‘Revenge Bedtime Procrastination’ Is Real
“Revenge bedtime procrastination, a phenomenon in which people who don’t have much control over their daytime life refuse to sleep early in order to regain some sense of freedom during late night hours.” — Daphne K. Lee
BBC explains that “revenge bedtime procrastination,” translated from the Chinese term bàofùxìng áoyè, is commonly experienced by overstretched workers desperate to “steal back” their time from their employers. I think it’s something a lot of us can relate to right now, and goes beyond work. For me, that glorious stretch of time after my small children go to bed does feel like revenge — or at least like something that must be aggressively protected. It’s mine. Nobody can ask me to turn on Daniel Tiger or help look for their galaxy slime or hop on another Zoom meeting. While I sometimes pay for my revenge the next morning by having to chug an extra cup of coffee, I must say that sticking it to reality by sitting in the dark and binging The Queen’s Gambit can feel pretty sweet.
