Breaking the Cycle of Revenge Bedtime Procrastination: A Guide to Better Sleep

You may have heard the term revenge bedtime procrastination (RBP) a lot these days on popular social media like TikTok and Instagram. While unclear where this exact term comes from, bedtime procrastination is not a new concept. 

Many people have been struggling with this issue for a long time, although it’s not considered a medical condition or sleep disorder per se. According to Kroese et al. (2016), over 50% of young adults struggle with bedtime procrastination. However, they are not the only ones. It can also affect teenagers and older adults.

This type of behavior may have diverse negative effects on overall well-being, health, academic and work performance. Let’s explore how this phenomenon works and ways to combat or prevent bedtime procrastination.

What Is Revenge Bedtime Procrastination?

The “revenge” part of the term suggests the deliberate nature of this phenomenon. Many young adults, often combining school and work, try to make up for lost “me” time at night. In essence, it’s an attempt to regain free time and control, despite negative consequences.

Older adults often combine jobs, household chores, and parenthood. After a long day, many find themselves in need of some way to unwind. They often spend this time scrolling on social media, binge-watching series, or engaging in other activities instead of going to sleep.

Some interpret it as a kind of coping mechanism for dealing with stress, however, mainly, it’s a way to make time for leisure or entertainment, sacrificing sleep in the meantime. If a person is struggling with procrastination in general, bedtime procrastination can be only a part of a bigger issue. Before looking for management strategies, it’s important to determine if procrastination is affecting other areas of your life.

Why Do People Engage in Revenge Bedtime Procrastination?

As mentioned before, bedtime revenge procrastination often stems from a busy lifestyle and lack of time to unwind and engage in leisure. Modern lifestyle prioritizes productivity, often pushing personal time and rest to the background. 

For many, the evening hours become the only available window to relax and engage in activities that feel rewarding or enjoyable. This is where scrolling commonly becomes an issue. Scrolling on social networks, especially those like TikTok and Instagram, where it’s easy to access an endless number of short-form videos selected according to your preferences, makes it particularly hard to stop.

This process involves our reward system. When you’re scrolling, small doses of dopamine are released due to the unpredictable reward (Sinha et al., 2023). This also puts you into the state of “flow,” which may result in time distortion, which also delays bedtime. The issue arises when this unhealthy behavior becomes a routine rather than an occasional indulgence. 

A 2020 BBC article has shed some light on how young people in China struggling with extreme working hours prioritize revenge bedtime over quality time. Those who engage in this pattern are often driven by an “instant gratification” mindset. They choose to engage in watching Netflix or browsing social media, which offer quick rewards over the delayed benefits of a full night’s sleep.

Long hours at work and high stress levels may sound like a justification for indulging into this type of behavior. On a psychological level, it can also be tied to the need for control over personal time. When we feel that our schedules are largely dictated by others, such as employers, teachers, or even family members, we may be more inclined to use sleep revenge as a form of reclaiming independence.

The rising issue of bedtime procrastination affects the overall sleep quality in teenagers and adults and may potentially lead to sleep deprivation or more lasting sleep disorders. Here’s some statistics from across the world:

• A survey by the Chinese Medical Doctors Association has shown that about 60% of young people in China do not get enough sleep.
• In Europe, one in ten adults struggle with chronic insomnia (Riemann et al., 2022), and about 35% of Europeans have reported struggling to get a proper night’s rest.
• In the US, the situation is no better. It is estimated that more than 50 million Americans have ongoing or chronic sleep issues. Explore more related statistics on cdc.gov.

It’s important to understand that bedtime procrastination is not considered the only or even leading reason behind sleep quality deterioration. However, it is one of the contributing issues that must be taken seriously.

Revenge Bedtime Procrastination and ADHD

There’s no direct correlation between specifically revenge bedtime procrastination and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); however, people with ADHD commonly report sleep disturbances and circadian rhythms alterations (Coogan et al., 2016). Circadian rhythm is a cycle of physical, behavioral, and mental changes the human body undergoes in 24 hours (a full day). This issue is often caused or accompanied by self-regulation dysfunctions and other negative behavioral patterns.

The cooccurrence of ADHD and staying up late or sleep disturbances does not necessarily mean that it is a symptom of ADHD, and more research is required in the field. However, other symptoms of the disorder may be the reason behind common sleep issues occurrence (Scarpelli et al., 2019). Current literature suggests that ADHD symptoms are strongly associated with procrastination in general.

People with ADHD need to establish if their sleep issues or delaying sleep are related to bedtime procrastination or other symptoms of the disorder, medication, or mental health issues. Healthcare professionals can be of great help in this case. Understanding the specific reason behind sleep problems will help identify a suitable solution. 

Some of the low-risk interventions have been explored in research and review articles. For example, a review by Surman and Walsh (2021) has established that light therapy may be useful in managing sleep issues, but they also point out the need for future research in the field.

Consequences of Revenge Bedtime Procrastination

Since every person is different, the effects of revenge sleep procrastination can manifest in a variety of ways. However, the most common problem is the deterioration of sleep quality, which, in turn, may provoke long-term sleep disorders. Additionally, poor sleep quality significantly deteriorates executive functioning (like focusing, planning, or organization) and working memory scores (Parrilla et al., 2024)

The most obvious issues are exhaustion and struggling to get things done during the day, which can create a vicious cycle. It often goes like this:

• After a long day of work or other chores, you feel the need to check what’s new on social media or watch that series you’ve been waiting for.
• As you go to bed late, the quality and duration of sleep are compromised.
• The next day, you wake up tired (or even oversleep) and struggle to focus at school or at work, or tasks are more time-consuming than usual.
• It may take more time to have chores done on time, so you finish late.
• Then, to finally have some leisure or entertainment you stay up long again and it leads to the same thing happening the next day.

If bedtime procrastination is not a regular issue but more of an occasional indulgence, it might not affect your life significantly. However, when it becomes a habit and starts occurring regularly or even daily, it becomes harder to manage and may have a long-term impact on your performance and overall quality of life.

The Health Effects of Poor Sleep

We spend about ⅓ of our lives sleeping, so it's no surprise that lack of rest can significantly impact our physical and mental health. As discussed previously, when bedtime revenge procrastination becomes a habit, it affects our sleep quality significantly. To understand how important quality bedtime rest is, let’s have a look at some of the common health consequences of poor sleep:

• Weaker immune system
• Increased appetite and/or weight gain
• Higher risk of chronic conditions
• Cardiovascular disease
• Difficulty managing emotions and mood swings
• Increased anxiety and higher risk of depression
• Reduced focus and executive functioning

These are examples of common issues associated with a lack of quality sleep. Every case is different, and the effects may vary. A week of poor sleep when preparing for finals is unlikely to give you a serious health issue, but long-term it may contribute to the development of the aforementioned problems.

How to Stop Revenge Bedtime Procrastination: Strategies

Sleep procrastination is an unhealthy behavior that may contribute to various health issues and difficulty having things done. The good news is — you can fix it. There are strategies to deal with it and establish healthy sleep hygiene. Let’s explore some of them.

Set Up a Wind-Down Routine

One of the main reasons why people turn to RBP, whether their sleep procrastination is connected to ADHD or not, is because they don’t have any other time to relax and enjoy themselves. Also, as we age, it becomes harder to fall and stay asleep, which is also connected to our stressful lifestyles and busy schedules.

The first step to creating a healthy bedtime routine would be to accept that there’s actually no “revenge” involved. If anything, it’s revenge on your own quality of life. That extra hour on the phone is unlikely to be beneficial anyway, and that extra TikTok video is unlikely to bring any specific value. 

What can actually help is doing something away from screens. Being exposed to screens (more specifically, the light from those screens) can disrupt the melatonin surge necessary to fall asleep (Nakshine et al., 2022). Additionally, people struggling with insomnia or lack of sleep often present higher cortisol levels, particularly in the evening or before sleep. Here’s what you can do instead:

• Replace screen time with activities you could look forward to (reading, journaling, or crocheting, for example)
• Doing a gentle full-body stretch can help release some tension in the body. A short mindfulness practice will also be beneficial to help your mind relax and switch to resting mode.
• The closer you get to your established sleep time, gradually reduce the light in the room.
• Make sure all of your devices are in silent mode, if possible.
• Keep your bed tidy and cozy, and avoid keeping other objects in the bed. Choose comfortable clothing for sleeping that does not restrict movements. Opt for breathable fabrics.

Find ways to take “me time” that don’t rely on sacrificing sleep, even if it’s a few minutes here and there. Turn your bedtime into an unwinding ritual. Over time, you may notice yourself looking forward to this routine and sleep quality improvement.

Reframe Your Relationship with Productivity

If your days are packed with work, chores, or obligations, it can create a sense of “productivity burnout” where you feel you must reclaim the night to finally have control over your time. But reframing productivity can reduce this feeling and make it easier to go to bed on time.

One way to reframe your relationship with productivity is to set boundaries during the day. Instead of pushing yourself until there’s “nothing left” for personal time, prioritize breaks throughout the day and acknowledge small wins to give yourself a sense of accomplishment.

Remember, productivity is not just about having things done — getting proper rest is just as productive. Your ability to be productive with tasks depends on your ability to get enough rest.

Also, if you tend to overplan, try simplifying your to-do lists. A long list of tasks can set up the expectation that you must be productive from morning until night, which makes it more likely that you’ll delay bedtime just to feel in control of your time.

Try to redefine what “productive” means in your life. Remember that getting quality sleep is one of the most productive things you can do, as it impacts your energy, mood, and focus for the next day. Prioritizing sleep as a form of productivity in itself can help you reduce bedtime procrastination and improve both your overall well-being and performance. 

Taking care of yourself is not unproductive — it’s simply necessary.

Implement Mindfulness into Your Routines

One of the main drivers of RBP is the “just one more” way of thinking. Scrolling through social media or watching “just one more episode” can quickly turn into hours of lost sleep. This tendency can be described as a kind of dopamine-seeking behavior. It is tied to the immediate dopamine rewards we get from scrolling or watching something entertaining. 

But mindfulness techniques can help to interrupt this cycle, and research also suggests that mindfulness-based interventions can be beneficial for improving sleep. While it does not directly affect sleep issues themselves, it can help improve some issues that contribute to sleep disturbances (Shallcross et al., 2019). 

Mindfulness doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are some simple things you can try:

• Set a gentle timer for how long you’d like to scroll or watch TV, then spend a few seconds checking in with yourself every 10 or 15 minutes. How is your energy level? Do you feel tired?
• When you find yourself with a phone in your hand before bed, try a short breathing practice or a meditation session. It shouldn’t be forced, however, try to take a break for just a short five- to ten-minute practice. A body-scan meditation can be helpful.
• Avoid focusing on how you can’t fall asleep, as it may irritate or bother you. Instead, try closing your eyes and focusing on some interesting and calming imagery. Imagine a space you’ll want to explore and let yourself wander.

When you bring mindfulness into the evening, you’ll become more conscious of the pull to keep going. Over time, this practice can help you regain control and allow you to stop scrolling, streaming, or gaming before it gets in the way of sleep.

Building Lasting Sleep Habits for Better Sleep

Creating habits for better sleep is more than just a few quick fixes. Most people won’t be able to build a new healthy habit in just one week, and that’s perfectly normal. Our habits develop over time, and positive results of new healthy habits take weeks or months to show up. That’s why practicing patience and self-compassion is equally important in this process. The goal is to develop a routine that supports consistent bedtime and high-quality rest over the long term.

Try to be as consistent as you can. Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day, even on weekends, helps regulate your circadian rhythm. Over time, this habit trains your body to feel sleepy and wake up at a certain time. It’s important to understand that there’s no universal bedtime for everyone. For some, going to bed at 10 pm is perfect, for others, the time may be different. 

Do not try to fit into some unified framework, it’s all about working out your own routines that work for you and benefit you.

Bedtime routines are also not universal. Different people wind down differently. If reading before bed works well for your best friend, it doesn’t mean it’s going to work for you. Accept that working out your own strategies and techniques will take time, and you might not see immediate results. Figure out what calms you down and stick with that for some time. If it doesn’t work, do not hesitate to try something else.

Consider your sleep environment. It may have a strong impact on your sleep, just like your habits. A cool, dark, and quiet room is ideal for deep rest. If it’s hard for you not to use your phone or other screens in bed, try moving them to a different area. Over time, you will get used to spending your evening without screens, and, hopefully, enjoy it.

Conclusion

Breaking free from the revenge bedtime procrastination cycle might not be easy, but it’s definitely worth the effort. Quality sleep can boost our energy levels, focus, motivation, and mood. The key to dealing with the issue lies in developing healthy routines and taking control of our screen time. Remember, going to sleep early doesn’t take away your time — it provides proper rest, which you need more than those extra hours on the phone.

On your end, it will require some dedication, time, and consistency. There is no universal solution for everyone, but you can find what works best for you over time. While it may feel like too much effort in the beginning, the long-term benefits of changing your bedtime routine can be invaluable.

Remember, combatting procrastination is possible with enough effort, the right mindset, and self-control. However, if you’re experiencing sleep issues unrelated to procrastination, it’s best to consult with your healthcare provider. Your quality of life and well-being are directly connected to the quality of your sleep, so do not hesitate to take action and seek help if you feel like you need it.