"Why do I keep going to bed late?"
12 traits, habits and lifestyle choices that might make you more likely to be a bedtime procrastinator.
Does this sound familiar?
You’ve been tired all day and know you need to go to bed on time. But somehow it’s already midnight and you’re still up scrolling, watching "one more" episode, or finding random things to do around the house.
While some people find it relatively simple to get an early night, for others, the bedtime procrastination struggle is all too real.
So why do some of us find it so tricky to go to bed on time?
Here are 12 traits, habits and lifestyle choices that may make you more likely to be a bedtime procrastinator...
1. You’re a night owl
Having a 'night owl’ chronotype means you’re predisposed to staying up late and sleeping in late. Fine if you don't need to get up in the mornings; tricky if you have a normal 9-5.
A 2023 bedtime procrastination study looked at 273 young adults over 14 days and measured bedtime procrastination, executive functioning, and chronotype. The researchers found that people with later chronotypes (night owls) were at greater risk of going to bed late.
2. Your days are packed
For lots of us, late nights aren’t really about avoiding sleep; they’re about finally getting some 'me-time'.
A recent paper published in Frontiers in Psychology describes bedtime procrastination as a conflict between health goals (sleep) and personal needs (relaxation, freedom, enjoyment). When we feel like we don't have enough control during the day, staying awake can become a way of reclaiming that control.
This behaviour of choosing 'me-time' over sleep is often called ‘revenge bedtime procrastination'.
3. You struggle with self-regulation
Going to bed on time often requires us to stop doing something enjoyable (scrolling on your phone) in favour of something beneficial (going to bed so that we feel good the next day). It's about self-regulation.
Unfortunately, our self-regulation is often at its lowest ebb at the end of the day, so if you struggle with willpower more generally, it's probably not too surprising if that bedtime procrastination is an issue.
4. You’re always tired
It feels counterintuitive, but often, when we’re tired during the day, we’re actually more likely to go to bed late. Again, this is about self-regulation: when we’re tired, scrolling or even catching up with life admin can feel easy compared with the effort needed to go to bed or switch off the light.
This can create a cycle of tiredness and late bedtimes that needs some effort to break.
5. You don’t wear a watch
This one’s simple. Without clear time cues, it is easy to lose track of time. A study by Saane Nauts and colleagues found that simply losing track of time is a risk factor for going to bed late. Relying on your phone to tell you the time can lead into mindless scrolling, but wearing a watch or having a clock on the wall can make the difference.
6. You’re on social media
Unfortunately, between clever algorithms, autoplay and a host of other features, social media is designed to keep us scrolling.
In a study of 313 adults in Spain, researchers found that problematic smartphone use was, unsurprisingly, associated with more bedtime procrastination and also poorer sleep quality.
7. You rely on coffee
If you’re using caffeine to power through your afternoons, it can still affect you at bedtime, making you less likely to feel sleepy and more motivated to stay up late.
A recent review of the research recommends cutting out caffeine at least 8.8 hours before you to go to bed.
8. You’ve always gone to bed late
Are you really a night owl? Or are you simply in the habit of going to bed late?
In this paper on health habits, the authors describe how "habits are likely to persist, even when conscious motivation or interest dissipates". If your evenings have always involved going to bed late, your brain may be running that nightly routine automatically.
9. You're avoiding insomnia
For some of us, bedtime procrastination could be driven by insomnia.
In a study by Saane Nauts, one of the reasons people gave for delaying bedtime was that they were doing it intentionally so that they'd be tired enough to go to sleep. The authors suggested that for this group, the issue might be undiagnosed insomnia.
Luckily, there's lots of great help out there for insomnia, so if you think this might apply, do see your doctor.
10. It’s become part of your identity
Sometimes, going to bed late becomes part of how we see ourselves.
If you think of yourself as 'someone who stays up late,' you act accordingly, even when you’re shattered. According to behavioural psychology, people tend to act in ways that match their self-concept, even when it works against their goals.
11. You think it's cool
Deep down, lots of us probably think it’s cool to go to bed late. And in some ways, we might be right: going out dancing or even just watching a movie with a partner is probably worth the occasional late night. But if you’re going to bed late most nights to binge-watch, scroll or just do a bit of life-admin, it’s probably not so cool.
12. You don’t have a plan
Research has shown that people who have a plan for their evenings are more likely to go to bed on time. Without an evening plan, your brain fills the gaps with whatever is easiest and most engaging in the moment, risking an unintentionally late night.
3 ways to tackle bedtime procrastination
If lots of the factors above ring true for you, and you need to stop procrastinating about going to bed, here are three quick ideas to try this week:
Try something different: So many of us simply rely on willpower to go to bed on time, even though it often lets us down. If willpower alone isn't working for you, it might be for a re-think. Constantly going to bed late isn't a failure; it's a habit that's hard to break.
Start with the easy stuff: Cut out coffee after midday, buy a clock for your wall, or make a plan for your evenings... do something real and positive to make a change.
Use the tech: From streaming to social media, screens have taken over our evenings. Experiment with the various tech tools you can use to take back some control: set timers for your social media apps, and take off the ‘auto-play’ function on Netflix.
What's your next step?
Need to do more to tackle bedtime procrastination? Use the links below for the Untired Me newsletter, or take a look at the online programme.
