Correlation of Revenge Bedtime Procrastination with Academic Performance in Undergraduate Students of Medical Sciences: An Online Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Objectives: Procrastination is the deliberate delay or postponement of tasks with an awareness of unfavorable results. Revenge bedtime procrastination refers to the choice of forgoing sleep in favor of leisure time due to a daily schedule devoid of adequate free time. The objective of this study was to determine the correlation between revenge bedtime procrastination and academic performance in undergraduate medical students. Material and Methods: The participants in this study were medical students from different institutes in Lahore. A total of 239 participants completed our online survey. Students previously diagnosed with sleep disorders were excluded from our sample. Our study, which centeredon exploring the correlation between bedtime procrastination as a retaliatory act and academic achievement, employed an online questionnaire containing the academic performance scale (APS) and bedtime procrastination scale (BPS) disseminated through Google Forms. Results: The findings demonstrated a negative correlation between delaying sleep for personal leisure time and academic achievement. The correlation coefficient (R) value between APS and BPS came out to be −0.324, and the P value was 0.01, which means that the relationship is statistically significant. The major demographics came out to age 15–20 years (72.4%) studying Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (87.2%) and Bachelor of Dentistry (10.9%), and the majority of them were in the 1st (37.6%) and 2nd year 51.9% of their degree. Conclusion: This study found a negative correlation between sleep procrastination and academic performance. Variables such as intelligence, motivation, and self-discipline were not considered in our study, and this gap can be filled by future research considering additional variables to gain a more comprehensive understanding of this complex phenomenon.