A survey of thousands of students has shown that the urge to put things off is detrimental not only to the state of affairs. People, especially those prone to procrastination, can develop physical and mental disorders.

The desire to procrastinate is probably familiar to everyone. Some time ago, scientists showed that too frequent procrastination correlates with poorer health and sleep quality. However, what is the cause and what is the effect, was not clear until now. It is possible that poor physical condition leads to a lack of energy and a propensity to procrastinate. Or perhaps, on the contrary, the habit of procrastination makes it difficult to exercise, try to lead a healthy lifestyle and visit doctors on time.

To answer this question, Swedish scientists conducted a longitudinal study of local students, tracking their condition and behavior over a long period of time. They recruited 3,525 volunteers from eight Swedish universities and administered detailed questionnaires about their physical and mental state. Of these, 2,587 took part in a follow-up survey nine months later. The results are presented in an article published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

The authors divided the participants into two groups, with high or low procrastination cravings in the first phase of the survey. At the second stage, representatives of the first group showed more pronounced symptoms of depression, stress and anxiety, reported worse quality of sleep, joint pain in the hands and even financial difficulties. In the group with a low propensity for procrastination, such symptoms were less common, even when adjusted for age, gender, income level, and other socio-psychological features.