Revenge bedtime procrastination
Revenge bedtime procrastination is delaying sleep, without any external reason, to reclaim leisure time that a demanding day did not allow. The person is usually tired and knows the cost, but late night feels like the only hour that belongs to them. It is a popular label built on the research concept of bedtime procrastination, first studied systematically by Kroese and colleagues in 2014.
| Field | Health psychology / sleep research |
|---|---|
| Key researchers | Floor Kroese, Joel Anderson, Sanne Nauts |
| Related concepts | Bedtime procrastination, self-regulation, sleep hygiene, ego depletion |
Why it matters for procrastination
Bedtime procrastination shows that procrastination is not confined to work: people delay even intrinsically pleasant states like sleep when the transition feels effortful. Kroese et al. (2014, Frontiers in Psychology) linked it to lower general self-regulation and to insufficient sleep, and later work suggests end-of-day depletion makes the wind-down transition hardest exactly when it matters. It also feeds a loop: short sleep worsens next-day self-control, which fuels more daytime procrastination and another compressed evening. Structural fixes, protecting some genuinely free time earlier in the evening and lowering the friction of the bedtime routine, tend to beat willpower at 1am.
Related
Self-regulationTemporal discounting
Frequently asked questions
Why do I procrastinate going to sleep?
Research points to two overlapping drivers: depleted self-control at the end of the day makes the effortful transition to bed harder, and days with little autonomy create a felt need to reclaim time, for which late night is the only slot. Addressing the daytime squeeze usually helps more than stricter bedtime rules.
Is revenge bedtime procrastination a mental health condition?
No. It is a behaviour pattern, not a diagnosis. But chronically short sleep affects mood, attention and health, so if it is entrenched or you suspect an underlying sleep problem, it is worth raising with a clinician.