Personal life only begins after work. Ignoring physical exhaustion, people stay up late gaming, surfing the web, reading, watching movies, or socializing... Yet when nothing else is happening, they refuse to sleep, insisting on staying up until 1 or 2 a.m. before bed—a classic symptom of "late-night compulsive disorder."Recently, an online survey titled "Do You Have Late-Night Sleep Compulsion?" on a health forum drew thousands of participants. Among the listed symptoms, 70% of respondents selected "Yes."
"After getting home at night, drowsiness turns into hyperactivity—I start surfing the web, reading novels, or watching movies."When gaming, I always tell myself 'this will be my last round'; when watching dramas, I promise 'I'll sleep after this episode'—yet I break that vow every single time." These descriptions resonated strongly with most working professionals, who admitted frequently experiencing such patterns.
Symptom 1: Busy with work during the day, busy relaxing at night
Longjiang (pseudonym), who works at a government agency, was a gaming enthusiast during college. After starting his job, his daily gaming time dwindled significantly. Consequently, he felt his after-work hours belonged solely to him—time he should fully dedicate to relaxation to justify his efforts.So after work, he'd play games until 1 or 2 a.m. Still, he'd wake up on time for work the next morning, dragging himself into the office with bloodshot eyes and constant yawns. He'd then keep drinking coffee, strong tea, or smoking to stay awake.
Symptom 2: Sluggish Before Midnight, Energized After
Xiao Dong, a writer, finds everything uninteresting before midnight. Yet he forces himself to stay awake for the upcoming productive period. Once past the worst drowsiness, his energy returns. He reads, writes articles, and chats with friends who also stay up late, busily enjoying himself.He's grown accustomed to postponing serious tasks until nightfall, a habit that causes him no end of trouble: appearing exhausted and unfocused during daytime work; only completing tasks at the last minute, leading to panic when unexpected situations arise... Whenever these problems occur, he regrets staying up too late and not finishing work earlier, yet the next day he finds himself irresistibly drawn back into the late-night routine.
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Symptom Three: "Night Owl" Habits Devour Urbanites' Health
During interviews, reporters found these patterns have become common among many young people. Work demands, lifestyle habits, stress relief, and time-killing are their primary justifications for maintaining late-night routines.
Dr. Zhou Ruixiang from the Neurology Department of Wuhan First Hospital explains that treating all-nighters as routine—only reluctantly drifting off when utterly exhausted—is actually a manifestation of compulsive behavior.From a health perspective, the drawbacks are numerous. Irregular sleep patterns and stress can weaken immunity, disrupt endocrine function, and make individuals susceptible to colds, gastrointestinal infections, allergies, and other autonomic nervous system disorders. Chronic sleep deprivation may also lead to insomnia, forgetfulness, irritability, anxiety, and other neurological and psychological symptoms.Night owls often feel exhausted and stressed after a long day, relying on heightened excitement to overcome mental fatigue before falling asleep. Such individuals frequently immerse themselves in online activities—watching videos, browsing forums, chatting, frequenting nightclubs, or releasing pressure through fast-paced, intense music. The second reason stems from habitual misconceptions about sleep.Compulsive late-night wakefulness differs fundamentally from insomnia. Insomnia involves an inability to sleep despite desire, while compulsive late-night wakefulness involves forcing oneself to stay awake. Typically, those who compulsively stay up late do so not out of physiological necessity but psychological need. They insist on performing tasks only after midnight, such as tidying rooms, reading magazines, or writing articles.
Experts suggest engaging in healthy post-work activities to release stress, allowing both body and mind to naturally crave sleep and gradually cultivate an early-bedtime routine. Those forced into late nights by work demands often suffer from anxiety stemming from excessive pressure. They should learn to manage their time better, avoid bringing work home, relax their minds, and confront stress head-on.