Blog Post 3 (Week 5) - The science behind revenge bedtime procrastination

Revenge bedtime procrastination

This week, I will be analyzing a CNN article titled, "'Revenge bedtime procrastination' could be robbing you of your precious sleep time" by Megan Marples. I will be exploring the science behind CNN's analysis of the negative effects of "bedtime procrastination" to determine whether the science has been used correctly.

Summary of Article:
According to the article, many people are now finding themselves experiencing a phenomenon dubbed 'revenge bedtime procrastination,' which usually consists of an endless "cycle of staying up late and regretting it the next day" (myself included!). With the pandemic leaving everyone feeling even stressed and overworked, the effects of 'revenge bedtime procrastination' can be even more drastic. According to Dr. Rajkumar Dasgupta, sleep deprivation can lead to a rise in cortisol (stress hormone), decreased productivity, and accumulating sleep debt, which can only be eliminated by making up the hours lost of sleep (which many people do not have time for). People who are sleep-deprived also tend to over-eat and gain weight. The blue light that is emitted from our phones suppresses melatonin, a hormone that controls our sleep cycles. In order to "stop sabotaging our sleep schedule, Dasgupta recommends that we keep our bedrooms dark and cool, and maybe try activities like meditation before bed to help with sleeping. We should try to limit our phone use before bed. A quick 15-20 minute power nap in the afternoon can help with reducing sleep debt, and scheduling time in the day for ourselves can help improve our mental health.

Science in the Article:

Much of the science in the article revolves around the effects of sleep deprivation and the best ways in which we can improve our sleep for better physical and mental health. Much of the information that CNN lays out in the article is from a single source: Dr. Dasgupta. While that may be a cause for concern in that CNN does not really incorporate additional scientific sources, I consider Dr. Dasgupta to be a pretty credible source, as the scientific articles I have found about sleep deprivation seem to convey pretty much the same information as Dasgupta has said.

The CNN article does reference a scientific article that was published Current Biology titled "Ad libitum Weekend Recovery Sleep Fails to Prevent Metabolic Dysregulation during a Repeating Pattern of Insufficient Sleep and Weekend Recovery Sleep" by Depner et al. CNN made the claim that sleeping in on weekends to make up sleep debt does not actually help, and effects of sleep deprivation, such as overeating and weight gain, are not improved. These claims are indeed accurate based on the scientific article they cited. In this study, they found that sleep loss leads to "increased after-dinner energy intake and reduced insulin sensitivity." When participants slept in for approximately an additional 1.1 hours on the weekend, the researchers found that in the following week, there was no change in weight gain or reduced insulin sensitivity. So the CNN article is correct in saying sleeping in on weekends is insufficient for overcoming the effects of sleep debt.

Dr. Dasgupta is quoted in the news article as saying that the blue light emitted from cell phones "suppresses the release of melatonin, a hormone that helps control your sleep cycle." According to the scientific article, "Research progress about the effect and prevention of blue light on eyes" by Zhi-Chun Zhao et al., blue light that is emitted from screen and passes through the cornea and lens of our eyes can have many drastic consequences, including cataracts, dry eyes, and "age-related macular degeneration" (loss of vision). Additionally, it suppresses the release of melatonin and increases adrenocortical hormone production (which leads to an increase in the release of cortisol), which can reduce sleep quality. So Dr. Dasgupta is indeed correct in saying that melatonin is suppressed by blue light. Furthermore, CNN states earlier in the article that sleep deprivation can increase cortisol levels. Although the article does not make the connection between blue light and cortisol as indicated in this scientific article, CNN's claim that cortisol levels are increased with sleep deprivation is supported.

Finally, the CNN article quotes Dr. Dasgupta as suggesting that "a strategic [15-to-20-minute] power nap could also reduce a person's sleep debt." Dr. Dasgupta also adds that taking a nap longer than 15-20 minutes can be detrimental in that the person can enter deeper stages of sleep, which can cause "longer sleep inertia," which is lingering sleepiness after waking. According to the scientific article, "The effects of napping on cognitive functioning" by Nicole Lovato and Leon Lack, naps of 15-20 minutes can cause "immediate benefits" that last for about 1-3 hours. Naps longer than 30 minutes, however, can lead to greater sleep inertia. Therefore, Dr. Dasgupta's claims in the CNN article are directly supported. The scientific article does raise a little caution, however, with accepting the conclusions from their study. Another point mentioned in the scientific study that I think would have been interesting for the CNN article to include is that even brief naps (7-10 minutes) can "result in a substantial increase of alertness."

Assessment: Was Science Misused?

Based on my analysis of the science in the CNN article compared to scientific articles published in scientific journals, I think that this CNN article did a really good job of accurately representing the science. Overall, I do not consider the science in this article to be misused. The only comment I might make about the article is that it quotes Dr. Dasgupta as saying that "The only way to get rid of sleep debt is to sleep the number of hours that you missed, which ... isn't possible for most people." But then later, the article quotes Dr. Dasgupta again as saying that "a strategic [15-to-20-minute] power nap could also reduce a person's sleep debt" which is slightly at odds with the previous statement. This is a very minor criticism and pretty much the only part about this article that stood out to me as possibly being inaccurate, as it suggests that power naps are another way to reduce sleep debt (instead of trying to make up full hours of sleep lost) so evidently there is not just one way to make up sleep debt. But again, a very small criticism, and overall, this news article represented the science behind sleep deprivation very accurately.

Thanks for reading!