A study says putting off sleep is linked to stress: What happens during that 'one more video' moment?

Imagine looking at the clock at 10.45 pm. You are tired enough to fall asleep on the sofa. Tomorrow starts early, so you decide to go to bed. First, you check your phone. A funny video leads to another. Someone has replied to your message. By the time you look up, it is nearly midnight.

You wanted sleep. Somehow, you kept choosing something else. Psychologists call this pattern “bedtime procrastination.” Research links it with difficulty following through on intentions. Stress may also be part of the picture.

What is bedtime procrastination?

Bedtime procrastination means going to bed later than intended when no outside circumstance prevents you from doing so. The important word is “intended.”


Staying awake to care for a child is different. Working a late shift also involves a demand beyond simply choosing to keep watching videos. Being unable to sleep after trying is another issue. Bedtime procrastination concerns delaying the move towards bed, even though the opportunity is there.

You may understand perfectly well that tomorrow will feel harder. Knowing the cost does not always settle the decision.

What did the 2026 study actually find?

A review published in Frontiers in Psychology combined 18 studies involving 35,097 university students. Obaid Azeem and colleagues at Shihezi University examined the relationship between bedtime procrastination and psychological distress.

People reporting more bedtime delay also tended to report more distress. The strongest association among the outcomes examined was with perceived stress.

Most studies measured people at one point in time. Such research cannot establish which problem came first. The review discussed digital distractions and self-regulation as possible explanations. It did not directly prove that scrolling or mental depletion caused the delays.

Its findings concern university students. The opening scene is an everyday illustration.

Why can knowing your bedtime fail to change your behaviour?

Self-regulation means guiding your actions towards a goal, even when something else feels tempting. Here, the goal is getting to bed. The competing attraction is whatever keeps you awake.

Psychologist Floor M. Kroese and colleagues at Utrecht University explored the connection in a 2014 survey of 177 adults.

People reporting poorer self-regulation also reported more bedtime procrastination. Bedtime delay was associated with general procrastination and insufficient sleep.

The researchers suggested that people might struggle to stop enjoyable activities, rather than dislike sleep itself.You can see the distinction in the sofa scene. Sleep sounds appealing. Ending the entertainment feels harder.

Could scrolling be helping you avoid uncomfortable feelings?

Sometimes, the attraction may involve emotional relief. Psychologists Fuschia Sirois and Timothy Pychyl describe procrastination through “short-term mood regulation.” Their account suggests that people may put immediate relief ahead of a goal whose benefits arrive later.

Imagine finishing a demanding day. A video offers a brief escape from thinking about tomorrow’s workload. Continuing feels pleasant now. The tiredness belongs to tomorrow morning.

Their explanation concerns procrastination generally. Applying it to bedtime is a possible interpretation, rather than a finding established for every late-night phone user. The useful question becomes: what makes stopping feel unpleasant tonight?

Does mental exhaustion use up your willpower?

An influential theory called “ego depletion” proposes that exercising self-control leaves less available for a later task. The idea sounds like a battery running down. Roy Baumeister and colleagues helped develop that account.

Its evidence remains disputed, however. A large 2021 project led by Kathleen Vohs, involving 36 laboratories, did not find convincing support in its planned analyses.

Feeling drained is real. Claiming that everyone has a fixed supply of willpower that runs out each evening goes beyond settled evidence. The 2026 review used depletion as a theoretical explanation. It did not directly test that mechanism.

What might help you stop postponing bedtime?

A specific plan offers something clearer than “I should sleep earlier.” Psychologists Peter Gollwitzer and Paschal Sheeran studied “implementation intentions.” These connect a situation with an action through an if–then plan.

For example: “If my evening reminder sounds, I will put my phone on its charger across the room.” Their meta-analysis supported such plans across different goals. It was not a test of this particular bedtime strategy.

The example makes stopping concrete. Instead of deciding again after every video, you have already chosen what happens next. The next clip can wait.

FAQs

Is bedtime procrastination the same as insomnia?

No. Delaying bedtime differs from trying to sleep and being unable to do so.

Does staying up late prove someone lacks discipline?

No. One late night cannot explain a person’s motives or circumstances.