Sleep, don't scroll: Tips to avoid sleep procrastination

If you find yourself awake after bedtime, scrolling on your phone when you know you ought to be in dreamland, you're likely a "sleep procrastinator."

Amanda Jewson, a Toronto-based sleep consultant, says many people delay going to sleep as they try to make up for a lack of leisure time during the day.

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"They do fun things like scroll TikTok, watch television and stay up late with friends, but they're not making up for that sleep, so people are left in sleep deprivation" she told CTV's Your Morning on Wednesday.

Jewson says the concept is fairly new, but early studies have suggested women and students are most likely to procrastinate their sleep.

"There's also a suspicion that the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed people into this because we brought our jobs home with us," she said. "So essentially, anyone who's feeling the push-pull between work and leisure time is at risk."

Not getting enough sleep can put health at risk, Jewson said.

One study from the Journal of Clinical Psychology indicated those who procrastinated sleep were more anxious, depressed and irritable, and Jewson notes other studies have linked sleep deficiency to cardiovascular disease, for instance.

"We're not sleeping, we're not at our best selves," she said.

The optimal number of sleep-hours is at least seven, Jewson said, and making sure you’re ready to go to bed in time might require rethinking the day’s activities.

"Even scheduling 15 to 30 minutes of leisure activity, block out your scroll time during the day and block out that walk," Jewson said. "The more you do it during the day, you're going to need to do it less at night."

 

To hear all of Jewson's tips click the video at the top of this article.