What is ‘Revenge Bedtime Procrastination’ and Are You a Victim to It?

A term that has been gaining a lot of attention lately in the sleep industry is ‘revenge bedtime procrastination’. This phenomenon refers to the behavior of people to intentionally delay their bedtime because they want to spend time doing what they want. The ‘revenge’ part refers to the act of taking back the time one might have lost during the day doing something they do not like or enjoy.

The term is coined and popular in China. With their notorious ‘996 schedule’ which refers to a work schedule of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., 6 days a week. This amounts to 72 hours of work in a week, something that some countries will consider criminally high.

And with so much time spent at work, people can barely do anything else in their days anymore. Forget hobbies, meeting up with friends, or even having some substantial family time since there are other things that can take up one’s time like commute and sleep.

Unfortunately, in such cases, sleep has become the most expendable activity for many. Instead of sleeping, many opt to stay awake instead so they can still do other things. In turn, their health and performance suffer.

While we don’t have a culture that endorses a 996 schedule, there’s still a very good chance that revenge bedtime procrastination is happening in this country. With how hectic and stressful things can be, from one’s work, commute, and even personal life, some might want to spend a few hours of their time doing what they want to de-stress. Unfortunately, doing so comes at the cost of one’s sleep.

By choosing to delay sleep, people get feel like they’re regaining some control over their lives. So even if they look and function like a zombie the next day and they incur massive sleep debt over time, many still soldier on. It’s an unfortunate phenomenon, especially since it will have a major impact on one’s health.

Are you indulging in ‘self-revenge’?

Wondering if you’re engaged in such a behavior? If you find yourself delaying your sleep for one non-essential reason to another, there’s a very good chance that you are doing some self-revenge. This is particularly true if you don’t like what you do during the day and you feel like you should make up for the time you spent on other stuff by engaging in activities that you actually enjoy.

It can be argued that spending an hour or two engaging in a relaxing activity that you enjoy shouldn’t be considered as ‘self-revenge’ and that can be true. However, if you’re already very strapped for time and an hour or two will already cost you your precious 7-8 hrs of shuteye, then it can already count as self-revenge. Now, if you sleep at 2 a.m. even if you could’ve dozed off at 10 or 11 p.m. just so you can binge a whole series or get far in the novel you’re reading, then you definitely need to reassess your bedtime routine.

How to Deal with Revenge Bedtime Procrastination

If you already fell into the habit of delaying your zzz’s to do something you enjoy, then, you certainly have to do something about it. It might seem complicated but it’s truly very straightforward. You just need to go to sleep at the right time.

Executing this idea, however, can be a major challenge. With a routine like this, you can already find yourself averse to sleeping early so you need to change your behavior towards sleep. This will need some discipline and commitment to improving your slumber and overall health.

We won’t discuss the steps in improving your sleep anymore as we’ve already talked about that hundreds of times before. The general idea is to cultivate a good bedtime routine and sleep hygiene. Its strict implementation and you following through will help you improve your zzz’s unless you have a condition that will prevent you from getting more shuteye. In such cases, addressing that problem will a necessary first step.

You should also focus on the root cause of the problem if you tend to commit ‘self-revenge’. If you work long hours, maybe you should try to make some adjustments in that area. If your commute to work is too long, maybe moving to a new place that’s nearer to your workplace would be ideal. Improving your time management is also important in battling this problem. Your willingness and determination to make things better will help you get rid of your revenge bedtime procrastination.

Image from here.

Studies Show More Benefits of Reading Before Bed

We’ve always promoted cracking a book open as a regular activity in everyone’s bedtime routine because it can be an enjoyable and relaxing thing to do – perfect for unwinding and easing yourself to sleep.  This is why the latest survey from Sleep Junkie got us excited as it uncovers a few more benefits to reading as a bedtime activity.

So aside from helping you create a more mellow bedtime routine, it’s said that those who read before lights out don’t just sleep better but are also more likely to eat more healthily and have a more positive disposition. Both are highly beneficial to one’s health and can be quite difficult to achieve individually.

While reading before bed will not automatically make you a healthy eater or a positive person, it’s rather easy to see how they are related. As reading can be a relaxing bedtime activity and can help improve one’s sleep quality, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that eating better and having a positive disposition follows as a result.

How? Eating healthily can be achieved if you’re not relying on sugary, heavily caffeinated, and starchy foods to keep yourself awake during the day. You can also make better choices when you’re head is not groggy and muddled with tiredness.

With quality sleep, a positive outlook is also more easily achieved since you’ll most likely be in a good mood and high spirits. Experts are still looking into whether it’s good quality sleep that’s causing a bright outlook or if it’s the other way around but it does seem like the two are very interdependent.

So if you’re looking into changing your lifestyle in general, maybe a simple tweak in your bedtime routine, like making time to read a book, would be a great activity to try. Make sure to read a book, however, and not articles on your gadgets, as blue light can have a negative impact on your zzz’s. It’s best to choose titles that won’t get you overly excited or hooked into the plot as well so you can put it down when you already start feeling sleepy.

Here are a Few Tips to Help You Sleep to Some Music

A lot of us need some background noise to fall asleep. Some need white noise while others tune into their favorite songs to sing them to sleep. If you like to do the latter, there are quite a few different ways to accomplish the feat.

If you want to try streaming songs for some variety, however, Spotify would be a great app for you to use. If you’re on one of their premium plans, you don’t have to worry about the ads that can wake you up right when you’re already dozing off.

However, aside from the ads, you might also have to worry about running out of battery while you sleep. Sure, you can always just leave your phone plugged in while you listen to music but that can come with dangers, too. So the best option is to find ways to automatically stop the music streaming app when you fall asleep.

Until recently, the only technique to get this done is by turning off the autoplay on your bedtime playlist. It works but you have to make sure to turn off the autoplay function. Otherwise, it won’t stop playing songs and your smartphone will have depleted battery levels come morning.

A more foolproof method to stop music from playing from your Spotify app has been recently created, however. Now, you can set a timer for your bedtime listening session.

Spotify rolled out their Sleep Timer for Android devices just recently so you can now set your listening time when you go to bed with your music on. The app will then automatically stop playing music when the timer runs out, letting you fall asleep with your favorite tunes in the background without having to worry about your battery.

Here are the steps to set up the Sleep Timer:

1. Go to the song you’re currently listening to.
2. Click on the overflow menu on the upper right corner of the screen.
3. Scroll up and select the ‘Sleep timer’ option.
4. Select the time duration you want your app to continue playing.
5. Relax, enjoy, and fall asleep.

Paired with some comfortable earphones and the coziest bed, you might just be able to sleep better with this new Spotify feature.

Video Games and Sleep

When the words video games and sleep are mentioned in one sentence, it often doesn’t good things for the latter. In most instances, it’s a discussion about how video games are bad for sleep as they can easily delay zzz’s.

It’s a major problem because a lot of us like to destress using video games after a long day. They’re entertaining and enjoyable for lots of people, so they can be a relaxing activity for many.

Unfortunately, a lot of videogames are very engrossing that they can make you delay your sleep for hours. The screens you play them in also have effects on the body that it can make you lose up to 39 minutes of sleep after spending 150 minutes on a videogame. These are the reasons why they’re not exactly recommended to those who want to sleep better.

However, game makers are already recognizing the problem as of late. As a result, they are now creating games that will help people sleep or encourage them to sleep.

What are these games that you can try at bedtime? Here are a few examples:

1. Meditation Game

Designed to help you relax, this game is mostly a guide that will help you wind down and center yourself. It involves moving your phone about and breathing exercises. Some folks also play this game during the day, especially when they’re very stressed out.

2. Antistress

Another relaxation game that will prove to be useful to you not only at bedtime but also whenever you’re strung out is Antistress. It’s actually not much of a game but more of an app that will give you access to items that you can fiddle with digitally. This will help you calm down through distraction.

3. Sheep Sleep

If you think you need to visualize the sheep you count when waiting to nod off, then Sheep Sleep can help you out. It will let you count sheep, in the most literal sense, to help you fall asleep.

4. Pokemon Sleep

While this one isn’t available yet, it’s still worth mentioning because it’s designed to incentivize sleep. It’s amazing for such a popular franchise to take a risk in developing such an off-beat game but it might just work for the best.

There isn’t a lot of information available about the game yet since it’s only slated for release in 2020 but it really sounds like a great idea. What it will do is to track players’ sleep and then get something out of it once they woke up. As video gamers are notorious for not getting a good deal of shuteye, incentivizing players might just help encourage them to get some zzz’s.

 

While we’re still not completely sold that videogames can help promote better sleep, there’s still a chance that playing select ones during bedtime can be beneficial to your relaxation. So why not give it a chance, right? Play them in a cozy bed and you might just find yourself nodding off in no time.

Will the Modern Bedtime Story Help You Fall Asleep?

Reading bedtime stories is not just an adorable way to bond with your kids before lights out. It’s also a proven effective method of sending children to sleep because it helps them unwind, calm down after an exciting day, and establish a solid bedtime routine for the most part. The sounds created by reading these stories out loud also prove to be very soothing which can help kids fall asleep.

Unfortunately, as you grow older, you can’t just expect your parents to keep reading bedtime stories to you. Luckily, there are now alternatives for adults who want to take advantage of this technique to help them fall asleep easier.

We’ve mentioned the availability of audio programs that are specifically made to help you sleep better before but we haven’t really gone into detail about them. Today, we’ll look closer at the options you can try if you want to take advantage of such to help you improve the quality of your zzz’s.

Generally speaking, there are three types of what we consider as modern bedtime stories. These are the following:

Audiobooks

Audiobooks have been around for a very long time but it has definitely seen a resurgence in popularity as of late. As it turns out, more and more people are opting for them over actual books for their bedtime reads. It’s really more of a preference thing but the soothing rhythm and sounds in these readings can also be good reasons to swap your paperbacks for them.

As a bonus, you also have a choice who to listen to. Lots of audiobooks are narrated by celebrities and popular voice actors so you can better personalize the experience to help you create a very calming and relaxing bedtime routine.

Podcasts

Bedtime podcasts have been on the rise lately as they’re also specifically created to help people fall asleep. They use different techniques to help you sleep which make them all the more worth checking out.

The most popular one right now is all about distracting you from your conscious effort to fall asleep. Its random discussions of various things will help you tune in to the talk instead of thinking about how much you need to fall asleep right now if you’re going to have enough energy tomorrow.

Others are ASMR shows that feature soothing sounds and white noise that can lull you to sleep. You can also opt for topic-specific podcasts hosted by folks with very calming and soothing voices or readings of fiction pieces which are pretty much bedtime stories in a podcast format.

Sleep stories

You’ll also find actual audio media that feature narrated stories that are specifically made to help you fall asleep easier. They usually come in app format but you might be able to also find some for free online.

So if you’re the type who finds aural stimuli more effective in lulling you to sleep, these kinds of audio media might also be good things for you to get acquainted with. Check them out today and they might just be the very thing you need to fall asleep with ease.