Motivation and emotion/Book/2023/Bedtime procrastination

Bedtime procrastination:
What causes it, what are the consequences, and what can be done about it?

Multimedia presentation (3 min)

Overview

Imagine... Figure 1. A person delaying sleep, such as using a mobile device, can lead to bedtime procrastination. You wake up to the sound of your alarm. While sitting up you notice your body feels tense, and you continue to blink again and again, rubbing your left eye as you yawn. The monotonous voice of your tutor passes into your ear and out the other; you can not seem to retain any content. Why is this? As you yawn once more you think to yourself, ‘I should have slept earlier’.

Bedtime procrastination is a psychological phenomenon which stems from general procrastination (Nauts et al., 2018). The concept was developed due to the growing interest into why sleep is voluntarily delayed, and the effects this has on the human body. Procrastination more generally involves constant delaying, or postponing of a decision; a lack of self-regulation is also believed to be a determinant (Yan & Zhang, 2022). Overwhelming, contemporary lifestyles have given rise to bedtime procrastination and, although experiences differ, this becomes an issue when the temptations for leisure are prioritised over fundamental sleeping hours (Teoh & Wong, 2022).

This book chapter brings awareness to bedtime procrastination, its physical and mental risks, and contruting factors such as use of smartphones (see Figure 1) and rumination. The chapter covers relevant theories that attempt to explain the motivation for bedtime procrastination and how to overcome this phenomenon.

Focus questions What causes bedtime procrastination? What are the consequences of bedtime procrastination? How can people experiencing bedtime procrastination overcome this phenomenon?

Case study: Vincent Vincent is a second year university student. He currently studies full-time and works part-time at a busy cafe where his shifts are in the morning. When he gets back on campus he only has half an hour before his afternoon tutorial. Vincent decides to catch up on a missed lecture. After his tutorial, he goes for a quick gym session then makes dinner. Next, Vincent does the laundry and takes a shower. He notices that he has heaps of time left to study before bed, so he does his readings and watches the rest of the lecture. When he looks at the time it reads 11:30pm. Although he has work tomorrow, he decides to watch Netflix and draws simultaneously. By the time he goes to sleep, the time reads 2:35am.

Causes of bedtime procrastination

Recent studies argue that procrastination can be predicted by either personality traits or external events (Yan & Zhang, 2022), but the question persists as to what exactly drives bedtime procrastination. The concept can be understood from relevant theories, as procrastination is considered stable among time and situations (Yan & Zhang, 2022). Nauts et al. (2018) proposed three themes to help explain why sleep is delayed: deliberate procrastination, mindless procrastination, and strategic delay.

Deliberate procrastination

Deliberate procrastination is a voluntary means to delay bedtime due to people feeling they deserve time for themselves; this was the most prevalent explanation for sleep delay (Nauts et al., 2018). Motivations to delay varied within participants, despite knowing that activities could be completed the following day (Nauts et al., 2018). Others experience “inner conflict”, which a conscious voice would advise to sleep early, but a different voice would encourage late behaviours (Nauts et al., 2018). Inner conflict also poses risks of unfavourable consequences, such as having no energy, being forgetful, or struggling to concentrate (Nauts et al., 2018). Further, due to daytime obligations, it was not surprising that people felt entitled to enjoy personal time, as this became a need for autonomy (Deci & Ryan, 2000).

The Temporal Motivation Theory (TMT) suggests that if the task’s outcome value is minimal and is not likely to receive immediate rewards, the task will be delayed (You et al., 2021). People who are addicted to the internet embody greater psychological cravings for its use, which as a consequence lessens sleep motivation at an appropriate time (You et al., 2021). Thus, based on the TMT, this makes procrastinators more prone to experience excessive internet use, due to its immediate gratification, causing bedtime procrastination (You et al., 2021).

Mindless procrastination

Figure 2. Person overthinking causes delay in wanting to sleep due to negative thoughts.

Mindless procrastination is when the delay results in people being distracted, or they "lose a sense of time" (Nauts et al., 2018). This idea differs from delayed procrastination in that mindless postponement does not intentionally postpone sleep (Nauts et al., 2018), and the absence of intention is important as people are extensively absorbed in a task (You et al., 2021). Being distracted is believed to be influenced by rumination; this concept is a maladaptive reaction involving a tendency to reflect on negative thoughts or experiences, which trigger involuntary arousal and distress (see Figure 2) (Slavish et al., 2018). As maladaptive thoughts persevere, individuals struggle to sleep properly, resulting in bedtime procrastination developing, especially through the use of mobile phones as a distraction (You et al., 2021).

The Response Style Theory (RST) implies that those who experience rumination repetitively think about the causes and consequences of the unfavorable experiences which they failed to overcome (You et al., 2021). During these experiences the negative emotions are only given more attention, and as time goes by, people would rather deal with pursuing happy activities including chatting with friends or playing video games; therefore bedtime procrastination is considered a mechanism of dealing with negative feelings (Sirois et al., 2018).

Strategic delay

People who engage in strategic delay tend to sleep late so they can fall asleep more "quickly", but researchers argue this is possibly linked to undiagnosed insomnia (Nauts et al., 2018). The longer an individual stays awake, the more easier the person will fall and stay asleep (Kroese et al., 2014), so what differentiates this from the first two causes, is that strategically delaying behaviour is perceived as a tactic (Nauts et al., 2018). Nauts et al. (2018) also suggest that procrastinators can experience higher energy during their ‘supposed’ bedtime, or they ‘missed’ the perfect time to sleep. As the cause is theorised as a predictor to undiagnosed insomnia, Sleep Restriction Therapy can be an intervention to counteract difficulty in maintaining sleep, especially among older adults (Riedel & Lichstein, 2001). Overall, strategic delay is still an area of development, where future studies can examine its characteristics and influences as to why this is used as an excuse for sleep delay.

Test yourself! Wanting to watch television is what type of bedtime procrastination? Mindless procrastination Stress delay Deliberate procrastination Sleep deprivation

Consequences of bedtime procrastination

Figure 3. Sleep deprivation can lead to difficulties in normal functioning, especially when studying for exams or completing assessments.

Since the 1940s, 40% of the American population have been sleeping for less than 6 hours (Ram et al., 2009), which is not the appropriate amount according to medical experts. The effects of bedtime procrastination has demonstrated that this poses risks for poorer sleep quality, and delaying sleep will yield negative outcomes, both physically and mentally (Teoh & Wong, 2022); see Table 1).

Physical health

Sleep deprivation and obesity are common physical effects of bedtime procrastination, and individual behaviours can increase the risks (Buxton & Marcelli, 2010; Kroese et al., 2014). By presenting the physical consequences of delaying sleep, this will increase awareness on how procrastinators can change their perspective on continuing the behaviour.

Sleep deprivation

The habit in engaging in bedtime procrastination results in greater outcomes of sleep deprivation (Nauts et al., 2018). Sleep deprivation is not having the necessary hours of sleep; with lack of sleep being the most common consequence, it is not surprising that majority of people affected by this are those experiencing contemporary lifestyles, such as work and family obligations (Orzeł-Gryglewska, 2010). Further, the greater a person decides to delay bedtime, the body's function deteriorates, causing impaired awareness, vision difficulties, and slower reaction times (Orzeł-Gryglewska, 2010). One study discovered that when medical students were sleep deprived, their cognitive function became weaker, and those with poorer hours had received unfavourable academic results due to excessive smartphone use (Hamvai et al., 2023). Thus, it is evident that bedtime procrastination maintains sleep deprivation, through the performances of university students (see Figure 3) (Hamvai et al., 2023).

Obesity

Being overweight poses further health risks including (but not limited to), diabetes and early mortality (Buxton & Marcelli, 2010), and in regards to sleep, having enough is strongly recognised as a necessity for optimal functioning (Kroese et al., 2014). As obesity is a severe outcome of sleep deficiency, researchers have suggested that circadian clocks may have a significant role in sleep and wake preferences (Kühnel et al., 2018). Driven by sunlight, these endogenous clocks regulate the 24 hour (day-night) cycle for humans, but when sleep is delayed, the circadian rhythm becomes abnormal, where some engage in unhealthy eating habits, such as heavy caffeine and food intake (Kühnel et al., 2018; Xian et al., 2023). Eating consisted of continuous snacking (Kühnel et al., 2018), and with college students, those with insufficient sleep and poor sleep quality were more likely to skip breakfast (Xian et al., 2023). Therefore, bedtime procrastination has demonstrated associations with eating at improper times, due to students delaying sleep (Kühnel et al., 2018; Xian et al., 2023).

Table 1.

The consequences of bedtime procrastination

Consequence	Risks
Sleep deprivation	Not having the necessary hours of sleep can cause bodily disruptions such as obesity.
Obesity	Unhealthy eating habits (snacking late at night) can lead to skipping meals, causing risks of being overweight.
Depression	Rumination can be a possible cause of depression, which bedtime procrastination behaviours (phone addiction) can reveal symptoms.
Anxiety	Influences all life scenarios; poor performance leads to lower test results, lack of job promotions, and weaker overall health (Yan & Zhang, 2022).
Stress	Engaging in enjoyable activities before bedtime, acts as a coping mechanism for stress.

Mental health

Figure 4. Bedtime procrastination leads to various mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and stress.

Depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms are primarily endured by procrastinators (see Figure 4), and pose further dangers to mental health. As the motivations behind bedtime procrastination is prioritising mood repair (Sirois et al., 2018), this section will focus on why this behaviour can yield unfavourable outcomes.

Depression

There is a consensus that phone addiction predicts depressive emotions (Geng et al., 2021). The study by Geng et al. (2021) strived to protect college students from this addictive behaviour, as this group demonstrated positive predictions to depression. Rumination, the consistent dwelling on unfavourable thoughts, was argued to be a leading cause of depression, and the RST further explained why rumination causes sleep delay (You et al., 2021). The negative feelings included experiencing high arousal and physiological reactions (You et al., 2021); from this, researchers were able to understand and predict who is more likely to have depressive symptoms. The Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was implemented among early adults, and results revealed that the higher people scored, this signified a greater depressive risk (Chung et al., 2019). As results from Chung et al. (2019) were consistent with past research, it reported that the group with greater bedtime procrastination habits, endure more evening habits, compared to the group with lower tendencies. Thus, it is apparent that among university students, excessive smartphone use predicted subsequent depression (Geng et al., 2021).

Anxiety

Bedtime procrastination is a barrier to optimal performance, in which less sleep causes anxiety; evidently, temptations hinder bedtime, and research states that higher anxiety levels affect all life situations (Yan & Zhang, 2022). A study by Slavish and colleagues (2018) posited that elevated anxiety influenced hyperarousal, while falling and staying asleep was proven to be challenging. Rumination was linked to negative affect (NA), where emotions involving anger, fear, and sadness increased anxiety (Slavish et al., 2018); the Internalisation of Conflicts Model accentuated NA, suggesting that greater emotional and physiological arousal creates difficulty with positive sleeping habits (You et al., 2021). NA also caused risks involving extended sleep latency, and early wakefulness (You et al., 2021). Hence, anxiety has proven to be a hindrance to earlier bedtime, which NA can also negatively influence everyday life.

Stress

Procrastinators who consistently delay bedtime acknowledge that although less sleep influences poor cognitive function, they continue to do so, since engaging in enjoyable activities acts as a coping mechanism for stress (Chung et al., 2019). External environments are major causes of stress, where people believe that ‘having time to themselves’ repairs low mood, thereby bedtime procrastination becomes a strategy for regulating emotion (Yan & Zhang, 2022). The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) assesses perceived stress, with higher scores revealing more levels of stress; results demonstrated that the group with greater bedtime procrastination spent longer hours on social media and everyday, the same group spent approximately 61 minutes on their phone prior to bedtime (Chung et al., 2019). Therefore, bedtime procrastination is a barrier to efficient sleep, proven to be difficult to achieve, with those who perceive media use as a mechanism to cope with stress.

Test yourself! Engaging in unhealthy eating habits can lead to skipping meals. Which consequence of bedtime procrastination is this? Depression Obesity Sleep deprivation Sleep quality

Overcoming bedtime procrastination

There has been a growing understanding about strategies that can help deviate people from the psychological phenomena (Kamphorst et al., 2018). Interventions have relied on classic health behaviour models; however, cognitive and emotional determinants have shown evidence in modifying bedtime procrastination, warranting researchers to implement more specific interventions (Hamvai et al., 2023).

Sleep quality

Sleep quality is difficulty in falling and maintaining sleep which also focuses on the hours spent asleep; however, this can be weakened due to procrastinators being tempted by short-term feelings of happiness (e.g., social media usage) (Guarana et al., 2021). Studies have revealed that poor sleep quality and less sleep hours causes people to sleep ineffectively (Riedel & Lichstein, 2001), for instance, participants would repeatedly wake up, be ‘fidgety’ in bed, and struggle returning to sleep (Guarana et al., 2021). Due to these complications, Teoh and Wong (2022) proposed mindfulness as an intervention to reduce bedtime procrastination. Mindfulness allows individuals to increase awareness of the present situation and to accept all experiences (Teoh & Wong, 2022). Results demonstrated that when mindfulness was consistently practiced, the Five Facet Mindfulness questionnaire showed positive associations to less procrastination, and improved sleep quality (Teoh & Wong, 2022). This proves that enhancing sleep quality allows for better decision-making, and is less likely to be influenced by short-term temptations.

Self-control

Due to busy schedules people are conflicted with overcoming temptations, as self-control is the skill of inhibiting impulses (Guarana et al., 2021). According to Sirois et al. (2018), excessive media use is a factor to sleep delay and the self-regulation theory posits that weak impulse control involves a tendency for immediate gratification, resulting in a lack of control over prioritising sleep. This creates a cycle of negative affect, as the more someone embodies little self-control, the more likely they would have guilty feelings of late media usage, which the temptations to consume media and delay sleep only grows (Sirois et al., 2018). Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is considered a useful mechanism to discourage feelings of gratification (Hamvai et al., 2023), and given that bedtime procrastination is linked to weakened mental health, Geng et al. (2021) proposes that engaging in psychosocial training, behaviour modification, and cognitive reconstruction allows for improved bedtime, as people showed greater self-control and fewer compulsive intentions.

Mental contrasting

Mental contrasting with implementation interventions (MCII) was considered a useful mechanism to reduce bedtime procrastination, due to its simple and cost-effective nature; for MCII to effectively alter fixed habits, the process combines goal pursuit and goal implementation (Valshtein et al., 2019). When undergraduate students were tasked to use MCII, results were successful by showing improved sleeping habits in only three weeks, and this involved either the positive-thinking technique, or the diary approach (Valshtein et al., 2019). The self-regulation theory shows relevance to MCII, as the study has proven effective outcomes in improving habits that can be hard to control (Valshtein et al., 2019). Thus, research has revealed that bedtime procrastination can be reduced by MCII, which focuses on pursuit and implementation to alter impulsive motivations.

Case study: Vincent Over the next few weeks, assessments start to take a toll on Vincent, where he stays up every night to catch up. His mindset for delaying sleep is, 'I will have no time again tomorrow, so I will finish my night with one episode'. Vincent's friends notice he seems to "be out of it" during conversations, and seems stressed, always wanting to go back to his dorm. He has also been performing poorly at work, mixing up orders and spilling coffee on customers. Upon meeting with a psychologist, Vincent is advised to implement mental contrasting in his nightly routine, he agrees, as it is simple and not too costly. Over the next few months, instead of staying up late to watch tv shows, he jots down what his goals are the following day, and the processes of reaching those goals. At the end of semester, he has prioritised sleep, by ensuring he has the appropriate amount each night.

Conclusion

Due to excessive media use, especially before bedtime, this concept became known as bedtime procrastination (Hamvai et al., 2023). The psychological phenomenon was introduced as a significant factor linked to insufficient sleep, affecting physical and psychological well-being (Kroese et al., 2014). Procrastination has generally been studied in work and academic contexts but this has now been considered in other domains (Kroese et al., 2014). Within psychology, bedtime procrastination has had increased interest where researchers continue to discover what factors predict this phenomenon, as well as focusing on reduction habits (Teoh & Wong, 2022).

The causes of the phenomenon included deliberate and mindless procrastination, with strategic delay acknowledged as a tactic. Physical and mental health are both heavily affected, with sleep deprivation and obesity being the greater risks, whereas depression, anxiety, and stress become detrimental to optimal cognitive performance. Additionally, research has suggested that improving sleep quality and self-control are fundamental to overcoming the fixed habit; mental contrasting is also a useful intervention to counteract impulsive urges. Procrastinators show a tendency to prioritise present temporary mood repair, regardless if they know the future consequences (Sirois et al., 2018). Therefore, changing strong habits can become challenging, implying that bedtime procrastination is not an easy behaviour to reduce, however, with proper support, procrastinators can develop the appropriate skills needed to prioritise sleep.

Bedtime procrastination poll For further interest, the link provides the results from the poll, which was completed by some students enrolled in Motivation and Emotion (2023). See poll results

See also

• Procrastination (Book chapter, 2010)
• Rumination (Wikipedia)
• Sleep and happiness (Book chapter, 2011)
• Sleep and depression (Book chapter, 2016)
• Self-regulation (Book chapter, 2021)

References

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Chung, S. J., An, H., & Suh, S. (2019). What do people do before going to bed? A study of bedtime procrastination using time use surveys. Sleep, 43(4), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsz267

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “What” and “Why” of goal pursuits: human needs and the Self-Determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli1104_01

Geng, Y., Gu, J., Wang, J., & Zhang, R. (2021). Smartphone addiction and depression, anxiety: The role of bedtime procrastination and self-control. Journal of Affective Disorders, 293(3), 415–421. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.06.062

Guarana, C. L., Ryu, J. W., O’Boyle, E. H., Lee, J., & Barnes, C. M. (2021). Sleep and self-control: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 59(4), 101-514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2021.101514

Hamvai, C., Kiss, H., Vörös, H., Fitzpatrick, K., Vargha, A., & Piko, B. (2023). Association between impulsivity and cognitive capacity decrease is mediated by smartphone addiction, academic procrastination, bedtime procrastination, sleep insufficiency and daytime fatigue among medical students: a path analysis. BMC Medical Education, 23(537), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04522-8

Kamphorst, B. A., Nauts, S., De Ridder, D. T. D., & Anderson, J. (2018). Too Depleted to Turn In: The Relevance of End-of-the-Day Resource Depletion for Reducing Bedtime Procrastination. Frontiers in Psychology, 9(252), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00252

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Kühnel, J., Syrek, C. J., & Dreher, A. (2018). Why Don’t You Go to Bed on Time? A Daily Diary Study on the Relationships between Chronotype, Self-Control Resources and the Phenomenon of Bedtime Procrastination. Frontiers in Psychology, 9(77), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00077

Nauts, S., Kamphorst, B. A., Stut, W., De Ridder, D. T. D., & Anderson, J. (2018). The explanations people give for going to bed late: A qualitative study of the varieties of bedtime procrastination. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 17(6), 753–762. https://doi.org/10.1080/15402002.2018.1491850

Orzeł-Gryglewska, J. (2010). Consequences of sleep deprivation. International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health, 23(1), 95-114. https://doi.org/10.2478/v10001-010-0004-9

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Sirois, F. M., Nauts, S., & Molnar, D. S. (2018). Self-Compassion and Bedtime Procrastination: an Emotion Regulation Perspective. Mindfulness, 10(3), 434–445. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-018-0983-3

Slavish, D. C., Sliwinski, M. J., Smyth, J. M., Almeida, D. M., Lipton, R. B., Katz, M. J., & Graham-Engeland, J. E. (2018). Neuroticism, rumination, negative affect, and sleep: Examining between- and within-person associations. Personality and Individual Differences, 123(15), 217–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.11.023

Teoh, A. N., & Wong, J. W. K. (2022). Mindfulness is Associated with Better Sleep Quality in Young Adults by Reducing Boredom and Bedtime Procrastination. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 21(1), 61–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/15402002.2022.2035729

Valshtein, T. J., Oettingen, G., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2019). Using mental contrasting with implementation intentions to reduce bedtime procrastination: two randomised trials. Psychology & Health, 35(3), 275–301. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2019.1652753

Xian, X., Wang, C., Rong, Y., & Ye, M. (2023). Breakfast frequency and sleep quality in college students: The multiple mediating effects of sleep chronotypes and depressive symptoms. Nutrients, 15(12), 26–78. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15122678

Yan, B., & Zhang, X. (2022). What research has been conducted on procrastination? Evidence from a systematical bibliometric analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 13(27), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.809044

You, Z., Li, X., Ye, N., & Zhang, L. (2021). Understanding the effect of rumination on sleep quality: a mediation model of negative affect and bedtime procrastination. Current Psychology, 42(1),136–144. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01337-4

You, Z., Mei, W., Ye, N., Zhang, L., & Andrasik, F. (2021). Mediating effects of rumination and bedtime procrastination on the relationship between Internet addiction and poor sleep quality. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 9(4), 1002–1010. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2020.00104

External links

• How many hours of sleep are enough for good health? (Mayo Clinic)
• It goes by the name 'bedtime procrastination', and you can probably guess what it is (Scientific American)
• Mental contrasting: a simple guide on the benefits (Happier Human)
• What happens to your body and brain if you don't get sleep | the human body (YouTube)