You’re exhausted. It’s the end of a busy workday. You've probably just finished putting the kids to bed or have completed your last to-do for the day.
You sit down to take a few minutes for yourself. The next thing you know, it’s past midnight.
“Just a few more minutes,” you’re on the last episode or social media scroll. You definitely will not get the recommended 7–8 hours of sleep tonight.
Eventually, these long nights become a habit. In fact, you welcome these long nights and look forward to having more time for yourself.
If this sounds like you, you most likely are a “revenge bedtime procrastinator,” someone who purposely stays up late to make up for their lack of free time during the day.
Bàofùxìng áoyè or Revenge Bedtime Procrastinator
The concept behind this term stems from China’s rigorous ‘996 schedule’ where employees get “revenge” by staying up late to gain back personal time lost during the day.
A revenge bedtime procrastinator typically gets less than 6 hours of sleep daily. They know they’re possibly jeopardizing their health but view this as a small price to pay to have a personal life.
While some may argue this can be resolved by switching jobs, we know it’s just not that easy.
And even if you could get a new job, you can’t exactly replace your priorities such as your children.
The end result? You work around your crazy schedule making up for yourself after everything else is done.
While it sounds like a good idea to get back some personal time, you may pay a grave price for it later on.
The Shorter You Sleep, The Shorter Your Lifespan
Sleep is essential — the average adult needs 7–8 hours of sleep every night yet it’s often the first thing cut short. Lack of sleep correlates with a short attention span, negative moods, depression, and fatigue.
When you’re tired all the time, you start to make poor decisions. You miss little things here and there becoming less effective; accident-prone.
It’s no surprise that driving tired increases your chance of a car accident. Driving tired is similar to driving while intoxicated.
On average, fatigued drivers result in 328,000 crashes every year.
In addition to your mental wellbeing, lack of sleep also increases your chance of high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart diseases.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in America where 1 in every 4 deaths is linked to heart disease.
The saying, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” is never more accurate.
What You Can Do
Find creative ways to integrate personal time into your busy life without jeopardizing your health.
- Schedule yourself into your day. Add some “me” time into your daily routine whether that’s a short meeting on your outlook calendar or a checkbox on a to-do list. Set boundaries; do not allow interruptions. This meeting is just as important as any other meeting on your calendar.
- Delegate what you can. Whether it’s at work or at home, stop trying to do it all. Especially you, mom. If someone else has the free time to do it, let them — it doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to get done.
- Pick a day of the week to catch up on your favorite shows. Preferably one where you won’t feel guilty if you stay up too late. With streaming services, it’s so much easier now than ever to pause and pick up wherever you left off.
- Take a Mental Health day. Make use of your PTO — take a staycation. Hang out at your local Starbucks. Turn off your emails, turn off your phone. Sip your coffee and relax for an entire day.
- Create an evening routine. Take a warm shower. Put your phone away, maybe read for a few minutes. Set a bedtime and stick with it. It may be difficult the first few nights but eventually, your body will start conforming to your new routine.
The Takeaway
Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. — Benjamin Franklin
You need 7–8 hours of sleep consistently. Trading in sleep for more personal time is a catch-22.
You can’t have more time for less sleep without any repercussions.
In the short term, you’ll be exhausted and accident-prone. In the long term, you‘re increasing your risks for severe health conditions such as heart disease.
So change your thought process — you can have more personal time without losing sleep. Be creative.
