It’s time for bed! General procrastination and bedtime procrastination as serial mediators of the relationship between temporal perspective and sleep outcomes.

Abstract

Abstract Adequate and sufficient sleep is essential for good health, effective functioning and well-being. However, recent trends indicate an increase in sleep deprivation, with adolescents and young adults being a particularly vulnerable group. General procrastination (GP) and bedtime procrastination (BP), understood as the tendency to delay going to bed without external pressure, are factors that can contribute to sleep deprivation and fatigue. In our study, we used a serial mediation model to test whether the relationship between time perspective and sleep sufficiency and daytime fatigue may be serially mediated by procrastination and bedtime procrastination. The Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, the Irrational Procrastination Scale, the Bedtime Procrastination Scale, and the Sleep Inventory were completed online by 399 university students between the ages of 19 and 27. Results showed that future time perspective predicted lower general procrastination, which in turn was associated with lower BP, and consequently higher sleep sufficiency and lower daytime fatigue. Past negative time perspective predicted higher GP, which in turn was associated with higher BP and consequently lower sleep sufficiency and higher daytime fatigue. These findings suggest that time perspective, general procrastination and bedtime procrastination may play an important role in predicting sleep sufficiency and daytime fatigue.