Healthy living depends on getting enough restful sleep, and skipping sleep can have negative effects.

"Sleep is my greatest enemy," said a tweet from Netflix's official Twitter account a few years ago. This puts up well the struggle you could go through when you know you ought to be in bed but resist getting out of bed. However, the impulse to stay up late can be harming your health. Here are some reasons why it's time to stop putting off going to bed and start moving in a healthy direction.

What is bedtime procrastination?
There's always one more episode to watch, another text to reply to, or a couple more social media applications to explore in our increasingly wired society. Making time for ourselves can be difficult due to daily demands and difficulties.Is it surprising that so many of us put off going to bed?

The phrase "bedtime procrastination" was created by a group of researchers in Europe about two decades ago to characterise someone who delays going to bed even when they are aware that doing so will have detrimental effects. According to their research, those who procrastinated going to bed considerably slept less and were more tired than those who did not delayed.

One crucial element? Smartphone usage: Compared to non-procrastinators, procrastinators utilise their gadgets on average for almost 80 minutes before bed.

Why is it important?
Regularly obtaining less sleep than you require or not getting enough high-quality sleep is linked to a number of detrimental health effects, including depression, cognitive impairments, and cardiovascular disorders like high blood pressure and heart problems. Along with a healthy diet and regular exercise, sleep is one of the three pillars of good health. However, promoting sound sleep is frequently disregarded as a means of enhancing our physical and mental wellbeing.

What can you do if you have trouble with bedtime procrastination?
A programme to combat procrastination before bed has recently undergone a modest trial run by researchers from the Republic of Korea. Their programme is to alter behaviour and increase motivation. 20 people took part in this pilot trial, which consisted of weekly sessions of 50 minutes each, followed by a follow-up phone call. They reported less difficulty with daytime tiredness and sleeplessness, and they cut back on the amount of time they spent putting things off before night by more than 60%.

You could reduce your nighttime procrastination by remembering these four encouraging lessons:

Monitor your sleeping pattern - Most likely, during the previous several weeks, you don't remember when you wanted to go to bed vs when you actually did. You can determine if you have a problem with bedtime procrastination by writing this down for a week or two.

Set a sensible objective - Let's imagine you are aware that in order to feel rested and alert the next morning, you must go to bed by 11 p.m. Aiming for 11 pm every night is probably not practical if you regularly go to bed at 1 am. Start by attempting to set your bedtime 15 or 30 minutes earlier. Keep the momentum rolling if that is successful.

Make a change agreement - A promise you make to someone else is one of the most effective instruments you can use. It keeps you responsible and significantly improves your chances of following through on making a change in your life. Have you ever questioned why having a personal trainer makes you more likely to visit the gym? If this is the case, think about telling a partner, parent, kid, relative, friend, or coworker about your goals and actual outcomes.

Watch out for obstacles - Be aware of the obstacles you face as you implement improvements. For instance, you can experience loneliness at night and use your smartphone more frequently than you should to feel connected with others.

The conclusion
You are not the only one who puts off going to bed. Your unwillingness to go asleep is very reasonable, whether you feel like you never have enough time for yourself or stay up too late on Sundays because you dread the tasks on your to-do list for Monday. Regular life occurrences like putting off going to bed are unlikely to have a negative impact on your health. However, if you discover that persistent procrastination causes you to get less sleep than you require, you might want to try some methods for breaking the habit.