Recently, I’ve had to set a limit on how much Hulu I can watch. More specifically, how many episodes of Love Island (reality TV) I can watch during the work week. Why you ask? Because I would stay up till 2, sometimes 4AM watching the addictive British love show. It was affecting my whole week. As someone who goes to sleep relatively early, 9PM normally, but works until 6PM, I was finding Hulu and Netflix as “me time.” Only issue is, my “me time” was extending nightly — to the point that it was out of control. Shockingly, this binge watching or mindless scrolling on your phone has a name: revenge bedtime procrastination.

What is it?

Revenge bedtime procrastination is a voluntary delaying of sleep time, often by an individual with a very busy daily schedule with a lack of leisure or free time. The revenge is on your busy day, with sleep being the sacrifice to enjoy recreational activities. Essentially, many of us are dealing with the never ending news circuit: racism, trauma, a global pandemic, work schedules, family schedules and a host of other things. “Me time” spent at night is a way of protest. We explain the actual science behind revenge bedtime procrastination and outline ways to fix it in our previous piece.

The solutions

Although I enjoy multiple episodes of a good television show, revenge bedtime procrastination can lead to chronic sleep deprivation. This can lead to having a harder time waking up, falling asleep randomly and difficulty focusing throughout the day. Worst, you might be finding yourself increasing caffeine consumption to overcompensate. So how did I go about fixing it? I used the three methods below.

Naptime

Sneaking in short naps during the day can prevent you from revenge bedtime procrastination. Even 15 minutes can help shed off from your sleep deficit. Try your hardest not to go over 20 minutes because the result will be a groggy, less focused version of yourself.

Lights out

By shutting off all the lights, you will signal to your brain that it’s time to sleep.

Journal it out

Sometimes, we are so overwhelmed with our daily schedules that we often lay in bed mindless scrolling or binging, while still thinking about our agendas. Try writing out your thoughts, whether it’s something that occurred in the day or your to-do list to calm the brain.

We don’t blame you for wanting to intake all the content offered by the sea of streaming services out there, but taking care of your body and mind starts with sleep so I hope these steps help you the way they’ve helped me. If you need more help falling asleep, try these 7 products.