Sleep Procrastination Revenge
Have you heard of the term sleep procrastination revenge? It’s a thing right now.
Lots of folks are staying up past their bedtime, as a rebellion against longer work days, in order to carve out more time for entertainment, pleasure and relaxation.
Sleep procrastination revenge isn’t new but it’s been exacerbated by the pandemic as stats show leisure time has shrunk due to lockdown measures, working from home, and homeschooling kids. We are hungry for more pleasure.
So what are people getting up to as they push off sleep? Should we care that overall we’re getting less sleep? Are there ways to get our full night’s sleep and nurture our happy hormones?
Devices for Pleasure
Less time spent with people in the flesh has meant more time on social apps and online gaming. We’re missing connection, we’re reaching for another hit of dopamine, and many are experiencing digital FOMO because it seems everyone else is online all the time.
It’s easy to miss our body’s natural sleep cues while we’re plugged in because of the blue light exposure, and the effects of social media and gaming on our nervous systems and the power of social reward that captivates our attention. The mechanisms that keep us plugged in are the same ones that also interfere with melatonin production (sleep hormone that initiates sleep processes and helps us stay asleep.)
The Feedback Loop
There is a strong feedback loop between sleep loss (even just an hour a night) and an increase of feelings on the negative end of the emotional scale (depression, stagnation, aimlessness…)
But the opposite is true too – by nurturing sleep, we can reverse the feedback loop, almost instantly. Studies show we have more access to energy, creativity, focus, meaning and connection with ourselves and others after one good night of sleep.
When we’re gently lifting ourselves and our loved ones up and out of aimlessness, it helps to start small. Recovering even one extra hour of sleep a night is an effective place to start because it improves our motivation – making other attempts to spark joy easier (go for a nature walk, cook a nice meal…)
enjoyable activities
that support sleep
Shifting the kids’ bedtimes & wake times earlier to get more child free time in the evening without having to stay up too late (we just started this this last week – even a half hour is soothing my revenge.)
Setting an alarm in the evening to signal an electronics curfew and connecting with a loved one instead. You can use an app to keep you off you apps, if willpower isn’t working. Here are a few good ideas.
Using Neflix to actually unwind.
Content matters! Watching something light or funny keeps us out of our stress response system – which can get activated by some shows (you know the ones), and interfere with sleep processes.
Pick your show to support your target bedtime. Choose a short one or a long one depending what time it is and what time you want to be asleep.
Try Analog Evenings a few days a week to find pleasurable, sensory-oriented, tech-free ways to support your sleep system:
Candlelit partnered or self-massage – moving down the body, from shoulders to feet, slowly squeezing and releasing one muscle at a time.
Moving into your receptive self – swaddle yourself in a cozy blanket (burrito style) and lay on the floor and take in a podcast, ambient music, or recorded sound bath (low lights).
Go for a slow stroll around the block to smell the emerging spring. See how slow you can walk and how much you can notice.
Find flow state: puzzling, cards, colouring, non-competitive board games, baking (we’re loving Dixit)
Make your sleep space irresistible: Indulge in special pjs (silk or organic cotton), a lux pillow or premium sheets.
Here’s to finding more peace, ease and enjoyment on our way to sleep and through our sleep.
In sleepy solidarity,
