are you a procrastinator Research suggests you are more likely to be depressed, unhealthy and broke

Charles Dickens famously wrote that procrastination is the thief of time.

Now scientists think it can also steal your sleep, harm your health and make you worse off financially.

A study of 3,500 Swedish students found that those who procrastinate frequently are at greater risk of experiencing sleep deprivation, lack of exercise and financial problems.

Experts believe this is because most people tend to have a bit of procrastination, while for others it is their “general mindset” and can affect how well they do in life.

Those who often “postponed a planned action despite the expectation that they would get worse” risk everything from poorer academic performance to general health, the study indicates.

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

SOCIAL MEDIA REPROGRAM CHILDREN’S BRAINS

According to one study, young people observe that brain regions that control feelings of reward and punishment overreact compared to their peers who are not always online.

They chose students because the high degree of freedom and the low structure of university life “make high demands on their ability to regulate themselves”.

They were asked to rate a series of lifestyle questions ranging from “very rarely or not representative of me” to five “very often or always representative of me” over a period of nine months, equivalent to one academic year.

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

They used the average as a baseline and found that for every increase in procrastination score, you were 13 percent more likely to become depressed, according to results published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

The researchers found that those who procrastinated were 15 percent more likely to struggle financially and less likely to exercise or sleep well.

The authors conclude: “This suggests that procrastination is associated with subsequent psychological distress, disabling pain, an unhealthy lifestyle, and poorer psychosocial health determinants.

“Given that procrastination is common among college students, these results may be important for gaining more insight into student health.”

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