RBP
Recently I was introduced to the concept of Revenge Bedtime Procrastination. We’ve all been guilty of this in our tech-riddled age. For me, it happens after particularly difficult or tiring days. You lie down, exhausted from working all day, and have a chance to catch up on your phone, scroll through social media, watch youtube, TV shows, movies, etc. A way to “catch up” on what you missed, and as a means to relax. It’s described as “sacrificing rest for leisure and activity”. I’ve found myself increasingly staying up later and later, especially as I’ve become more busy transitioning out of quarantine the past few months. From spending my entire day inside my house with my computer, TV, phone, and roommates, to now my days being consumed with tasks and errands after errands, I feel myself fall victim to this very often. Even as I write this, Its 6:48 am, an all-nighter as I see the sun rise outside my window.
Consequences of repeated deprivation of can lead to sleep deprivation, worsening of physical health and energy one can have leading into the day. And the more exhausted you are during the day, the more difficult it is to get through the day, repeating the cycle of exhaustion and desire for more leisure and rest.
It also doesn’t help that social media is designed to keep you online and engaged for as long as possible, further spiraling the problem for other people. Though I don’t speak for everyone, this also can lead to the greater discussion of social media addiction. I find myself sometimes just randomly scrolling, and looking at videos or images just for the sake of something to do, not really interested in any topic at all.
While I don’t have any suggestions, some initiative that has been helping me lately is simply deleting the apps off of my phone, and not giving myself the option to use any of the apps. If I really need to see something or talk to someone specifically on that app, then I can muster the courage to reinstall and login to the program, an act that typically takes a couple minutes to set up.
