I didn’t know there was a name for it – Revenge Bedtime Procrastination – but the second I heard the phrase, it hit me like a ton of bricks as I realized I had been doing it most of my adult life.

After a long day of showing up for everyone else, juggling work, family and friends, errands, dishes, dog walks, and meal prep, I’d finally have a moment to collapse on the couch, phone in one hand, remote in the other. It felt like the only time that belonged to me. The scrolling would turn into zoning out, and before I knew it, I’d be rifling through the kitchen for a snack… or worse, slipping into a full-on binge. My body and brain were screaming for rest, but instead of honoring that exhaustion, I turned to food and endless distraction.

In those moments, I was not hungry, I was resentful – resentful that the entire day had passed without a single breath that felt like mine. I needed a break, so I rebelled with food, social media and TV.

What Is Revenge Bedtime Procrastination?

Revenge Bedtime Procrastination is the quiet rebellion we stage against our own fatigue. After a day of taking care of everything and everyone, we stay up too late eating, scrolling, and binge-watching, because it feels like the only time that belongs to us.

The problem is, this “me-time” often looks like relaxation, but in fact, has the opposite effect. The endless Tik Toks and Instagram rabbit holes, the just-one-more-episode, the food – we tell ourselves they are harmless, even deserved, but the relief they provide are temporary and come with a very steep price as we borrow from tomorrow to try and feel better about today.

We know it’s self-sabotage, but it also feels like the only time and space we have that is solely ours. Hours later, eyes bleary and stomach stuffed, we’re more drained than when we started. For those of us working to heal our metabolic health or our relationship with food, this rebellion can quietly unravel hard-fought progress.

This Isn’t Just About Sleep. It’s About Metabolic Health.

Staying up late and eating into the night doesn’t just steal rest—it throws our entire system out of sync. Sleep is when the body resets: blood sugar regulation, insulin sensitivity, and hunger hormones like ghrelin (which signals our body to eat) and leptin (which signals fullness) all depend on consistent, quality rest.

But by the end of the day, when blood sugar is often at its lowest and our cravings at their highest, our mental reserves are depleted and we’re emotionally wiped out, so we reach for food and distractions because they feel easy and comfortable, like slipping on a favorite, old sweatshirt. It’s not nutrients we’re hungry for, but relief from mental clutter, expectations, overstimulation, and the weight of being “on” all day.

The alarmingly high cost to this is poor sleep, blood sugar swings, lingering shame and guilt, and that hangover-like realization the next morning: I did it again.

If this sounds familiar, know this: you’re not broken or weak, and there’s nothing wrong with you that self-grace, compassion, and having a plan can’t help. Of course, you deserve relief, but check in with yourself to assess whether or not you are actually achieving that when you get caught in this trap.

Radical Honesty: What Are You Really After?

Without attachment to the answers, gently ask yourself:

• Am I staying up late because it’s the only time no one needs anything from me?
• Am I eating because I’m frustrated the day didn’t include any time for me?
• Is food filling a need that has nothing to do with hunger?

For years, food was my only outlet, a way to decompress, to reclaim time and say, “this is mine.” It wasn’t about hunger, it was about autonomy, an attempt to recoup what the day had taken out of me. I was exacting revenge on a day that didn’t include any time for me, but the problem was that I was the only one who suffered the repercussions of that revenge.

Once I saw that clearly, I started asking: What am I really craving right now? And eventually, over time, have worked to try and meet those needs in ways that don’t leave leave me more drained. I also pre-emptively prepare for those feelings because I have reliably seen them play out over and over again, night after night.

Replace Rebellion With Ritual

Some simple, powerful shifts I used to help rewrite this pattern:

• Validate that you are at your mental limit. Sit quietly for five minutes. No screens or distractions. No doing. Just you. Be still and remind yourself that you matter, even though your day may have been about everything and everyone else.
• Acknowledge the rebellion. Ask, what part of me needs attention right now? It isn’t that you won’t be drawn to eat or distract yourself in these moments – these are well-worn pathways and habits that have likely built up over years – but acknowledging what is driving the eating and scrolling will help soften the food’s grip on you.
• Name your feelings. Is it loneliness? Resentment? Overwhelm? Emotions, like cravings, often peak and pass like waves. Ride them out or choose a distraction from them that isn’t going to harm you.
• Limit your social media time. Set a timer on your phone and limit how much scrolling you do. Social media is exhausting and wears us down – it looks like relaxation but more often than not, leaves us more stressed, our brains pinging from one topic to the next in an endless dialogue of anxiety: I need to buy that! Why don’t I look like that? OMG, the world is falling apart! Put it away – your brain will thank you.
• Close the kitchen. Not as punishment, but as a boundary. Brush your teeth. Turn off the lights. Move to a space in your home away from food to signal to your body that eating is done for the day.

The Real Rebellion Is Self-Care

When you recognize that late-night snacking and scrolling aren’t really about food or entertainment, but about unmet needs, you can begin to choose differently. This isn’t about willpower. It’s about the freedom to care for yourself and honor your exhaustion with actions that nurture you, and fill your soul rather than deplete it.

The real rebellion isn’t in bingeing or staying up until all hours, it’s in choosing radical self-care, looking after yourself so deeply that you don’t need to escape your own life. You deserve more than a bunch of empty wrappers and a groggy morning of regret after staying up too late. You’ve been the glue that has held it together for everyone else – don’t you deserve to feel good, too?