bedtime procrastination

Do you find yourself putting off bedtime, even at the end of a long day?  Losing yourself in the glow of a phone screen or a comforting rewatch of a Netflix favorite? If so, you’re far from alone. For many, putting off sleep is a way of putting off tomorrow—a decision that can have a serious impact on both your physical and emotional well-being.

In today’s article, we’ll explore the link between bedtime procrastination and anxiety.

Understanding Bedtime Procrastination

We tend to sort people into ‘night owl’ and ‘morning bird’ categories, but often, there’s a little more nuance to the decision to put off sleep by staying up late. With bedtime procrastination, there’s often no clear reason for staying up so late. In addition, that ‘window’ for sleep often gets progressively smaller, slowly eaten up by social media and other distractions. People suffering from bedtime procrastination prioritize short-term goals over their own long-term health and well-being.

Some key behaviors & thoughts related to bedtime procrastination include:

  • Regularly staying up late
  • Lack of a routine bedtime
  • Knowing it’s a mistake
  • Getting ‘even’ after a busy day

Bedtime procrastinators often feel as if delaying bedtime is the best way for them to reclaim their day, especially after a busy or stressful day.

Quiet Evenings, Busy Brains

Anxiety often does its best work during life’s quiet moments. When all the day’s chores are done, and you’re off the clock from work, your brain’s natural inclination is to go looking for trouble. Those quiet bedtimes are when our brains turn their sights towards tomorrow, or rehash stressors and painful moments from the day that’s wrapping up. This process can feel uncomfortable and dangerous—a hotbed of intrusive, anxious thoughts. Not coincidentally, those dangerous thoughts are most likely to pop into your head just as you’re settling into bed for the evening.

Recognizing that, it becomes easier to see bedtime procrastination as a way of avoiding those uncomfortable feelings. Instead of worrying over deadlines at work or issues at home, it can be tempting to fill that quiet space with social media, late night snacks, or even a good book. But those anxious thoughts, unprocessed and unheard, don’t simply disappear; they get louder and louder.

Lack of Sleep and Anxiety

Without a good night’s rest, our bodies and brains can’t perform efficiently. Lack of sleep makes it a struggle to get up and get ready in the morning, adding stress to our day. Exhaustion has a whole host of other effects on our ability to function.

Sleep deprivation is closely linked to a number of issues, including:

  • Depression
  • Loss of Motivation
  • Lack of focus
  • Mood swings
  • Irritability
  • Increased stress

The Cycle of Bedtime Procrastination

The side effects linked to sleep deprivation make it harder for us to function at home, work collaboratively with others, and communicate and manage stress effectively. The net result is an overall increase in stress and anxiety—all of which feed the cycle of bedtime procrastination. In short, avoidance of anxious thoughts via bedtime procrastination leads to increased anxiety and stress throughout our lives. That increase in anxiety and stress, in turn, causes more bedtime procrastination—causing our window for sleep to shrink even further.

Schedule an Appointment

Cycles like this are among the most difficult problems to tackle on your own. Invariably, they signal a change is needed in how we think about and approach the stressors in our lives. Fortunately, there are several tools and techniques that can help process bedtime thoughts, and eliminate the desire for avoidance and delayed sleep. To learn more about how we can help, schedule a free consultation today.