Too Depleted to Turn In: The Relevance of End-of-the-Day Resource Depletion for Reducing Bedtime Procrastination

Abstract

Bedtime procrastination is an important predictor of sleep insufficiency in the general population (Kroese et al., 2014b), but little is known about the determinants of this self-undermining behavior. As the phenomenon has been conceptualized in the literature as a form of self-regulation failure (Kroese et al., 2014a), we hypothesized that people’s self-regulatory resources in the evening would be predictive of going to bed later than they intended. Specifically, we examined whether the cumulative effect of resisting desires, a measure of self-regulatory resource depletion (Hofmann et al., 2012b), relates to bedtime procrastination. Participants (N = 218) reported how many desires they had tried to resist during the previous day and the extent of their bedtime procrastination. Results show that people who attempted to resist more desires were more likely to engage in bedtime procrastination, suggesting that people may be less likely to stick to their intended bedtime after a particularly taxing day. Implications for intervention strategies are discussed.

Time Perspective and Bedtime Procrastination: The Role of the Chronotype–Time Perspective Relationship

“…Indeed, a solid body of research has demonstrated significant associations between TP, chronotype and self-regulation. 59,60 Given evidence that BP is robustly associated with chronotype and selfregulation, 3,9,10,61 it appears reasonable for future studies to consider self-regulation in understanding the link between TP and BP.…”

“I’ll work out tomorrow”: The Procrastination in Exercise Scale

“…The role of procrastination in self-regulation of health behaviors is relatively unknown (Kroese and De Ridder, 2016), but recent research on bedtime procrastination indicates that it may be an important key to understanding self-regulatory failure (Kamphorst et al, 2018; Kroese et al, 2014, 2016; Nauts et al, 2016). Findings from initial studies suggest that bedtime procrastination is associated with poorer sleep outcomes over and above measures of trait self-regulation (Kroese et al, 2014), and that bedtime procrastination prospectively predicts higher discrepancies between planned bedtime and actual bedtime (Kroese et al, 2016).…”

Commentary: Why Don't You Go to Bed on Time? A Daily Diary Study on the Relationships Between Chronotype, Self-Control Resources and the Phenomenon of Bedtime Procrastination

“…Kühnel et al ( 2018 ) challenge our viewpoint (Kroese et al, 2014 , 2016a ; as well as Kroese et al, 2016b ; Kamphorst et al, 2018 ) that bedtime procrastination—going to bed later than intended without having external reasons for doing so—is a self-regulation problem. They argue that bedtime procrastination is not a self-regulation problem because it is predicted by chronotypes.…”

“…Finally, a reply is in order regarding perhaps the most striking finding of Kühnel et al's study, namely, that “on evenings on which employees indicated to have more self-regulatory resources at their disposal…employees showed more bedtime procrastination.” To begin with, it should be noted that a recent study suggests the opposite (negative) correlation (Kamphorst et al, 2018 ). The point we wish to emphasize here, however, especially in light of ongoing disputes about resource-based approaches to self-regulation (e.g., Inzlicht and Berkman, 2015 ), is that the self-regulation perspective on bedtime procrastination need not rely on an explanation in terms of the momentary self-regulation resources on which Kühnel et al focus.…”