The ancient Greek historian Herodotus once recorded a story in his book Histories: a soothsayer told Pharaoh that he had only six years left to live. Pharaoh was so frightened that he immediately ordered that his servants light torches in his palace every night, so that night would become day, and his six years would become twelve.
Thousands of years later, the pharaoh could not have imagined that many young people would have followed in his footsteps and turned the night into a black day. Not so long ago,Why do contemporary young people increasingly prefer to stay up late? #The topic also appeared on Weibo hot search, causing heated discussions among the majority of netizens.
Studies have shown that staying up late is very common in today's society, up to 531% of young adults report staying up late. And once it comes to why you stay up late, the reasons given by everyone are also very diverse.
Screenshot of Weibo.
Why do young people like to stay up late?
Many studies are trying to uncover the secrets of why young people stay up late, and we have found that there are three main reasons why young people stay up late:The time of the day is uncontrollable, and only the night after the busyness is over is your ownDense schedules, mountains of reports, and ...... that can never be doneIn this hectic and fast-paced society, most young people have to work or study hard. Many people don't have much control over the daytime time, and in order to compete for more "their own time", many young people are staring at late at night and choosing to "stay up late". If they don't "stay up late", they will feel that they are "being treated badly", so it is difficult to compromise with sleepiness, so when night falls and all social work is over, young people finally have some "time for themselves". Collapse on the sofa and close your eyes to recuperate, squat on the toilet in a daze, nest in bed to empty your mind ......Even if they have nothing to do during this time, they still think that this kind of "staying up late" is worth it, because this time can be completely "controlled" by them, and it is a rare and comfortable time that can be freely disposed. Therefore, young people do not stay up at night, but for a short period of freedom. It's not that I don't sleep on purpose, but the game ** is too fragrantOf course, there are also some people who are purely focused on a certain activity, such as an intense ball game, a plot full of reversals, and sweet couple interactions. In the immersion, the flow of time seems to speed up, and unconsciously it becomes staying up late. This type of sleep procrastination usually occurs on weekends or holidays, and our bodies allow this "social jatlag" to exist because the subconscious knows that even if we stay up late, we can have enough rest tomorrow. 
Gallery copyright**, use may lead to copyright disputesWho goes to bed late? People just want to sleep betterThere are some sleep procrastination that are strategic, and they claim to "stay up late to sleep better." Sometimes, although the night has arrived, the energy has not dissipated, and the nerves are still very excited, and the sleep standard is not reached; Others are trying to "scare the brain" by strategically delaying bedtime to build sleep pressure, telling the brain that it's too late to sleep, so as to reduce the time it takes to fall asleep. In short, "stay up the last night, sleep the most beautifully" is the declaration of this type of late-night sleepers. These factors can also lead to some people staying up late
The first is physiological. The endogenous biological clock controls the daily rhythm of humans in fundamental aspects of physiology and behavior, which include the timing of sleep and wakefulness. They are primarily driven by sunlight and form a 24-hour day-night cycle. Depending on the type of endogenous biological clock, people are at their best: for example, early sleepers tend to go to bed early and wake up early, while late sleepers (owls) tend to stay up late at night. In addition, age also has an impact. During puberty, there is a delay in the release of melatonin (melatonine), which causes the sleep stage to be delayed by about 2 hours. There are also studies that show that due to the influence of menstrual cycles, steroids, etc., women generally have a higher tendency to stay up late than men. A 2020 Korean study showed that people in the hypertensive group slept an average of 50 minutes later and woke up 46 minutes later on average than in the hypotensive group, and had more propensity to go to bed later. In addition to physiological factors,Activity and status before bed are also crucial。For example, flickering electronic devices and day-like indoor environments, these "technology and ruthlessness" of modern society will directly interfere with the main biological clock in the human body located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the brain, causing drowsiness and confusion. There are also studies that showStress, boring tendencies, self-control, and emotional states can also play a role in sleep delays. Taking emotions as an example, studies have shown that people feel more unhappy after a continuous period of bedtime, probably because they return to reality after a highly entertaining and immersive activity, and are prone to feelings of loss. In this era of short** king, swiping your phone before going to bed can really affect your mood and sleep. 
Gallery copyright**, use may lead to copyright disputesHow to alleviate staying up late and sleeping soundly?
Scientists are also looking for ways to stay up late. Many of the successful approaches revolve around one central topic –Develop sleep hygiene habitsSleep hygiene is defined as a set of behavioral and environmental recommendations designed to promote healthy sleep, mostly around regular exercise, no caffeine and nicotine intake, noise from the sleep environment, reduced napping, etc. Dr. Satcin Panda, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, advocates in The Circadian Code—".8 hours of restricted diet, 7 hours of sleep for 12 weeksEat at any time of the day (8 hours in a row) and stop consuming any calorie-containing foods at other times; Get at least 7 hours of sleep per day; This pattern should be maintained for at least 12 weeks. He believes that exercising at the right time, eating at the right time, and sleeping at the right time are not only an optimal adjustment of the body's biological clock, but also a non-pharmacological intervention to cultivate good sleep habits. There are also scientists who believe that bedtime procrastination usually occurs when people lack mental energy or self-control, so weTry to satisfy your desires as much as possible during the dayFor example, if you want to eat desserts, don't be depressed until the night, and if you want to touch the fish between work and study, let go and touch it for a while. In this way, self-regulating resources will not be depleted at night, and it will be less likely for us to make the choice of staying up late. If you often stay up late, it may be because you are too yourself during the day, try to make yourself more comfortable. Time cannot be created, so like the pharaoh mentioned at the beginning, we try to occupy the night to obtain the scarce resource of time. However, the night is not only a continuation of the day, but also the ancient genetic code that gives us the opportunity to recuperate, so let's go to bed early and stay up late. May you all have a good night's sleep tonight, and a good night's sleep.