The behavior I chose to track is going to bed after midnight. I chose this because I believe nothing good happens after midnight and mornings are a lot better. I’ve noticed sleeping late and waking up early makes me wake up feeling groggy and rushing through my morning routine. I wanted to see if there was a pattern to why I stay up and how it actually affects my energy levels.
I measured this behavior for 5 consecutive nights (Monday through Friday). I kept a notebook on my bedside table. I logged the time right when I actually turned off the lights and put my phone away. I tracked a few specific data points:
- Time I went to sleep
- What activity I was doing right before bed
- My emotional state at that moment
- My energy level the next morning (on a scale of 1-10)
Data
Day 1 (Monday)
- Time: 1:15 AM
- Activity: Watching Netflix
- Emotion: Wired but physically tired
- Next Day Energy: 4/10 (Very groggy)
Day 2 (Tuesday)
- Time: 12:30 AM
- Activity: Scrolling through News
- Emotion: Anxious about work
- Next Day Energy: 5/10 (Slow start)
Day 3 (Wednesday)
- Time: 11:45 PM
- Activity: Reading a physical book
- Emotion: Calm and sleepy
- Next Day Energy: 8/10 (Woke up before alarm)
Day 4 (Thursday)
- Time: 2:00 AM
- Activity: YouTube Shorts
- Emotion: Sleepy and Stressed
- Next Day Energy: 3/10 (Exhausted)
Day 5 (Friday)
- Time: 2:30 AM
- Activity: Video games with friends
- Emotion: Happy and Tired
- Next Day Energy: 6/10 (Slept in late)
Tracking this behavior I realized that going to bed late is rarely a conscious choice to be productive. Here are the main things I learned:
- Every time I stayed up past midnight, a screen was involved. The night I read a book, I fell asleep before midnight.
- On Thursday, I realized I stayed up late specifically because I had a stressful day. I was staying awake to have me-time, even though it hurt me the next day.
- When I woke up tired (like on Tuesday), I was less efficient during the day, which made me more stressed, which made me want to stay up late again that night.
If I did this again, I would track the deciding moment (around 10:30 PM) rather than the sleep time. By the time I log 1:00 AM, the mistake has already happened. I need to understand what happens in my brain at 10:30 PM that makes me pick up the phone.
