Study Reveals a Procrastinator More Likely to be Depressed and Broke

VIVA – A study of 3,500 Swedish students found those who regularly put off doing things or were called procrastinators had an increased risk of poor sleep, depression, lack of exercise, and getting into financial difficulty.

Experts believe this is because although most people tend to procrastinate a little, for others it is their ‘general disposition’ and can affect how well they do in life. 

Those who often ‘delayed an intended course of action despite expecting to be worse off’, risk everything from poorer academic achievements to general health, the study suggests.

Researchers from the University in Stockholm recruited students from eight universities studying everything from social sciences and technology to economics and medicine.

They chose students as the high levels of freedom and low structure of university life puts ‘high demands on their capacity to self-regulate.'

They were asked to rate a series of lifestyle questions ranging from one ‘very rarely or does not represent me’ to five ‘very often or always represents me’ over nine months, the equivalent of an academic year.

This came up with their procrastination score, which was then measured against physical, mental, and psychosocial health issues, such as loneliness.

Using the average as the baseline, they found for every increase of one in the procrastination score, people were 13 percent more likely to be depressed, according to results published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Those who dallied were also 15 percent more likely to suffer from economic difficulties and less likely to exercise or sleep well, the researchers found.

The authors conclude: ‘This suggests that procrastination is associated with subsequent mental health problems, disabling pain, unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, and worse psychosocial health factors.

"Considering that procrastination is prevalent among university students, these findings may be of importance to enhance the understanding of students’ health."

Perbedaan Stres dan Depresi: Jangan Sampai Salah Menilai Kesehatan Mentalmu

Banyak orang menyamakan stres dan depresi, padahal keduanya berbeda. Kenali perbedaan stres dan depresi agar bisa mengambil langkah penanganan yang tepat.

VIVA.co.id

15 Mei 2025