Don’t Fall Into the Trap of “vengeance for Putting Off Overnight”
The ongoing pandemic has changed so many aspects of our lives that it is difficult to control anything. There is an endless list of tasks to complete every day, so when you finally finish and get the chance to go to bed, this may be the first moment you’ve had with yourself all day. And while it might be wise to allow ourselves to quietly fall asleep, it is tempting to try and cram in some more before bed so that we can feel that at least a (tiny) part of our day belongs to us.
Now, thanks to journalist and editor Daphne K. Lee , we have a name for this: “avenge being put off overnight.” She described this behavior in a recent tweet :
Sounds familiar? This is why we got our revenge before sleep and how to stop it.
Why are we doing this?
In short, things seem so vague right now that naturally we are desperately trying to regain some (any!) Aspect of control over our lives – even if that means losing precious sleep. Granted, it doesn’t take a global pandemic to trigger bedtime revenge, but that definitely isn’t helping the cause right now. (We may be used to our lives spiraling out of control, but this is a completely different level when this feeling spreads to the entire planet.)
“When everything you do is about someone else’s needs, it can sometimes feel like it’s worth sacrificing sleep,” says Well + Good Dr. Amy Daramus , clinical psychologist. “The sound of silence is a wonderful thing. No boss, no kids, no interruptions. “
How can we stop?
Obviously, we all need to get as much sleep as possible right now, so this whole business of getting revenge on our busy daytime self by staying up late is harmful. One way to deal with this is to set aside some personal time during the day rather than at night, even if it requires carving out a few minutes here and there, rather than setting aside one significant chunk of time.
“Read a novel during your lunch hour at work. Take ready meals more often, ” says Daramus Well + Good . “Maybe schedule one night a week to stay awake when you can sleep a little later, and try to devote more time to your needs on other days.”
But if you really can’t catch a minute for yourself during the day, at least admit your revenge for putting off sleep for what it is, and give yourself a time limit. For example, you can watch one episode of The Living Bachelor, and then everything goes out. This way, you still have time to do what you really want to do, but it is built into your day and has an endpoint.