Bedtime Procrastination, Sleep-Related Behaviors, and Demographic Factors in an Online Survey on a Polish Sample

Abstract

The sufficient length and good quality of night sleep play a vital role in maintaining health, well-being and effective functioning. Nevertheless, an increase in the prevalence of sleep deprivation can be observed recently. The concept of bedtime procrastination, defined as going to bed later than intended, has been proposed to explain one of the psychological determinants of sleep deficiency. To investigate the prevalence of bedtime procrastination among Poles we carried out a Polish adaptation of the Bedtime Procrastination Scale (BPS), a self-report questionnaire for measuring the tendency to voluntarily postpone going to bed in the absence of any external circumstances for doing so. The aim of the research was to determine the main psychometric properties of the Polish version of the BPS. We also aimed to identify the relationships between bedtime procrastination and selected demographic variables in the Polish sample, and to examine the impact of bedtime procrastination on self-reported sleep outcomes. The data obtained from online surveys conducted on two Polish samples were analyzed, including demographic factors, self-reported sleep outcomes, and responses to items of the BPS. The Polish version of the BPS has a unifactorial structure like the original version. It also exhibits satisfactory internal consistency and moderate temporal stability in a 10-week retest study. BPS scores were not significantly related to the place of residence, the highest completed level of education, living with a spouse or partner, and living with children. Scores in BPS slightly decreased with age and females scored higher on BPS than males. Higher BPS scores were obtained for a group of students in comparison to a group of subjects who were not students, and lower BPS scores were found in working respondents in comparison to respondents who were not working. BPS scores correlate negatively with sleep length on workdays and a feeling of sleep sufficiency, and positively with sleep length on weekdays relative to workdays, sleeping later than one would like, and a feeling of fatigue. Several relationships between self-reported sleep outcomes and demographic variables were also identified.

Reproductive Health Literacy and Fertility Awareness Among Polish Female Students

“…Approximately one third of Polish women aged 20-35 are overweight or obese (60,61). About 1 in 2 Polish students report not having enough sleep, largely due to poor sleep hygiene and bedtime procrastination, which is more prevalent in students than in non-students, and in women than in men (62,63). It appears that the knowledge of young Poles does not always translate into practices.…”

The Mediator Role of Routines on the Relationship between General Procrastination, Academic Procrastination and Perceived Importance of Sleep and Bedtime Procrastination

“…Bedtime Procrastination is the delay of sleep time before going to bed, in the absence of external reasons that justify these behaviors [12]. Bedtime Procrastination is associated with later wake-up times, later dinner times [13][14][15], morningness and eveningness [16,17], depression symptoms, anxiety, and insomnia [18,19]. Needlessly delaying sleep time has already been researched in a variety of populations and within different age groups [12,13,16,20], with literature showing that university students tend to engage in more Bedtime Procrastination compared to the general population [13].…”

“…Lastly, regarding the routine-related factors, we analyzed two variables that have previously been identified to be relevant in regard to Bedtime Procrastination: Dinner Time and Wake-up Time [13,14]. In a qualitative study, many people indicated that they delayed going to bed because they believed that they would be unable to sleep if they tried to bed earlier at a time when they felt excess amounts of energy [15].…”

“…Grounded on previous research, three models (Figure 1) were devised with the following hypotheses Time and Wake-up Time [13,14]. In a qualitative study, many people indicated that they delayed going to bed because they believed that they would be unable to sleep if they tried to bed earlier at a time when they felt excess amounts of energy [15].…”

An Exploratory Study on Sleep Procrastination: Bedtime vs. While-in-Bed Procrastination

“…Bedtime Procrastination is a relatively new concept; thus, literature on this topic is scarce. Nevertheless, so far, research has shown that Bedtime Procrastination is negatively associated with trait self-regulation [ 39 , 44 ], hours of sleep [ 44 , 45 ], and self-control [ 46 ] and positively with perceived insufficient sleep [ 39 , 44 , 45 ], daily fatigue [ 44 ], and general procrastination [ 39 ]. The role of individual circadian rhythms on individuals’ tendency to procrastinate their bedtime is yet to be fully understood.…”