Staying Up Late Though You're Tired?Bedtime Procrastination Studies

You’re exhausted, and still you’re up past midnight on your phone or finishing one more episode. If nothing is actually stopping you from going to bed, researchers have a name for it: bedtime procrastination, going to bed later than you meant to without an outside reason.¹

How common it is

A survey of 2,431 Dutch adults, chosen to represent the population, found that a large share regularly went to bed later than they wanted to and didn’t get enough sleep.¹ Bedtime procrastination helped explain the link between self-control and short sleep.¹

What it’s linked with

A 2022 review of 43 studies found bedtime procrastination went with:²

Linked with	Direction
Sleep duration	Shorter2
Sleep quality	Worse2
Daytime fatigue	More2
Being a night owl	More likely2
Self-control	Lower2

The studies were mostly snapshots of low quality, so they can’t show what causes what.²

Why people do it

In a small trial, researchers asked what staying up did for each person. The most common reasons were:³

• Managing emotions (31%), like winding down from a hard day
• Compensation (27%), claiming time for yourself after a day for others
• Social connection (18%), staying in touch with people

That fits a familiar pattern: the late hours can feel like the only time that’s yours.

Can it be changed?

60 young adults, most of them women, were randomly assigned to a behavioral program or a waitlist.³ Those in the program:

• Went to bed about 46 minutes closer to their intended time³
• Slept more efficiently³

The trial was small, short and open-label, and the participants were in their early twenties.³

What to try

1. Name what the late hours give you, whether it’s quiet, connection or recovery, and find a slot for it earlier in the evening.³
2. Set a “start winding down” alarm, not just a bedtime.
3. Charge your phone outside the bedroom.
4. Ask whether your evenings have any room; if the day leaves no time for you, the fix may be in the day.

See also reading on a tablet before bed and catching up on sleep at weekends.

Try: “I go to bed late every night even though I’m exhausted, because it’s the only time I get to myself. Is there a way to fix this without giving that up?”

Did I Do That in My Sleep? covers this in Chapter 10, “In Bed All Night, Tired All Day,” in a section called “Opportunity Comes First,” which starts with how much time your life actually leaves for sleep. Its tired-day account records that sleep opportunity beside what the next day cost. See the book.