Janine introduces the episode by outlining her nightly ritual of bedtime procrastination: cleaning, journalling, compiling lists, listening to podcasts, embroidery, meme harvesting, party planning, and bingeing on Portlandia! Just a few of the things she got up to last night. Help. (Thanks to science, we have some answers!)
Mastering of this episode, plus intro and outro music, by the ever-talented Dr Adrian Diery.
Bedtime procrastination – related, but distinct from general procrastination
Aleena tells us about the first study on bedtime procrastination, published back in 2014. Researchers surveyed 177 people from the general community to find out how often people procrastinate on going to bed, how much sleep they usually get, and whether they feel tired during the day or think they don’t get enough sleep. Researchers also measured participants’ ability to self-regulate (similar to how much self-control they have) to see if this gives some clues as to why we sometimes just can’t resist bingeing on our favourite show or burying ourselves in social media when we know we really should be hitting the hay…
The more self-regulation one had, the less likely they were to engage in bedtime procrastination. Those who were prone to procrastination more generally were more likely to also procrastinate on bedtime. But the results suggested that bedtime procrastination was more closely related to sleep outcomes than general procrastination was. And bedtime procrastination seemed to be more important when it came to sleep outcomes than self-regulation. It all suggests that bedtime procrastination is a specific thing that seems to have a clear relationship with sleep, over and above self-regulation. Are you one to push back your bedtime for no good reason? Consider whether bedtime procrastination is stealing some of your precious ZZZZZs!
Mindfulness at night seems like a good way to address bedtime procrastination
Janine covers a study showing that bedtime procrastination is linked to proneness to fidgeting, intolerance for boredom, higher levels of inattention with the present moment, and increased likelihood of becoming distracted. Sounds about right for Janine! The study suggests that one’s urge to procrastinate on bedtime might be tackled by using mindfulness to address boredom and inattention. Mindfulness can teach us to accept the present moment and the experiences and feelings therein without judgement. This can reduce our need to curb the boredom. Mindfulness helps us gain more control over where we base our attention and bring space between the experience of boredom and any negative feelings that come up.
In the study, participants who were more mindful in general were much less likely to engage in bedtime procrastination, demonstrated lower levels of boredom and fidgeting. They also enjoyed higher overall sleep quality. Alright, it’s time for Janine to start employing more mindfulness practice during her evenings… Watch this space…!
What brought out our inner square?
Aleena has a tale about a cat, two broken toes, and an x-ray report. She explains the term “portmanteau”, and gives radiologists get a lesson in science communication.
Janine has been updating her Will and her wishes for her remains when she passes. She’s decided to go with ‘aquamation’/water cremation when the time comes: a form of alkaline hydrolysis that results in bone ash, but with significantly lower energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions than traditional cremation and burial methods. Cos, yes, Janine cares about this stuff even when she’s dead!
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