The tendency to procrastinate and do anything but the right things is common to many of us. But why do we put off and put off the moment of going to bed, although we know that in the morning we ourselves will suffer and scold ourselves for yesterday’s senseless vigil on the couch?
The term sleep procrastination, that is, postponing sleep until later, was first proposed in 2014 by scientists at Utrecht University – they published a study in which almost 180 people took part, each of whom somehow avoided the moment when they should go to sleep. And most of them could not explain why they do it.
The time allotted for sleep was spent on meaningless things: someone aimlessly flipped through the social media feed, someone endlessly switched to the next series of a not-so-exciting series, and someone found himself reading articles on topics that are of no interest during the day called.
Most of the participants at the same time experienced a lack of sleep, because they slept less than six hours a night and complained that getting up in the morning was difficult. All this, however, did not prevent again and again from breaking the promise he had made to himself to go to bed right on time that very day.
Why do we put off sleep
Procrastination in one form or another is familiar to almost all of us – we tend to put off things that make us uncomfortable. An unpleasant conversation with your boss or a trip to the gym, where you will again be forced to sweat and carry heavy objects, is an understandable reason for procrastination. How understandable is the attempt to delay the start of a project in which you do not fully understand your role or are afraid of being insufficiently competent.
But sleep can hardly be called a nuisance, especially since many lack it. What makes us deprive ourselves of pleasure and spend time on things that do not bring satisfaction?
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“Part of the problem is that there are more and more processes in our lives that are addictive. The same social networks – we grab the phone at any free moment. At the same time, there will be no logical end to browsing the Instagram or Facebook feed, you can hang out for hours, says psychologist Marina Kuzovkova. – Another problem is the inability to leave work affairs outside the personal space. XNUMX/XNUMX availability via e-mail, instant messengers and other means of communication makes us vulnerable. Some experience physical discomfort if they do not immediately read and respond to a new message or letter.
Thanks to technology, we are constantly in touch, the number of cases is growing. Knowing how to prioritize will make life a lot easier.
The lack of a clear division into working and non-working time gives rise to a situation where all the time, except for sleep, becomes working. In the morning, the first thing a person reaches for the phone is to check the mail, and with the same action he ends the day with his head on the pillow. The paradox of the situation is that it often seems to a person: he didn’t manage to do anything anyway, and there are more unfinished tasks than done ones.
Experts say that the key to resolving this situation is a clear planning of both time and tasks that must be solved during the day. Thanks to technology, we are constantly in touch, the number of cases is growing. Knowing how to prioritize will make life a lot easier. It will get rid of the nasty voice in your head that insists that you do not have time to do anything.
“Another factor is the feeling that you don’t have time to live. In the morning, we hardly open our eyes, cook breakfast, take children to kindergartens and schools, rush through traffic jams to work, where we solve endlessly falling problems all day long. Evening is the only time you can take care of yourself by putting the kids to bed and washing the dishes. But the clock is relentless and says it’s time to go to bed. And when to live? This problem is relevant for many, – adds Marina. “As a result, we internally protest and try to solve it through sleep. It seems to us that this is our well-deserved free time. In reality, we simply steal from ourselves the opportunity to rest, which the next day will respond only with even greater fatigue and a feeling of being driven out.
How to teach yourself to go to bed on time
Of course, we depend on the number of working hours and daily tasks that cannot be abandoned – the children themselves will not drive themselves to kindergarten, and traffic jams will not clear up just from our strong desire to get home as soon as possible. However, even here, perhaps, there is room for some maneuver. Time management experts advise taking a closer look at the daily activities that we spend time on.
Perhaps the replenishment of gastronomic stocks can be delegated to the delivery service by ordering groceries online. And the endless and ineffective nightly cleaning is not worth the effort and nerves spent, and it is easier to hire an incoming assistant.
Planning can help with TV too. For example, instead of aimlessly switching channels in search of at least something interesting, you can jot down a list of interesting films to watch a couple of evenings a week. Others take a couple of evenings to read books or take an evening walk.
Often the root of the problem and the unpleasant feeling that you are spinning like a squirrel in a wheel, not having time to live for yourself, lies in routine: cooking dinner every evening, washing dishes, watching programs on TV. If you diversify at least part of the evening’s activities, the feeling of monotony will become much less pronounced.
“Another way to train yourself to go to bed on time and when you need to get enough sleep is to come up with relaxing evening rituals,” advises Marina. – Fragrant bubble bath, a cup of mint tea, subdued lights, favorite pajamas, switching gadgets to night mode, reading books – find your combination of elements that make up a pleasant end of the day for you. Then you will automatically begin to adjust to sleep mode and very soon the desire to aimlessly spend valuable night time with a phone or laptop will disappear by itself, and sleep will become better and more desirable.