As if we don’t procrastinate enough when it comes to work and chores, a recent study has uncovered yet another way we procrastinate: “sleep procrastination”. Do you tend to stay up later than you should just because you’re delaying bedtime?
Picture: John Carleton/Flickr
In the study, published in psychology journal Frontiers, researchers surveyed 177 people on their lifestyle habits, sleep and overall procrastination. Unsurprisingly, those who agreed with statements like “I easily get distracted by things when I actually would like to go to bed” and “I go to bed later than I had intended” tended to experience insufficient sleep and its related problems, including tiredness during the day.
In other words, some of us can’t blame our poor sleep on insomnia or other sleep problems but on our tendency to procrastinate and, the researchers theorise, poor self-control (which can be depleted by the end of the day). That and wanting to watch just “one more” show on TV or play “one more” video game level.
Does this sound familiar to you?
Bedtime procrastination: Introducing a new area of procrastination [Frontiers via RealClearScience]
Comments
5 responses to “Do You Procrastinate About Going To Sleep?”
I do procrastinate going to bed only because I want to: Surf the net, play some video games, watch some tv or downloaded show/movie. Its not all the time though, out of seven days in the week, I might end up doing this 4 or 5 times, which may still be excessive.
Still I manage to pull about 7 hours sleep each night, which in winter I would like more, but it is still sufficient to keep me moving and awake throughout the day.
Yeah, I’m a little perplexed by the claim:
“I easily get distracted by things when I actually would like to go to bed”
I get easily distracted by things when I don’t want to go to bed. If I wanted to go to bed, I would.
Pretty tiny sample for a study, 177 people isn’t really a sufficiently large pool to make any conclusions.
Completely agree – I am so hungry for knowledge and to catch up on all the various blogs, podcasts, webinars etc that interest me both professionally and personally, I often suffer the “just one more” syndrome late at night. Before I know it, it’s 1.30am!
i find it easier to put off going to bed on a work day because i feel like spending 9 hours at work and 4 hours travelling that i have robbed myself of me time and i just need to watch a movie or play a game or whatever to compensate but i always just end up grouchy in the morning lol