Procrastination's Impact on Sleep Quality and Mental Health

Procrastination has negative effects on our mental and physical health, which can lead to poor sleep. Hairston and colleagues believe that procrastination is associated with sleep troubles, an association mediated by ruminative cognitions (Hairston et al., 2016). Participants completed an online questionnaire regarding procrastination; sleep troubles, rumination, emotional state, and biological clock. The results showed that in evening types procrastination positively correlates with sleep trouble, negative affect, and rumination. However, for morning types there is no correlation between procrastination and sleep disturbances. Thus, the results from this study will have an impact on treatment and interventions of insomnia and procrastination

Rumination is when people obsess, or overthink situations, which is associated with distress and future procrastination. Procrastinators have ruminations, which interfere with sleep and daytime functioning. The authors go on to say that biological clock can be a trait of procrastination and sleep disturbances, as most people who procrastinate are evening types who experience symptoms of insomnia and psychiatric distress compared to morning types (Hairston et al., 2016). Thus, the logic behind this study is rumination and negative affect mediate sleep disturbances and

“74.2% of the sample were women, and 75% were pursuing a bachelor 's degree. 59.0% worked and studied part-time, 34.1% were full-time students. 42% reported insomnia symptoms, and 18% had clinically significant symptoms” (Hairston et al., 2016). Out of the sample 60% were reported to be neither type, 33.3% were evening type, and 10.6% were morning type. Women had higher scores on the R-MEQ component, revealing that more women were morning type. In every other component of the questionnaire there was no difference in gender. People who were morning types procrastinated less, and had less trouble sleeping, and the two measures did not correlate; the same went or those who were neither type. However, in evening types procrastination, trouble sleeping, rumination, and negative affect did correlate. Based upon the findings evening type was associated with more trouble sleeping, negative affect, procrastination, and rumination (Hairston et al., 2016). Like hypothesised, negative affect and rumination were linked to