you’ll find some useful advice at the end.

Such as spending time during the day, especially daylight hours, to connect with yourself. Acknowledge how you’re feeling. Zone out. Connect with friends. Feel compassion for yourself.

When you care for yourself (even in nanoseconds) during the day, that’s “getting revenge.”