Recently I have found myself at night, sleepy-eyed and ready for bed, yet I just cannot put down my phone. I find myself endlessly scrolling through Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, or TikTok, even if everything has been refreshed multiple times with no new updates. I’m exhausted from my busy day, ready to pass out, yet I cannot fall asleep. I did some research and found that this routine actually has a name: revenge bedtime procrastination.
Revenge bedtime procrastination is when you are trying to squeeze those last few minutes of free time you have in your day before waking up and starting again tomorrow. I hate that this is a real thing, but it feels comforting knowing that I am not alone in this. Most of us have been working nonstop, adjusting to the new reality that COVID-19 set for us, and trying to maintain a lifestyle in the past year. Why waste time trying to sleep when you can catch up on the latest gossip, trends, or viral TikToks that you might’ve missed during the day?
I find it kind of ironic because a popular trend that COVID-19 brought up is taking the time to relax. YouTubers are constantly suggesting taking time out of your day to turn off your phone and practice yoga or meditation for mindfulness, but even they take time to check their phones in their daily routine. It sucks that we can’t take some time at night to be away from our screens, but the FOMO gets real, even if it’s from watching people you’ll never meet.
Realizing that I struggle with this has been eye-opening because now that I know the problem, I can try and fix it. It’s a slow process and a hard habit to break, but hopefully I can fall asleep without the need to refresh my feed multiple times soon.