Live data from Hacker News

Revenge bedtime procrastination

solvingprocrastination.com

21–30 of 89 posts

Re: Revenge bedtime procrastination

#21

Not to dimish the problem but to add my own experience, consider that a delayed sleep onset can be confused with bedtime procrastination. My circadian rythm tends to 25-26 hours. Every day I feel sleepy 2 hours later than the day before. That means every day I'm tempted to delay my bedtime by 2 hours because I don't feel sleepy at all. For the longest time I though the my difficulty falling asleep was habitual/emotio…

Is there a name for this circadian misalignment? I've never done any serious testing but over time have experienced the same realization, that my ideal day seems to be longer than 24 hours.

The name is "being human", and it's probably not pathological: subjects kept in environments without external timekeepers (such as sunrise/sunset or clocks even) tend to keep a 25 hour circadian rhythm.

Our bodies respond strongly to food and light and caffeine. Food when you wake up, and darkness as you're going to sleep.

Remember that caffeine has a half-life of up to 9 hours, so if you're having trouble winding down at bedtime, that might be attributable to the cup of coffee or soda you had at lunchtime.

Re: Revenge bedtime procrastination

#22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You "listen" to anything or silence?

On melatonin? I'm on YouTube until my head is too heavy to hold up (a novel experience). Off melatonin? I tried silence among other things but it just makes me either bored or anxious. No way to spend 5-10% of your day.

U ever tried listening to an anchor piece or book that you listen to every night ritualistically? I feel like it works equally well for children and adults. Everyone loves a story they've heard a million times that tells their body implicitly its time for nighty bye bye :)

Edit: also, you ever try cutting the visual so there's only audio? Try it and report back ;)

Re: Revenge bedtime procrastination

#23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a name for this circadian misalignment? I've never done any serious testing but over time have experienced the same realization, that my ideal day seems to be longer than 24 hours.

The name is "being human", and it's probably not pathological: subjects kept in environments without external timekeepers (such as sunrise/sunset or clocks even) tend to keep a 25 hour circadian rhythm. Our bodies respond strongly to food and light and caffeine. Food when you wake up, and darkness as you're going to sleep. Remember that caffeine has a half-life of up to 9 hours, so if you're having trouble winding do…

Up to 9 hours? More like 4-6 AFAIK

Re: Revenge bedtime procrastination

#24

Since having children, this “revenge procrastination” has switched from late night to early morning as I typically fall asleep by 9 PM now. Imagine setting an alarm for 4 AM just to have some time for yourself in the morning. I wouldn’t call it wasted time though. I’m typically learning about machine learning or something.

This was my way of making time for my stuff without disturbing my sleep schedule as a parent.

The philosophy basically is: do I want to do it bad enough to wake up early?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I learned a thing or about myself in the process.

Re: Revenge bedtime procrastination

#25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The name is "being human", and it's probably not pathological: subjects kept in environments without external timekeepers (such as sunrise/sunset or clocks even) tend to keep a 25 hour circadian rhythm. Our bodies respond strongly to food and light and caffeine. Food when you wake up, and darkness as you're going to sleep. Remember that caffeine has a half-life of up to 9 hours, so if you're having trouble winding do…

Up to 9 hours? More like 4-6 AFAIK

The problem I've seen with sleep/caffeine research is that most of it is done with non-habitual doses.

Half-life might be such and such, but people who drink a coffee after dinner for 20 years sleep better than non-coffee-drinkers who have an espresso after lunch that one time.

Re: Revenge bedtime procrastination

#26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On melatonin? I'm on YouTube until my head is too heavy to hold up (a novel experience). Off melatonin? I tried silence among other things but it just makes me either bored or anxious. No way to spend 5-10% of your day.

U ever tried listening to an anchor piece or book that you listen to every night ritualistically? I feel like it works equally well for children and adults. Everyone loves a story they've heard a million times that tells their body implicitly its time for nighty bye bye :) Edit: also, you ever try cutting the visual so there's only audio? Try it and report back ;)

[dead]

Re: Revenge bedtime procrastination

#27

Charitable take: Revenge procrastination is, as the article says, a symptom of poor emotional regulation. Our emotions push us towards having leisure/entertainment 24/7 but that is obviously not healthy even for the financially independent. Simultaneously, there is an ever-expanding universe of things to experience/study/engage with so there will always be reasons to feel that your obligations are causing you to miss…

This articulates well why the tone of this article irritates me so much. > Furthermore, revenge bedtime procrastination is also associated with the concept of deliberate procrastination, which in this context occurs when people intentionally delay going to sleep, because they feel that they deserve some time for themselves. People do deserve time for themselves. To frame that as a feeling that people have rather than…

Yup, there has to be something beyond work and parenting (if not, they’ll probably both suffer in the long term).

Re: Revenge bedtime procrastination

#28
It’s amazing how much attaching a name to some phenomenon or problem and discussing it helps in understanding it and taking the first steps to address it. Knowing that bedtime procrastination is a real thing that affects others not only gives me comfort, but also helps me think about it very consciously and figure out how to take the first steps to solve it.

I never thought about it from the revenge and agency perspective, but I appreciate the author at least trying to hypothesize why people do this despite it being detrimental. All the suggestions and tips in the article are also incredibly helpful.

Re: Revenge bedtime procrastination

#29

Charitable take: Revenge procrastination is, as the article says, a symptom of poor emotional regulation. Our emotions push us towards having leisure/entertainment 24/7 but that is obviously not healthy even for the financially independent. Simultaneously, there is an ever-expanding universe of things to experience/study/engage with so there will always be reasons to feel that your obligations are causing you to miss…

Yeah, I'm not for mindless consumption of social media designed to make you addicted, but this article really feels like the medicalization of what would be described before as a slave revolt. Playfulness isn't even a basic human traits, it's an animal trait, and yet the lack of any consideration in this article on whether the work/life balance might truly be unhealthy and people just need a breather sometimes, this…

It's because they're trying to sell the reader their services. If it's a solvable medical problem then these guys can help, for a fee.

Re: Revenge bedtime procrastination

#30
Bedtime procrastination is my kryptonite. Every other habit like working hard, exercising, eating right I do well at but can't fix this.

I've battled with it my whole life. Even as a toddler I would stay up late reading in secret. There is just something about the stillness when everyone else is asleep where I feel like my brain can finally wind down/process the day/kick back and relax.

Anyone else struggled so badly and fixed it? How?

Post reply on HN