Procrastinators, who often put things off until the last minute, report more health problems such as depression, anxiety, and poor sleep, according to a new study of Swedish students.
It is estimated that about 20% of adults are considered chronic procrastinators, putting them at greater risk of developing health problems such as anxiety, depression, phobias, high blood pressure, and other heart diseases.
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Cognitive behavioral therapy can help chronic procrastinators get to the root of their problems.
Procrastinators – people who put off their to-do lists until the last minute – can suffer not only at work or school but also in terms of their health. That’s what a team of researchers who followed a group of more than 3,500 students at eight Swedish universities found in their latest study, published online on Jan. 4 in JAMA Network Open.
Some people are more prone
The team focused on a group particularly prone to procrastination as part of a larger health study. Initially, students were assessed for symptoms of depression and anxiety, unhealthy lifestyle habits, and body aches. Three months later, they completed a standard questionnaire about procrastination.
Those who scored high on a procrastination scale were more likely to report certain health problems nine months later. Compared to their peers who did not procrastinate, they reported more problems with depression and anxiety, as well as more upper body pain and poor sleep. They also exercised less and reported more loneliness than other students.
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Chronic procrastination can affect long-term health
According to the study’s lead author, Fred Johansson, a researcher at Sophiahemmet University in Stockholm, Sweden, this could be related to the freedom” students generally enjoy, with a relatively unstructured life where deadlines are often far away, which Johansson says leaves a lot of room for procrastination.
The researchers stressed that the results do not prove that procrastination itself directly caused these problems, for example by delaying a doctor’s appointment and allowing a troublesome health problem to worsen. Fred Johansson also said that the links between workplace exposure and health problems were quite weak, meaning they did not indicate a significant effect. But their findings reinforce the idea that exposure, when chronic, is an important factor. Indeed, the relationship held even when the researchers took into account students’ symptoms at the start of the study.
Final Thoughts
As for why procrastination harms people’s health, the researcher agrees that stress may be a major cause. People who chronically procrastinate may also not lead a healthy lifestyle by eating poorly and not doing any physical activity.
Not everyone is a procrastinator, It’s normal to put off mowing the lawn or something equally unpleasant. Chronic procrastination is something else and It is a problem when it becomes a lifestyle that manifests itself in all areas of one’s life, from work to home to social relationships.
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