Can you relate to this? It’s 2 am on one of the weekdays, and you are – although very exhausted, still awake doing activities over the internet or just devoting some ‘me time’ on a hobby. It could be anything, you could be caught in an endless cycle of scrolling in one of the social media platforms, binge watching a latest Netflix series, countless hours of Gaming or even endlessly watching subscribed You Tube Podcasts. If yes? Then you could be suffering from a new phenomenon which is spreading like wild-fire in this post-modern world dubbed as Revenge Bedtime Procrastination.
Emerging first in the digital spaces of Chinese employees, the trend soon pervaded the rest of the world in no time. And, while the term may seem identical to Sleep Insomnia, Phycologists are of the opinion that it is a somewhat different phenomena that has emerged due to the hectic metamodern existence. Teenagers and Young Adults from all across the world are voluntarily depriving themselves of sleep to get the most out of the day. It’s about compensating your day after a hard day’s work of duties and responsibilities, regardless in which walk of life you are – be it working, studying or shouldering responsibility of an entire family.
Maximizing ‘me time’ is a psychological act of resistance, an act of deceiving your natural instincts to escape the monotonous ordeal of modern existence. While little bit of procrastination never hurts, overcompensation of sleep may lead to a feeling of burnout when you wake up for work the next morning. This greatly deters productivity and efficiency.
Here are a few ways to fight against the habit:
Engage in sports or any physical activity
Getting involved in any sports or taking a long evening walk of at least 6 miles right after work is a great way to boost the metabolism rate, and refresh the mind. The trick is to, at the end of the day, make yourself completely exhausted. And, the urge to spend hours procrastinating will slowly but steadily disappear. It is important to not indulge in physical activities just twice or thrice in a week when the right opportunity arises, but to make a daily routine out of it.
Avoid Caffeinated products
Avoid drinking coffee or any item that contains caffein during the later half of the day. The effects of Caffeine last for hours, and this may lead to a hyper-active mind preventing yourself to sleep after mid-night. The act of drinking coffee in the evening, most often than not, proves to be the final nail in the coffin, especially for Introverts who recharge themselves and take inspirations from the inner world that resides within their minds, rather than from the external materialistic world outside.
Practice Mindfulness & Yoga
Regularly indulging yourself for 30 minutes of practicing Mindfulness and Yoga is a great method to get rid of this mild phycological ailment. At the end of the day, the question of getting yourself trapped in a dubious cycle will not arise whatsoever, once your mind, body and soul are aligned and tuned in.
