What is revenge bedtime procrastination, and how do I stop it?

It's staying up later than you should, usually on your phone, to get back time the day didn't give you. You know tomorrow will pay for it. You do it anyway, because the late night feels like the only part of the day that's yours.

Scolding yourself at midnight won't fix it, because the feeling behind it is fair. I'd give yourself twenty minutes that belong to you earlier in the evening, phone or no phone. When the day has already given you some time, the midnight grab loses its point. Then charge the phone outside the bedroom, and decide that at dinner. More in how to stop revenge bedtime procrastination.

It does show up in your sleep. A review of 43 studies linked bedtime procrastination to shorter and poorer sleep (Hill and colleagues, 2022).

If you've tried to fix your evenings before and it didn't stick, start here: Find Your Starting Place.