I go to sleep. But first I have to send my best friend a quick message via WhatsApp to make sure he is on time for the bachelor party tomorrow morning. And while I’m at it, I check if there’s anything new on Instagram or Twitter. Oh, and the Prime Minister’s latest statement on fighting unemployment is just coming out – I need to read it.
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Do you know this situation with yourself or with your family, friends or colleagues? This phenomenon is called bedtime procrastination. It is the result of widespread procrastination, in this case when it comes to going to bed. Instead of following the brain and getting a good night’s sleep, people spend countless minutes, even up to an hour, glued to their computer screens. The result is sleep deprivation, which is unnecessary and, in the worst case, can even be the starting point for the future development of a neurodegenerative disease (e.g. Alzheimer’s).
Of course, you don’t necessarily need a cell phone to keep you from falling asleep. It’s just as easy to get stuck in front of the TV or computer, watching one episode of a show after another, or unable to tear yourself away from a video game. Many other activities can also theoretically keep you from going to bed, such as reading or exercising. However, it is only since the advent of television, cell phones, and computers that this phenomenon has been increasingly observed. Scientists therefore believe that electronic devices, with their many forms of entertainment, have contributed significantly to its development.
More than 70 percent of people are affected by sleep procrastination. If you have just caught yourself being one of those people with sleep procrastination, I can tell you that you are not alone. According to initial research, up to 56 percent of people worldwide are affected by this phenomenon, and almost 75 percent within the EU. One reason for this may be a lack of self-control. In other words, people who had poorer self-regulation also reported more procrastination at bedtime. We also found that bedtime procrastination was particularly common among people who tend to procrastinate in other ways. This includes people who are unable to stop doing fun activities and focus on serious tasks.
When self-regulation fails, there can be an intention-behavior gap, a gap between intention and actual behavior. This happens quite often with health-promoting behaviors-think of people who want to exercise more, eat healthier, or quit smoking, but fail to do so. Sooner or later, this inevitably leads to irreversible damage in the body, but especially in the brain. And brain damage is simply irreversible.
From a clinical perspective, bedtime procrastination is not always problematic. It is only when the person’s behavior results in a persistent lack of sleep that the phenomenon can have health consequences. The effects of too little sleep are most obvious the next day: the person feels tired and unfocused, and is therefore less able to perform both physically and mentally.
But the long-term effects are even more serious: chronic sleep deprivation can lead to strokes, dementia such as Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, and depression. In addition, recent scientific research shows that even a small amount of sleep deprivation is detrimental to the immune system. Adolescents also need a good night’s sleep for proper brain development. Too little sleep can lead to cognitive problems in the long run. In addition, sleep deprivation impairs self-regulation, which can increase the tendency to procrastinate. A vicious cycle.
There is also a significant correlation between depressive mood and smartphone use in the evening. More specifically, it’s about the way our subconscious controls our thinking. People who put their smartphones ahead of sleep, which is much more important, are much more likely to want to gloss over reality and refuse to let anything negative happen. These people spend much more time on social media, posting pictures of themselves in a beautiful context, rather than admitting the reality of a gray, dreary day and sharing it with the outside world. This creates a creeping process of depressive development that becomes more aggressive over time and promotes a loss of self-control.
So, what do you do when the next episode of a show comes on late at night, or when you get so many tempting messages on your phone? The goal may not be to get at least eight hours of sleep a night or to always go to bed before midnight. Instead, sensible interventions should help people align their behavior with their intentions. The first step is to acknowledge that going to bed late can have negative effects. In addition, I recommend raising awareness of the consequences of sleep deprivation for health and well-being. While many people report that they get too little sleep and are often tired, they don’t usually see going to bed earlier as a solution. People should be reminded that even such a relatively simple change in behavior can have positive effects.
I also recommend thinking about evening routines and sleep preferences. For example, ask yourself what time you actually want to go to bed and what you want to do. This can help you set specific goals for bedtime. Other things to consider include avoiding stimulating activities before bedtime and maintaining a regular sleep-wake cycle – all of which are useful for sleep disorders, where people either have difficulty falling asleep or wake up frequently and stay awake for long periods of time.
It is also a good idea to set clear rules for yourself as well. For example, no cell phones in the bedroom, or consistently turning off all electronic entertainment and lights after a certain time. It is also helpful to design your environment in such a way that temptations are not always present – for example, by leaving the computer in the study or keeping the TV in the living room. It’s also a good idea to carve out more time during the day for enjoyable activities and relaxation, so you don’t have to wait until the evening to recover from excessive screen time. Because the next day, you pay a price for this form of entertainment that only gets higher in the long run. So turn off the TV, put away the phone, and close your eyes.