You may or may not be familiar with the term.

Revenge time. It's that extra hour you carve out for me-time following a hectic day – delaying your bedtime in the process.

We've all been guilty of it. A long day at work, some after work commitments, preparing a late dinner, a few late night emails, and before you know it, it's 10pm. And you haven't had a minute to decompress all day. So yes, we've all scrolled TikTok or read a book for an extra hour when we really should have been asleep.

It feels so furiously unfair to finish up your work and chores only to go straight to bed without a minute of time to do something just for you. And this is why it was was coined "revenge time". It's a way to 'get back' at or 'take revenge' on your busy schedule.

But if you end up staying up far too late and damaging your sleep, are you not just cutting off your nose to spite your face?

What happens when you miss out on sleep?

"Sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout your life," said sleep expert Shea Morrison. I interviewed her in 2020, during the depths of COVID lockdowns. It was a time where many people were experiencing issues with their sleep – and we were all becoming aware of just how problematic this could be.

"The way you feel while you’re awake depends on what happens while you’re sleeping. During sleep, your body is working to support healthy brain function and maintain your physical health," she explained.

So, what exactly happens when you try to take back that extra revenge time, and shorten your sleep in the process?

Your immune system is weakened and you're more susceptible to infections. Your skin repair cycles are shortened which can lead to premature ageing. Your more prone to brain fog and unable to work and function efficiently. You're at a higher risk of obesity. It lowers your sex drive. Lack of sleep has also been linked to an increase in diabetes and cancer.

In short, compromising your sleep is ruining your life.

You might assume that these impacts are reserved for people who skip whole nights of sleep or attempt to run their bodies on just four hours. But this is not the case.

"Even if  you’re only missing out on 30 minutes each night, this sleep debt accumulates and can end up having the same effect as an all nighter," said Rachel Beard, Sleep Wellness Manager A.H. Beard’s Sleep Wellness Centre. Beard is another sleep expert I interviewed, who cauterised for me just how quickly sleep deprivation kicks in.

It doesn't take much. Just moving your bedtime back by 30 minutes for a quick doom scroll can end up being severely detrimental.

The irony? revenge time becomes an endless, self-fulfilling cycle

"Sleep deprivation causes us to struggle to concentrate while impairing judgement, making us more irritable," said Beard.

A lack of sleep is going to make you less efficient and less productive in your day. And that lack of efficiency in your job and in your chores means that your responsibilities are far more likely to cut into your down time. And since you're more irritable? You're probably going to be even more frustrated and take even more revenge time the next night.

Revenge time is certainly one of my most toxic traits. I've regularly stayed up till nearly 2am just browsing the internet or formatting my notes app – simply because I couldn't make peace with ending the day without having any time of my own.

Is life truly just supposed to be work, commuting, dinner, cleaning and then bed? With just two days off in between? It's a hard pill to swallow.

Even as I have been planning this article, the lure of revenge time has ensnared me. Last night, I physically couldn't cope with the anxiety of my work inbox and answered emails until midnight. After a quick shower, I was in bed at 12:20am. And I just couldn't come to terms with my head hitting the pillow then and there. I scrolled TikTok until 1:30am and woke up feeling awful.

I knew what was going to happen. And I did it anyway.

How do we break the cycle?

As I normally do when seeking answers, I went to reddit. It's comforting to see there are others having the same issues. Some of the solutions floated in this thread include trying to remember how much better it feels to be rested, or acknowledging that revenge time doesn't actually feel restful or satisfying anyway.

For me, trying to have another person keep me accountable has worked in the past.

"I encourage people to first make sleep a priority – just as you would if you wanted to loose weight or get fit.  Talk to people close to you, decide on a time period 7 – 30 days that you are going to really focus on your sleep and commit to following a routine," said Morrison when I asked her the best ways to improve our sleep.

Sometimes, you need to tell your partner or your room mate to keep you on track. Having that extra voice telling you to put your phone down can be the guilt that you need to eventually lay your head on your pillow and turn out the lights.