Americans Lose A Lot Of Sleep Over This Silly Reason

o you yawn all afternoon, struggle to keep your eyes open after dinner, but somehow catch a second wind just when it’s time to drift off to dreamland? It’s a common problem and millions of Americans take it one step further by staying up late to get some “me time” back - which is known as “revenge bedtime procrastination.” According to a new survey, 96% of respondents are guilty of it, and their sleep is taking a huge hit as a result.

The poll of 2-thousand adults across the country finds that Americans end up having a “revenge bedtime” about every other night - or 3.5 times a week - on average. They stay up roughly an hour and 50 minutes later than usual every time, which adds up to losing around 322 hours of sleep a year.

• People do it even though they know it’s bad for their sleep and their health, but 63% claim nighttime is the only time they get to themselves.
• So, what are most people doing during this revenge bedtime procrastination? Just over a third stay up late to have time for hobbies (36%) or to enjoy some alone time (35%).
• Some admit to staying up past their bedtime because they’re in a “scrolling rabbit hole” (34%) or just because they enjoy nighttime (33%), but others say they’re just too worked up from the day’s events (21%) or just need to get stuff done (19%).
• When they do stay up late, whether it was intentional or not, it takes people about three days to get back on schedule. This may be why 42% “always” or “often” regret those late nights.
• Three-quarters of those polled say they know their sleep is tied to their health and 51% confess that even one night of bad sleep is enough to have a negative impact on their health.
• After a bad night of sleep, people admit they’re more likely to be irritable (52%), feel stressed (48%) and eat poorly (29%) the next day, and more than a quarter (28%) are also less likely to exercise.
• Another 28% find they’re more likely to have bad sleep in the nights following their late night.
• To avoid all that, 73% are trying to improve their sleep this year by trying to be more consistent with their bedtime (45%), going to bed earlier (43%) and spending less time on screens in the evening (39%).

Source: Talker