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Revenge bedtime procrastination

solvingprocrastination.com

41–50 of 89 posts

Re: Revenge bedtime procrastination

#41

I did this a lot this year, usually until 3am every night. I’m a remote worker who works and games at the same desk and chair. Often I would lie to myself about being productive and then quit a tutorial after a few minutes and load up a game instead. I found I stopped since about September, mainly by telling myself nothing really productive happens after 11pm and to just go to bed.

> Often I would lie to myself about being productive and then quit a tutorial after a few minutes and load up a game instead.

I struggled with this exact thing. For me personally I was able to focus better by dual-booting my machine so that my personal desktop/storage/workspace was distinct from my work stuff. Currently I have a work laptop I use on the same desk and I turn off my personal machine during the work day.

Re: Revenge bedtime procrastination

#42

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…

>Any article about revenge procrastination that doesn't include a call to action about legislating massive PTO minimums or a 30-hour workweek is an element of the ongoing class war. Convince labor that their struggles are internal and they'll never organize against you

Do you think eg. Waren Buffet paid for this article to be written? And do you have any data that show that people who work are more affected by the issue in the article than people who don't (eg. highschoolers?)

Re: Revenge bedtime procrastination

#43
post #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…

I can't say I've struggled with it--I've leaned into it and accepted it as how I get my own time. The quality of that time however is low since it comes at the end of the day. Sometimes I'll have a large meal, short but deep nap, then have quality late night time. The 'fix' seems to have come from being able to get by on fewer hours of sleep as I get older. Other times like around DST change, I'm able to get time at the beginning of the day, which if I plan or think of something doesn't merely go sleeping in while half-awake.

Re: Revenge bedtime procrastination

#44
Haven't read the comments, but I have something to contribute. I am married and a parent of a 1.5-year-old child. Employed at a full-time job, working out is something I consider mandatory. Adding all this together, plus household chores, it leaves little time for personal projects or just chilling out by myself. I used to stay up late to get some alone time, but as the article describes, it is not sustainable, especially for parents.

I had a project I wanted to work on, but it was difficult to focus at night after everything else was taken care of. So I flipped it. I started waking up early. I aim for 5 am; recently, it's been more like 6 am, but I've been thinking of trying out 4 am. I've never been a morning person, but you do get used to it after a few weeks. Now, I use the fresh morning energy to work on my side project, and from the moment my daughter wakes up, I start with all the responsibilities. I work out in the evening, and I don't dread going to sleep early because I wake up to my time. So, the earlier I get to bed, the more "me" time I get.

Re: Revenge bedtime procrastination

#45

Haven't read the comments, but I have something to contribute. I am married and a parent of a 1.5-year-old child. Employed at a full-time job, working out is something I consider mandatory. Adding all this together, plus household chores, it leaves little time for personal projects or just chilling out by myself. I used to stay up late to get some alone time, but as the article describes, it is not sustainable, espec…

This probably would work for most but mine tried to kill me.

My oldest had a stretch where 5:30am was his normal, natural wake up time. By stretch I mean I think he was 6 or 7 and finally grew out of it.

Alright I’m ready. Let’s go!

I’m usually a 7-8am until to 12-1am kind of person, so that was tough.

Re: Revenge bedtime procrastination

#46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Anecdotal, but exactly.

I drink roughly a pot of coffee a day. Keeps me in the game.

Just one more at dinner is not going to keep me awake at night. Maybe another pot, but that's still a maybe.

Re: Revenge bedtime procrastination

#47
Actually I do the "two sleeps" routine, particularly since I read about it and found out it's not something broken with me but it's (was) rather the normal way to sleep.

After the evening meal and a little screen time I'm starting to feel very sleepy and a bit annoyed because I would like to do more activity but it becomes uncomfortable and unpleasant to fight biology. So I turn off the light and put myself in bed with the full intention of sleeping all night if so happens to be, but not opposed to wake up again if also, it happens.

More often than not after 1-2 hours of nap, I wake up feeling refreshed so I turn on the light and screens (TV, phone, computer) and do more leisure stuff. Not gaming, which pumps the wrong hormones and will make it hard to go to sleep again. Browsing the net, listening to music, watching another episode from the many comedy series I started... 1-2 hours later I feel sleepy again and this time it's for good, lasts till morning. Even if I wakeup (and I do wake up 1-2 times during the night to hit the bathroom), I'm very drowsy. Half asleep make it to the bathroom cursing the weak bladder then crawl back in my bed and 5 minutes later I'm already dreaming.

Re: Revenge bedtime procrastination

#49
post #36

Perhaps off topic: if I go to sleep at 10pm (something I never do, except if I have to wake up very early for whatever reason) and wake up at 6am, I feel like crap. Very sleepy and it takes me a couple of hours to be fully awake. Those 8h don’t feel the same as when I sleep from 1am to 9am, for example (my regular sleeping time).

I think that might have to do with your body clock and schedule. As you said, those are your "regular" sleeping times. If you start to consistently go to bed at 10pm and make that "regular", you'll get the same quality of sleep as with your current schedule. But, ultimately, if 1am to 9am works for you and there are no major negative effects to your life, I wouldn't think there is anything wrong with continuing to keep that schedule.

Re: Revenge bedtime procrastination

#50
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Go to bed with the sun at home, that will help you wake up with the sun.

I'm sure light has much to do with it, but that's a poor proposition at this time of year in the northern hemisphere. And frankly often times when it starts to get dark is when I actually start to feel fully awake. Of course the caffeine dependence I've built up lately doesn't help that. It's one hell of a high interest loan, and there's never a good time to pay it off.

I live in the Yukon, I’ve never felt better than when I go to bed with the sun, even in winter.

When your body sleeps for 14+ hours, it’s telling you something

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