--- title: How Procrastination Is Messing With Your Sleep description: Whether you’re a night owl or an early riser, sometimes it can be hard to stick to your bedtime. You know, those times when you... canonical: https://time.com/2907373/procrastination-is-messing-with-your-sleep/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-22T17:00:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T08:33:04.787Z article:section: Health og:title: How Procrastination Is Messing With Your Sleep og:description: Whether you’re a night owl or an early riser, sometimes it can be hard to stick to your bedtime. You know, those times when you... og:url: https://time.com/2907373/procrastination-is-messing-with-your-sleep/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7214c3c3892154d6/698698ab810bbb3302c9247c/476817345.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5551 og:image:height: 3122 og:image:alt: How Procrastination Is Messing With Your Sleep og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Procrastination Is Messing With Your Sleep twitter:description: Whether you’re a night owl or an early riser, sometimes it can be hard to stick to your bedtime. You know, those times when you... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7214c3c3892154d6/698698ab810bbb3302c9247c/476817345.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Procrastination Is Messing With Your Sleep > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=c9584692-5bb4-4abc-be5d-a1685c106834&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) by [Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Health.com Contributor Jun 22, 2014 5:00 PM UTC  Woman using tablet computer in bed Woman using tablet computer in bed Tim Platt—Getty Images/Collection Mix: Subjects RM by [Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Health.com Contributor Jun 22, 2014 5:00 PM UTC Whether you’re a night owl or an early riser, sometimes it can be hard to stick to your bedtime. You know, those times when you _mean_ to go to sleep but instead you stay up to watch just one more episode of _Orange Is the New Black_. Before you know it, it’s 1 a.m. The next day, you’re probably groggy, tired, and—let’s face it—cranky. **Health.com:**[11 Surprising Health Benefits of Sleep](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20459221,00.html?xid=Time-procrastination-061614) “Bedtime procrastination” is the name researchers from Utrecht University in the Netherlands have given to this phenomenon. They define it as “failing to go to bed at the intended time, while no external circumstances prevent a person from doing so.” Translation: Unlike insomnia, which is when you can’t fall asleep, bedtime procrastination is when you _could_ go to bed, but you willingly put it off and, as a result, you don’t get enough sleep. **Health.com:**[12 Ways We Sabotage Our Mental Health](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20694928,00.html?xid=Time-procrastination-061614) [_This article originally appeared on Health.com._](http://news.health.com/2014/06/13/how-procrastination-is-messing-with-your-sleep/?xid=Time-procrastination-061614) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2907373/procrastination-is-messing-with-your-sleep/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2907373/procrastination-is-messing-with-your-sleep/"},"headline":"How Procrastination Is Messing With Your Sleep","datePublished":"2014-06-22T17:00:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:33:04.787Z","description":"Whether you’re a night owl or an early riser, sometimes it can be hard to stick to your bedtime. 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