Psychology & Health

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Self-control depletion and sleep duration: the

mediating role of television viewing

Liese Exelmans & Jan Van den Bulck

To cite this article: Liese Exelmans & Jan Van den Bulck (2018): Self-control depletion
and sleep duration: the mediating role of television viewing, Psychology & Health, DOI:
10.1080/08870446.2018.1489048

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2018.1489048

Published online: 11 Oct 2018.

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PSYCHOLOGY & HEALTH
https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2018.1489048

Self-control depletion and sleep duration: the mediating

role of television viewing
Liese Exelmansa and Jan Van den Bulckb
a
School for Mass Communication Research, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; bDepartment of
Communication Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Objective: Sleep insufficiency has been related to self-control fail- Received 18 September 2017
ure: people fail to go to bed in time and end up sleep deprived. Accepted 7 June 2018
The role of state self-control in predicting bedtime and sleep dur-
ation has not yet been investigated. Based on research claiming KEYWORDS
an overlap between depleted self-control resources and fatigue, bedtime; procrastination;
self-control depletion may foster earlier bedtimes. Conversely, self-control; sleep
self-control depletion also increases the propensity to procrastin- duration; television
ate bedtime by giving in to the immediate gratification of late
night entertainment. This study therefore looked at procrastin-
atory television viewing and its intermediary role in the associ-
ation between state self-control and bedtime. The implications for
sleep duration are examined. Design: Firstyear students (N = 234)
participated in an online survey. Using Day Reconstruction
Method, they charted their activities and experiences during the
preceding day and subsequent bedtime behavior. Results: Self-
control depletion was directly related to earlier bedtimes, which
we explained by its similarity to fatigue. This was associated with
longer sleep duration. Self-control depletion was indirectly related
to later bedtimes because it increased the propensity to procras-
tinate by watching television. This was associated with shorter
sleep duration. Conclusion: This study exposes a dual pathway
between self-control depletion and sleep duration, whereby pro-
crastinatory television viewing may reduce sleep duration.

Introduction
A poll by the National Sleep Foundation estimated that 60% of people between 13
and 64 years old is not getting the recommended amount of sleep (Gradisar et al.,
2013). Children and teens reported struggling at school because of fatigue and had to
cope with a chronic sleep shortage of 1–2 h per day (Hysing, Pallesen, Stormark,
Lundervold, & Sivertsen, 2013). Given sleep’s crucial role in both physical and mental
well-being, charting the predictors of sleep insufficiency has become a key point
towards improving public health.

CONTACT Liese Exelmans liese.exelmans@kuleuven.be School for Mass Communication Research, KU Leuven,
Parkstraat 45, PO box 3603, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
ß 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 L. EXELMANS AND J. VAN DEN BULCKAQ

Researchers have observed a remarkable paradox: although sleep is among the

strongest and most commonly felt desires in everyday life (Hofmann, Vohs, &
Baumeister, 2012), many people are experts at finding other things to do around bed-
time than sleep. The delay of bedtime has been explained as a failure of self-control:
people with low self-control have trouble prioritizing longterm goals (i.e. getting suffi-
cient sleep) over short-terms gains. Recent studies suggest late night entertainment is
among those short-term gains: people struggle with resisting the lure of technology
and end up later in bed than intended to (Exelmans & Van den Bulck, 2017; Kroese,
De Ridder, Evers, & Adriaanse 2014; Nauts & Kroese, 2016). These findings add to the
growing body of research that implicates electronic media use as a cause of sleep
shortage (for overview see Hale & Guan, 2015).
Existing research about the relationship between bedtime delay and self-control
has primarily looked at trait self-control. People who generally display low self-control
are more likely to put immediate gratification above long-term goals and are therefore
more likely to procrastinate bedtime. We will examine self-control as a state. People
who are in a state of low self-control describe themselves as being exhausted, worn
out or tired (Friese, Hofmann, & W€anke, 2008; Muraven, Tice, & Baumeister, 1998). Self-
control depletion may, therefore, make people inclined to go to bed earlier.
Media use has also been related to bedtime delay (Exelmans & Van den Bulck,
2017) and sleep deprivation (Hale & Guan, 2015), but little is known about the interre-
lations between state self-control, media use, and sleep. We will investigate procrastin-
atory media use in particular. Procrastination is driven by mood optimization (Sirois &
Pychyl, 2013), and media have been characterized as mood managers (Zillmann, 1988).
A recent study observed that people turn to media to procrastinate, which has been
linked to lower well-being (Meier, Reinecke, & Meltzer, 2016), but, so far, has not been
connected to sleep. In sum, we will investigate the relationships between state self-
control, television as a tool for procrastination and bedtime. We will examine how
these processes are related to sleep duration.
It is important to note that this study will focus on television viewing exclusively.
Although people’s media diet today is certainly more diversified than that of previous
generations, television’s position as the dominant leisure time activity has remained
unchallenged. Americans (>15 years old) spend over half of their leisure time (2.8 h
per day) watching television (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014), and the same con-
clusion applies to Belgium, where the current study was conducted (2.5 h/d)
(Tijdsbestedingsonderzoek, 2013). We defined television viewing as ‘watching televised
content (i.e. program, show, series or movie) on a screen, be it a television, laptop,
computer, tablet computer or other screen’. This definition included live viewing,
time-shifted viewing, video on demand, downloaded and streamed content.

Self-control
Choosing a healthy snack instead of a scrumptious chocolate cake; going to the gym
instead of lounging in the couch watching television; or doing the dishes instead of
putting off household chores, all reflect the ability to restrain and override our
impulses in order to attain long-term desirable outcomes. This is generally referred to
 PSYCHOLOGY & HEALTH 3

as self-control (Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Muraven, & Tice, 1998; Tice & Bratslavsky,
2000). Self-control consists of three components: the capacity to (1) monitor your own
behavior, (2) judge your behavior in the context of existing standards and norms and
(3) alter your behavior to conform to the existing standards (Baumeister, 2002; Tice &
Bratslavsky, 2000). A breakdown in any of the three components is expected to under-
mine self-control. For example, people who are on a diet have to monitor their eating
behavior, evaluate their eating behavior in light of the prescribed diet or ideal weight
and alter their eating pattern if necessary to make the diet successful.
The literature differentiates between self-control as a state, and self-control as a
trait. Trait self-control assumes relatively stable levels of self-control over time, which
means that some people are better at self-regulating than others (Tangney,
Baumeister, & Boone, 2004). State self-control refers to variations in self-control within
one person, i.e. one person can have more self-control on one particular occasion
than on another. Research has shown, for instance, that self-control fluctuates depend-
ing on the preceding exertions of self-control, motivation, sleep or mood (Baumeister
et al., 1998; Hofmann et al., 2012; Nauts & Kroese, 2016; Tice & Bratslavsky, 2000; Vohs
et al., 2008). This study will focus on situational or state self-control.

State self-control and the Reflective Impulsive Model

The Reflective Impulsive Model (Strack & Deutsch, 2004) describes self-control as a
boundary condition in determining when people engage in impulsive or reasoned
behavior. Impulsive behavior stems from the activation of associative clusters stored in
long-term memory. These clusters consist of associations between concepts, affect and
behavioral schemata and are activated by external or internal stimuli. For example,
upon seeing a television (external stimuli), the affect associated with television viewing
(e.g. relaxation, entertainment) is activated, which will trigger the behavior related to
the association (e.g. turning on the television). Because of activation by association,
the behavior path governed by the impulsive system develops quickly and effortlessly.
In comparison, the reflective system is responsible for all higher order mental func-
tions such as deliberate decision making, strategic planning, and goal pursuit. It gov-
erns behavior that is in line with reasoned attitudes, standards, and long-term goals
and functions relatively slowly compared to the impulsive system. Moreover, it is
dependent on control resources to implement this reasoned action (Hofmann, Friese &
Wiers, 2008; Strack & Deutsch, 2004).
When the impulsive and reflective system trigger incompatible behavioral sche-
mata (e.g. the presence of a chocolate treat vs. a diet), the behavioural outcome will
depend on the strength of activation. Consequently, if control resources are high, then
personal standards and long-term goals will influence behavior. If they are low, the
impulsive system will take the upper hand in determining behavior. Self-control can
thus influence the relative weight of impulses in the determination of behavior activa-
tion in favor of one of the two systems (Hofmann, Friese, & Strack, 2009; Strack &
Deutsch, 2004). Hofmann, Rauch, and Gawronski (2007), for instance, found that candy
consumption among respondents with depleted self-control resources was predicted
4 L. EXELMANS AND J. VAN DEN BULCKAQ

by their automatic affective reactions towards candy, whereas it was predicted by diet-
ary restraint standards among non-depleted respondents.
In sum, whether or not we follow our impulsive behavioral path, governed by the
impulsive system, depends on the reflective system, and therefore the amount of self-
control resources at a certain time (Hofmann et al., 2008; Strack & Deutsch, 2004). For
this study, we apply the Reflective Impulsive Model to a familiar self-control dilemma:
the impulse to engage in late-night television viewing vs. the plan to go to bed
in time.

State self-control & sleep: a dual pathway

Scholars have argued that self-control failure can partly explain sleep insufficiency:
going to bed in time requires self-control, and those who fail to do so engage in so-
called bedtime procrastination (Kroese, Evers, Adriaanse, & de Ridder, 2014; Kroese,
Nauts, Kamphorst, Anderson, & de Ridder, 2016). Few studies to date have looked at
the role of state self-control in this context. Interestingly, there is reason to suspect
that low state self-control can lead to both earlier and later bedtimes. We will elabor-
ate on both arguments in what follows.

Direct relationship between self-control depletion and bedtime

There exists significant discussion on what constitutes self-control depletion, and on
whether it can be regarded as a state of fatigue or not. One strand of research pro-
poses that continuously exerting self-control throughout the day builds up to feeling
worn out and exhausted. This hypothesis aligns with the metaphor that self-control
depletion resembles muscle fatigue (Baumeister, 2014). There is some evidence in the
literature to support a parallel between the two. For instance, engaging in tasks that
require self-control has been linked to physiological indicators of effort or exhaustion,
such as decreased heart rate variability (Segerstrom & Nes, 2007; Wright et al., 2007).
Experimental research found that those assigned to a control depleting condition
reported subjective feelings and symptoms of tiredness (Finkel et al., 2006; Hagger,
Wood, Stiff, & Chatzisarantis, 2010; Muraven et al., 1998). A meta-analysis by Hagger
et al. (2010) showed a significant and medium-sized (d = .44) effect of self-control
depletion on fatigue. Inzlicht and Berkman (2015) even argued that self-regulatory
depletion and fatigue share enough attributes to be called one and the same: they
are both the result of continuous effort, affect performance on subsequent tasks, and
can be overcome by increasing task motivation.
Despite these accounts on the similarity between fatigue and low state self-control,
other research has underscored they should not be treated as synonyms. Vohs, Glass,
Maddox, and Markman (2011) compared participants who had been sleep deprived
for 24 h to rested participants and further subcategorized both groups in depleted vs.
non-depleted participants. The findings showed no effect of sleep deprivation on
aggression, whereas there was an effect of self-control depletion. Given the limitations
of their study (e.g. they compared the effects of fatigue and self-control depletion on
aggression exclusively and did not compare levels of fatigue in both groups), they
 PSYCHOLOGY & HEALTH 5

concluded that self-control depletion is not tantamount to fatigue (induced by sleep

deprivation), but their results did not rule out that both may share similar symptoms.
This is in line with the results by Lindner and colleagues (2017). They found no differ-
ence in the self-evaluation of fatigue between participants in the depletion group and
non-depletion group but highlighted that they only assessed physical fatigue (as
opposed to mental fatigue). Other researchers have also hypothesized that self-control
depletion may be more similar to mental fatigue than physical fatigue (Inzlicht,
Schmeichel, & Macrae, 2014; Nauts & Kroese, 2016). Finally, Baumeister (2014) argued
that it is still uncertain whether self-control depletion causes fatigue, as it is equally
possible that the depletion of self-control resources may make people less able to sup-
press feelings of fatigue.
Combined, the exact nature of self-control depletion remains a topic of discussion.
Prior research has observed that self-regulatory depletion coincides with objective and
subjective indicators of fatigue, but scholars argue that there is insufficient evidence
to claim that self-control depletion and fatigue are one and the same. To the extent
that fatigue-related subjective states are an integral component of self-control deple-
tion, this study will explore how state self-control relates to bedtime. We formulate
the following research question:
RQ: What is the association between state self-control and bedtime?

Indirect relationship between state self-control and bedtime

Research has shown that people with low self-control ability engage in more bedtime
procrastination (Kroese et al., 2014). Kroese et al. (2016) posited that, unlike general
procrastination, bedtime procrastination is likely to be more vulnerable to state levels
of self-control as self-regulatory depletion is presumed to progress throughout the day
(Baumeister, 2002; Baumeister & Heatherton, 1996) and sleep deprivation fosters
resource depletion (Pilcher, Morris, Donnelly, & Feigl, 2015).
As self-control resources become depleted, people are more inclined to avoid activ-
ities that require self-regulation, while being drawn to unchallenging, pleasurable
activities that demand minimal effort (Baumeister et al., 1998; Frey, Benesch, & Stutzer,
2007; Hartmann, 2013). For this reason, it has been hypothesiszed that electronic
media could be the drivers of bedtime delay. Media use is characterized as an activity
people perceive as an indulgence, and one which they have a lot of trouble resisting
(Hofmann et al., 2012; Reinecke, Hartmann, & Eden, 2014). Hofmann et al. (2012) found
that self-control depletion increased the likelihood of failing to resist the temptation
of using media. Other studies have concluded that low state self-control increases the
appeal of entertaining, hedonically pleasant media use (Reinecke et al., 2014; Wagner,
Barnes, Lim, & Ferris, 2012). Hartmann (2013) further argued that broader accounts of
the use of media to cope with stress and strain also provide support for the idea that
depleted individuals tend to seek out entertainment media. In addition, turning to
media appears to be a common procrastination strategy.
Procrastination is driven by short-term mood repair and emotion regulation. When
feeling low, people will try to make themselves feel better and this is often done by
indulging: engaging in behavior that would require self-control to resist it (Baumeister,
6 L. EXELMANS AND J. VAN DEN BULCKAQ

2002; Sirois & Pychyl, 2013). This may explain the appeal of media:they are omnipres-
ent in today’s society and can be used with a minimal amount of effort (Kubey, 1986).
Relaxation and enjoyment are among the most salient affordances associated with
entertainment media and are induced instantaneously upon exposure (Kubey, 1986;
Rubin, 1984; Vorderer, Klimmt, & Ritterfeld, 2004). Experience sampling studies have
found that media use raised the most goal conflict, implying a tension between the
desire to use media and other obligations and thus the prevalence of media-induced
procrastination (Hofmann et al., 2012; Reinecke & Hofmann, 2016). Media use con-
flicted most frequently with efficient time use and with not delaying things (Reinecke
& Hofmann, 2016). A survey study among 1577 internet users (Reinecke et al., 2016)
indicated that trait procrastination was positively associated with leisure-related inter-
net usage. Finally, both new (e.g. Facebook; Meier et al., 2016) and traditional media
(e.g. television and video games (Exelmans & Van den Bulck, 2017; Pychyl et al., 2000;
Reinecke et al., 2014) have also been linked to procrastination.
Taken together, we propose that self-regulatory depletion will drive the impulsive
selection of unchallenging, pleasant stimuli – in this case, television viewing – and will
make procrastinatory television viewing more likely. This association will indirectly lead
to a later bedtime.
H1: Self-regulatory depletion is related to increased use of television as a tool for
procrastination, which, in turn, is related to later bedtimes.
Finally, in order to explore how these processes affect sleep, we will examine the
implications of these associations for people’s sleep duration.

Method
Data collection
Data were gathered among 469 Flemish university students in October 2015.
Respondents were Dutch-speaking and enrolled in a freshman introduction to mass
communication class. An invitation to participate in a study on leisure time and well-
being was sent to their student e-mail address. The invitation highlighted the volun-
tary nature of participation and contained a general description of the topic. Informed
consent was obtained before starting the questionnaire. Strict confidentiality was
assured. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of KU Leuven.
The survey was constructed using the Day Reconstruction Method (Kahneman,
Krueger, Schkade, Schwarz, & Stone, 2004), which requests participants to recount
how they spent and experienced the preceding day. By focusing on the previous day,
recent memories are activated which reduces recall bias. Moreover, the time frame for
data collection was limited to two consecutive weekdays (i.e. Wednesday and
Thursday) to limit the influence of external factors on respondent’s sleep schedule.
Questions were ordered as follows. First, we assessed respondents’ level of state
self-control on the preceding evening, after they arrived home from work or school,
using the 10 item short version of the State Self-Control Scale (Ciarocco, Twenge,
Muraven, & Tice, 2004). Respondents rated items such as ‘Yesterday after school/work,
I felt drained’ and ‘Yesterday after school/work, I felt like my willpower was gone’ on a
scale from 1 (does not apply at all) to 7 (fully applies). A compound score was
 PSYCHOLOGY & HEALTH 7

calculated by summation (a = .84). A higher score represented higher levels of state

self-control and thus less self-control depletion. Next, respondents were asked to indi-
cate how many hours they watched television during the preceding evening after
they arrived home from work or school, which we incorporated as a confounding vari-
able. We defined television viewing as ‘watching televised content (i.e. program, show,
series or movie) on a screen, be it a television, laptop, computer, tablet computer or
other screen’. After assessing television viewing time, they reported the extent of pro-
crastination with television on a five-point scale (1 = not at all, 5 = very much).
Following previous studies (Meier et al., 2016; Reinecke et al., 2014), we adapted 5
items from Tuckman’s Procrastination Scale (Tuckman, 1991) (e.g. ‘Yesterday after
school/work, I watched television even though I had more important things to do’;
‘Yesterday after school/work, I watched television to find an excuse for not doing
something else’). A compound score was obtained by summing all the items (a = .90).
Then, we asked respondents to report at what time they went to bed the preceding
evening and how many hours they slept that night (hours and minutes)1. For con-
founding variables, we recorded gender (0 = male, 1 = female), age, residence (0 = at
home, 1 = on campus or in the college town), television viewing duration (hours and
minutes), clinical history of sleep problems (0 = no, 1 = yes), and self-perceived phys-
ical health status. To assess the latter, respondents were asked ‘in general, would you
say your health is:’, and response categories were 1 = poor, 2 = fair, 3 = good, 4 =
very good, 5 = excellent (Jenkinson, Coulter, & Wright, 1993).

Analyses
All analyses were performed using SPSS version 22 (Statistical Package for the Social
Sciences, Chicago, IL). Descriptive statistics and zero order correlations were generated
for the study variables. Independent t tests were computed for gender and residence.
The PROCESS macro with 10,000 bootstrap samples (Preacher & Hayes, 2008) was
used to examine the relationships between state self-control, television viewing and
bedtime. This computational tool produces estimates of the direct and indirect rela-
tionships using a bootstrap resampling procedure. Results are shown as 95% bias-cor-
rected confidence intervals: confidence intervals that do not contain zero indicate
significant indirect effects.

Results
A total of 326 students (response rate =69.5%) participated in the survey. Only those
who had watched television on the preceding day were retained for data analyses,
resulting in a final sample of 234 respondents (67.8% women, Mage = 20.2 years old,
SD =3.07 years). Regarding self-perceived physical health status, 14.2% rated this as
excellent, 35.2% as very good, 34.8% as good, 13.7% as fair and 2.1% as poor.
Respondents reported an average workload (i.e. hours spent in class, studying or at a
job) of 6 h 34 min (SD = 2 h 20 min) on the preceding day. Finally, 8.2% of the sample
had previously consulted a doctor regarding sleep difficulties and – as is customary in
sleep research – were categorized as having a clinical history of sleep problems.
8 L. EXELMANS AND J. VAN DEN BULCKAQ

Table 1. Descriptive statistics for variables of interest.

Total Men Women At home On campus
M SD Min Max M SD M SD M M SD SD
TV time (h/evening) 1.80 1.12 0.25 6.67 2.10 1.21 1.66 1.05  2.10 1.25 1.68 1.05 
TV as procrastination 11.50 5.07 5.00 25.00 11.43 5.27 11.54 5.00 n.s. 11.26 5.06 11.71 5.03 n.s.
State self-control 39.16 9.61 16.00 70.00 42.12 8.95 40.25 9.91 n.s. 37.67 10.19 42.19 9.07 
Bedtime 24.40 1.77 21.00 33.50 25.13 2.14 24.05 1.45  23.71 1.14 24.74 1.92 
Sleep duration 7.31 1.48 1.67 11.00 6.83 1.59 7.54 1.37  7.55 1.29 7.19 1.55 n.s.
Note. n.s.: non-significant, p < .05 p < .01, p < .001.

Table 2. Zero order correlations for variables of interest.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
TV time (h/evening) –
TV as procrastination .260 –
State self-control –.069 –.365 –
Bedtime .065 .118 .181 –
Sleep duration –.009 –.114 –.048 –.564 –
Note. p < .001, p < .01, p < .05.

Respondents reported having watched television for 1 h 48 min on average on the

preceding evening (SD = 1 h 07 min). They went to bed at 00:24 (SD =01:46) and slept
7 h 19 min (SD =1 h 29 min) on average. Men watched more television (t(231) = 2.845,
p < .01) and went to bed significantly later (t(107.439) = 3.944, p < .001) than women.
Average sleep duration was significantly shorter among men (t(230) = –3.538, p < .001).
Students who lived at home watched more television (t(114.315) = 2.494, p < .05) and
went to bed significantly earlier (t(204.412) = –5.007, p < .001) than students who lived
on campus or in the college town did. Finally, students living on campus reported
higher state self-control (t(224) = –3.332, p < .01) than those living at home (Table 1).
Table 2 shows the zero order correlations between the variables of interest. Those
who watched more television, reported a higher use of television as a tool for procras-
tination (r = .260, p < .001). Less state self-control was significantly related to more
use of television as a tool for procrastination (r = –.365, p < .001) and earlier bedtime
(r = .181, p < .01).
We used PROCESS to test our research question and hypotheses. Variables were
standardized prior to analyses and path coefficients are thus standardized beta coeffi-
cients (see Figure 1).
For our research question, we found a direct positive relationship between
respondents’ level of state self-control and bedtime, meaning that the lower their
reported level of state self-control (and thus the more depleted their self-control
resources), the earlier they went to bed (b = .146, p < .05).
Lower levels of state self-control were negative related to use of television as a tool
for procrastination (b = –.388, p < .001), which was in turn positively related to bedtime
(b = .137, p < .05). In other words, the more self-control depletion respondents reported
after arriving home from work, the more they used television as a tool for procrastin-
ation, which was associated with later bedtimes. This indirect path was significant (b =
–.053, Boot SE = .029, CI 95% [–.119; –.002]) and thus confirms the first hypothesis.
Finally, we ran a serial mediation model to examine the subsequent association
with people’s sleep duration. State self-control was not directly related to self-reported
sleep duration. Lower levels of state self-control were indirectly associated with longer
 PSYCHOLOGY & HEALTH 9

Note. Significant path non-significant path. Analyses are based on 10000

bootstrap samples, controlling for gender, age, residence, clinical history of sleep problems,

self-perceived physical health status, and television viewing time. Path coefficients are

standardized beta coefficient with standard errors reported in parentheses.

***p<.001, **p<.01, *p<.05

Indirect effect State-Self Control => Bedtime => Sleep Duration: β = -.086, Boot SE

= .032, CI95% [-.157; -.031]

Indirect effect State Self-Control => TV as Procrastination => Sleep Duration: β = -

.022, Boot SE = .024, CI95% [-.023; .074]

Serial Indirect effect State Self-Control => TV as Procrastination => Bedtime =>

Sleep

Duration: β = .031, Boot SE = .017, CI95% [.003; .073]

Figure 1. Serial mediation model predicting sleep duration.

sleep duration, through its association with earlier bedtimes (b = –.086, Boot SE =
.032, CI 95% [–.157; –.031]). Conversely, there was also a positive serial indirect path:
lower levels of state self-control (and thus more self-control depletion) were associated
with shorter sleep duration, because it increased the propensity to use television as a
tool for procrastination, which in turn predicted later bedtimes (b = .031, Boot SE =
.017, CI 95% [.003; .073].

Discussion
The main objective of this study was to explore the relationship between state self-
control and sleep behavior, and to consider the use of television as a tool for procras-
tination as an intermediary factor. Our results make two contributions to the literature.
10 L. EXELMANS AND J. VAN DEN BULCKAQ

First, we observed a direct positive relationship between state self-control and bed-
time, meaning that lower levels of state self-control (i.e. more self-control depletion)
were associated with earlier bedtimes. Subsequent analysis indicated that this
increased tendency to go to bed earlier resulted in longer sleep duration. These find-
ings may be explained by previous studies that have framed self-regulatory depletion
as a state similar to exhaustion or tiredness which may make people more inclined to
go to bed earlier because of an increased need for rest and recovery (Finkel et al.,
2006; Inzlicht & Berkman, 2015; Muraven et al., 1998). Sleep has been shown to help
restore and maintain self-control resources (Barber & Munz, 2011; Pilcher et al., 2015)
and people who experience self-control depletion are inclined to replenish these, for
instance by resting (Clarkson, Hirt, Chapman, & Jia, 2011).
While tiredness is a plausible explanation for our findings, a note of caution is due
here since there is inconsistency on what exactly constitutes resource depletion. Nauts
and Kroese (2016), for instance, posited that self-control depletion is similar to mental
fatigue, but not physical fatigue. Mental fatigue causes shifts in attention and motiv-
ation, thus making people less motivated to exert self-control (a view in line with the
Process Model of Self-Control, see Inzlicht & Schmeichel, 2012). An alternative explan-
ation to our tiredness-perspective may thus be motivation: those who reported self-
control depletion at the end of the day were possibly less motivated to get other stuff
done before bedtime and fast forward to the stage of recovery. A further study with
more focus on why depleted individuals may go to bed earlier is thus required.
Second, low state self-control indirectly resulted in later bedtimes because it
increased the likelihood of using television as a tool for procrastination. Additional
analyses showed that this process resulted in shorter sleep duration. Previous studies
had already shown that procrastinatory media use has negative effects on well-being
(Meier et al., 2016), and this study extends those findings to sleep. We can interpret
this indirect path in terms of a superiority of the impulsive system over the reflective
system (Strack & Deutsch, 2004): self-control depletion makes us more susceptible to
distraction, temptation, and procrastination: because we feel depleted, we indulge our-
selves in late-night television viewing, which may take longer than intended as our
self-control is weak at that time, and therefore we fail to comply with our resolution
to go to bed on time. The consequences of bedtime procrastination will not become
apparent until the next day (or even after that) and are therefore easily ignored in
favor of the short-term reward of entertainment.
Nauts et al. (2016) investigated possible reasons people might have for procrastinat-
ing bedtime. It turned out that people do not like many of the preparatory activities
that are linked to bedtime (e.g. household chores, personal hygiene). They speculated
that these obligatory tasks feel like a reduction of spare time: they have to be done at
a time when all other obligations for the day have finally been finished. Another possi-
bility could be that people turn to media to procrastinate on less desirable but obliga-
tory tasks, such as schoolwork or household chores. As these still need to be done by
the end of the day, they are indirectly pushing back bedtime.
While we may interpret procrastinatory media use as a type of self-regulation failure
that happens unintentionally, an alternative perspective argues that people may delib-
erately postpone or procrastinate (De Witt Huberts, Evers, & de Ridder, 2013). In this
 PSYCHOLOGY & HEALTH 11

view, reflective processes may also result in self-regulation failure, a proposition

explained by processes of entitlement: when detecting a discrepancy between the
immediate situation and long-term goals, we develop justifications for giving in to our
impulses and abandoning goal engagement. Interestingly, research shows that the
most common justifications for self-control failure are the hard work or previous exer-
tions of self-control (De Witt Huberts, Evers, & de Ridder, 2012). For the current study,
we could thus also argue that self-control depletion offers the perfect excuse to justify
goal disengagement (Kivetz & Zheng, 2006): respondents may willfully procrastinate
by watching television because they feel they earned it after a day’s work and invoke
resource depletion as a justification. In short, while the impulsive route suggests mind-
less media use that results in unintentional procrastination, the deliberate route sug-
gests mindful media use driven by intentional procrastination. So far, this justification-
based account of procrastination has received limited scholarly attention and offers an
interesting avenue for future research.
The dual pathway presented in this study illustrates a tug-of-war between the need
for sleep (governed by the reflective system) vs. the desire for entertainment (gov-
erned by the impulsive system), which begs the question how these pathways relate
to each other. Following Hofmann, friese, and Strack (2009), we propose to explore
the role of dispositional factors that can influence the strength of activation in the
competing systems, and thus influence which of the two pathways is more likely. We
have three suggestions in this regard. First, high levels of trait self-control may provide
a buffer for self-control depletion, making it less likely that the impulsive system will
prevail in the determination of behaviour (Friese & Hofmann, 2009; Hofmann et al.,
2008). Second, previous research has reported that people with an eveningness prefer-
ence – commonly referred to as “owls” – have lower self-control (Owens, Dearth-
Wesley, Lewin, Gioia, & Whitaker, 2016) and engage in more procrastination (Digdon &
Howell, 2008; Hess, Sherman, & Goodman, 2000) than those with a morningness pref-
erence. Moreover, recent studies have linked eveningness to increased media usage
(Blachnio, Przepiorka, & Dıaz-Morales 2015; Fossum et al., 2014). Evening types may
thus be more susceptible to the lure of entertainment media, and needlessly delay
bedtime. Finally, a high degree of habitualness in behavior increases the likelihood
that we rely on our impulses, even if they conflict with our long-term goals. Media
use has a strong habitual component (Oulasvirta, Rattenbury, Ma, & Raita, 2011), and
Meier et al. (2016) found that strong media habits coincide with more procrastinatory
media use. For those whose media use occurs automatically, we expect more bedtime
delay in the case of depleted self-control resources. In sum, the findings of this
exploratory study indicate that self-control depletion may lead to both earlier and later
bedtimes, which we interpret as pathway representing a reflective or impulsive route
towards behavior determination. A natural progression of this work is to unravel when
and for whom those pathways are most likely to occur.
As bedtimes and sleep duration are naturally strongly related to each other, it may
appear self-evident that our dual pathway results in either more or less sleep duration.
However, prior research has found that media use does not affect sleep duration
among adults (Custers & Van den Bulck, 2012; Exelmans & Van den Bulck, 2015).
Compared to children and adolescents – whose media use tends to displace sleep and
12 L. EXELMANS AND J. VAN DEN BULCKAQ

cut back sleep duration (see Cain & Gradisar, 2010) – adults seem to compensate for
lost sleep by rising later, a process called time shifting. This study did not corroborate
the time shifting hypothesis, as procrastinatory television viewing coincided with less
sleep. Even though the research to date thus suggests that adults do not experience
sleep displacement, the next step for future research would be to determine whether
is true for all adults, or only for particular subgroups.
Based on our observations that (1) sleep insufficiency may be partly attributed to
self-control issues and that (2) procrastinatory media use may partly account for bed-
time delay, new areas for intervention open up. First, research showed that implemen-
tation intentions are an effective means to train self-regulation and promote healthy
sleep habits (Loft & Cameron, 2013). In particular, using mental simulations of a
desired action in a specific situation (i.e. if–then statements) increased self-efficacy,
sleep planning, and sleep quality. Todd and Mullan (2013) suggested that training
cognitive flexibility (i.e. the ability to overcome barriers that hinder goal achievement)
may be useful in improving sleep hygiene. Second, counteracting procrastinatory
media use may be done by implementing restraint standards (such as the standard for
maintaining proper sleep) (Hofmann et al., 2009) or temporarily reducing or ceasing
media use (Hinsch & Sheldon, 2013). Third, while sleep seems to receive increasing
scholarly attention in various disciplines, sleep does not come to mind easily when
thinking about ways to improve health (Kroese et al., 2016). Boosting awareness about
the importance of sleep and its impact on well-being among the general public thus
remains key in overcoming the problem of sleep deprivation.

Limitations and future research

There are limitations to this study that warrant consideration. Although it has been
argued that the Day Reconstruction Method (DRM) reduces recall bias and that people
should be able to accurately recreate the preceding day from memory (Kahneman
et al., 2004), social desirability still remains an issue here. It is also possible that the
day of participation was not entirely representative for an average day. We have tried
to limit this by collecting data on two consecutive weekdays, but results may turn out
different for different time points of data collections. We also expect there are strong
differences in the media and sleep habits between the week and weekend depending
upon the type of residence because it is customary in Belgium for students to stay
with their parents over the weekend, and on campus or in college town dorms during
the week (Vanden Abeele & Roe, 2011). These particularities in our Belgian student
sample also limit generalizability to other age groups or educational cultures.
Furthermore, even though our serial mediation model infers directionality in the
hypothesized relationship, the DRM cannot untangle the causality of the model.
Following Reinecke et al. (2014), the survey design took into account a temporal order:
we measured self-control depletion upon arrival from work, but before media expos-
ure, and charted their sleep behavior at the end. While this strategy provides some
support for the direction of the observed relationships, our study was cross-sectional
and cannot determine causality. For example, given the importance of sleep for restor-
ation, researchers propose that sleep and self-control are likely to operate in a
 PSYCHOLOGY & HEALTH 13

feedback loop where good sleep is an important determinant of one’s capacity to

exert self-control and depleted self-control resources will impair our decision making
about bedtime and how to spend the final hours before sleep (Barber & Munz, 2011;
Pilcher et al., 2015). These concerns can be addressed by using experience sampling
methods or diary data, allowing serial measurement of self-control, sleep and
media habits.
This study only investigated television viewing. Even though our television viewing
measure included a wide variety of currently used devices, this may have been neither
the behavior nor the device they used first upon arriving at their residence, or the one
they spent the most time on. Future research should look into how other media devi-
ces challenge (situational) self-control and subsequent bedtime behavior. For example,
in comparison to television viewing, which easily takes up an hour or more for a sin-
gle viewing decision, much mobile phone use can be considered to be a micro-task.
Its intermittent and ephemeral usage, higher mobility and multi-functionality may
pose additional challenges to self-control before or in bed. Future studies could also
incorporate the content of television viewing as research has shown that depleted
individuals are particularly attracted to hedonically pleasant stimuli and low brow con-
tent (Reinecke et al., 2014; Wagner et al., 2012).
Finally, the current study was conducted in the general population (i.e. a non-clin-
ical sample). It has been argued that, unlike general procrastination, aversion is not a
key characteristic for bedtime procrastination in a general population as sleep is com-
monly perceived as enjoyable (Kroese et al., 2014). This is evidently not the case for
those diagnosed with sleep problems, and data also show that a significant proportion
of people in the general population suffer from undiagnosed sleep difficulties too
(Roth, 2007). It would, therefore, be interesting to see how these processes play out in
a sample of people suffering from chronic sleep difficulties, for whom media usage
patterns may be entirely different. This suggestion aligns with the idea that procrastin-
ation may follow either an impulsive or a deliberate process.

Conclusion
The association between self-control and sleep behavior is an emerging field of
research, and this study contributed to it by looking at state self-control. While media
use has been shown to contribute to bedtime delay and sleep insufficiency, it has
only rarely been integrated into a self-control perspective on sleep. Our findings sug-
gest a dual pathway whereby self-control depletion can lead to both earlier and later
bedtimes, the former because of a need for recovery, the latter because of a need for
entertainment or distraction. As such, television seems to undermine people’s good
intention of going to bed in time.

Note
1. We recoded bedtime and sleep duration to obtain a metric variable. Minutes were divided
by 60 and multiplied by 100, and hours were counted from 0 to 24; hours after midnight
were counted as 25 (for 01:00 hours), 26 (for 02:00 hours) and so forth. Example: Bedtime
of 11.30 pm becomes 23.50 and sleep duration of 06 h15 min becomes 6.25.
14 L. EXELMANS AND J. VAN DEN BULCKAQ

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of
this article.

ORCID
Liese Exelmans http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3031-4388
Jan Van den Bulck https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0885-0854

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