Advancing a biopsychosocial model of bedtime procrastination

PROJECT SUMMARY Cardiometabolic diseases are the leading cause of death in the United States. With rates of these diseases rising, there is an urgent need to identify modifiable risk factors that contribute to cardiometabolic diseases. A growing literature has shown that circadian disruption, including disturbances in the regularity of circadian activity

and misalignment of sleep to circadian activity, increases cardiometabolic disease risk. However, there is a critical gap in our understanding of the sleep-related behaviors which lead to circadian disruption and subsequent disease risk. Bedtime procrastination refers to the tendency to delay bedtime in the absence of external

obligations. Bedtime procrastinators often have late and irregular sleep timing and engage in behaviors that increase evening light exposure, potentially serving to misalign and destabilize circadian rhythms. Through circadian disruption and insufficient sleep, bedtime procrastination poses a risk to cardiometabolic health.

However, no research has investigated the role of bedtime procrastination in circadian disruption or cardiometabolic health. Furthermore, to date, research on the mechanisms underlying bedtime procrastination has centered on a single construct: self-regulation. However, emerging research suggests that there are two

distinct pathways leading to bedtime procrastination. The first pathway involves delaying bedtime due to difficulties with disengaging from rewarding pre-sleep activities, and second involves delaying bedtime to avoid pre-sleep anxiety. As intervention on the reward- and avoidance-driven pathways would require different

strategies, this lack of research represents a significant barrier to future research and treatment. Together, the primary objective of this project is to advance a biopsychosocial model of bedtime procrastination. To accomplish this objective, two studies will be conducted. The first study will evaluate the impact of bedtime procrastination

on circadian disruption (Aim 1) and the risk of bedtime procrastination to cardiometabolic health (Aim 2). Aims 1 and 2 will be evaluated in a sample of overweight individuals using innovative multidimensional assessment of circadian disruption and cardiometabolic health over the course of a year. The second study seeks to elucidate

the roles of anxiety, reward, and self-regulation in the development of daily bedtime procrastination (Aim 3) using an intensive longitudinal design in a large sample of young adults. This project will advance an integrated model of bedtime procrastination. Given that nearly 75% of individuals report procrastinating their bedtime at least once

per week, and the extensive impact of this behavior on sleep health, bedtime procrastination likely has a substantial impact on public health. Accordingly, this project will evaluate the impact of this behavior on circadian disruption and cardiometabolic health. Furthermore, by elucidating the mechanisms that underly bedtime

procrastination, this project will lay the foundation for future research identifying treatment targets and developing novel interventions for bedtime procrastination and circadian-sleep disturbances.