Less sleep, more pleasure

There’s a term for delaying sleep in order to indulge in forms of pleasure. The term “revenge bedtime procrastination” is a phenomenon that triggers a sense of “getting back at'' unfulfillment. Compensation tactics have a way of rewarding a sense of immediate relief. 

You’re neurologically predisposed to do things that instantly gratify you. Humans naturally hunt and seek out pleasure. That is why environments are crucial resources. Environments are lifestyle guides that direct your pleasure paths at home and work, as well as in virtual and real-time communities.

Pleasure continuum graph

There are two different emotional systems at work. There’s your “wanting” system to get more instant stimulation benefits, and your “liking” system that genuinely feels the pleasure. The environment that rewards meaningful behaviors stimulates clear-headed, fulfilling feelings.  

The evidence I’m drawing from was shared in this past note. At that time, I questioned if you personalized your environment to purposefully craft meaningful change that sticks. Following is an activity to do that:

Context is your lens on a situation. Explore the pleasure continuum this week in one of your roles (for example parenting, managing employees, home-making, etc.) 

Occupation is your functioning in a situation. Look for meaning-making resources within your selected role’s environment to help you do things a little better.

Sense is your emotional blueprint for a situation. Stimulate pleasure in ways that aim for good enough consistently.