How Can You Sleep At Night?
No More Revenge Procrastination Bedtime
It's 3am and you're still awake. Maybe you've been doomscrolling on social media or rewatching your favorite television show on Netflix hours after you vowed to go to sleep.
And who can blame you? After a long day of work, most of us feel a sharp sting of unconscious awareness of something we have tried to ignore: lost time.
Whether your day was spent toggling on and off camera on relentless Zoom calls from the home office or pouring endless cups of coffee to unruly customers as you suffocate behind an N95, the result is the same.
Your precious life, ticking away by the minute, making someone else's dreams come true. And so, when your body tells you its time to rest, you resist. You feel the interest accruing on the moments of your life your boss has borrowed and defaulted on over and over.
Sound familiar? If so, you're not alone.
The phenomenon is growing more commonplace, resulting in the popularization of the phrase "revenge procrastination bedtime" to describe our tendency to correct for this "time debt" we experience during the day.
The phenomenon has only worsened during the pandemic, as many workers feel wholly consumed with work during a time when the world has turned upside down. Some choose to stay up late just to feel as though they are in control of their lives, even if it means self-destructive behavior.
Staying up a few extra hours every night may not sound severe, but it only doubles the damage on ourselves. In fact, poor sleep can result in a shorter lifespan, as it is associated with several adverse health conditions such as heart disease, obesity, mental health issues, and more.
However, other trends during the pandemic suggest that Americans are prepared to reclaim their time in 2022. The so-called Great Resignation only continues to surge, with more and more people exiting the workforce by the day. Economic factors (e.g., record-high inflation, pandemic closures) are often sited as major drivers for this trend.
However, as the nation grieves the loss of 841,000 lives and counting to COVID-19, it's likely that Americans are reevaluating something much deeper.
Life is precious, every minute, and its slipping through your hands as you fill out spreadsheets for detached executives or clean the floors of empty office buildings in the name of public safety. Even now as the Omicron variant grips the nation, the CDC has reduced the number of days workers are excused from their jobs to quarantine after exposure to the virus. Still, economists are wringing their hands trying comprehend why American workers would decide to walk away from it.
If you find yourself scraping your nights for freedom and joy in exchange of sleepless, it may be time to ask yourself if your current work is really the cost of your time.
If it keeps you up at night, maybe it's not for you. If you dread waking up in the morning, maybe it's time to make a change. You only have so many days left. Ask yourself, how can you sleep at night? What changes could you make today to prevent you from the dismay that drives "revenge procrastination bedtime."
If you can, run for the hills and do something you love.
Remind yourself that sleep is something that is necessary and healthy for you. Remember how you feel you’re adequately rested and reflect on how that impacts your life. You'll have more time for dreaming at night, but you will also reclaim your waking hours to work toward the visions of your life that drive you forward.
There's no better time to hit the hay than today. You'll thank yourself later.
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