Prevalence of Bedtime Procrastination in University Students and Reexamination of the Bedtime Procrastination Scale

Objective: To determine the prevalence of bedtime procrastination (BtP) among Indian university students and to evaluate the performance of the Bedtime Procrastination Scale (BPS).

Methods: The BPS (scoring range, 9-45), with separate, additional questions related to sleep and influences thereon, was administered to all on-campus graduate and postgraduate students attending Navrachana University, Gujarat, India. The variable of regular sleep habits was defined as a BPS total score of 9-18 and BtP as a BPS total of 36-45. The BPS was examined using factor analysis. The study was conducted from November 2021 to December 2021.

Results: Completed forms were received from 560 of 567 eligible students. The mean BPS total score was 29.1. BPS total scores did not differ significantly between males and females. Few students (n = 54, 9.6%) had study-defined regular sleep habits. One-fifth of the sample (20.2%) had study-defined BtP. Higher BtP total scores showed a small but statistically significant correlation with daytime tiredness (r = 0.26). Factor analysis of the BPS yielded a 2-factor solution that explained 49.3% of the variance in the data. The latent variables appeared to represent "Going to bed late" and "Going to bed on time." Potential problems, not previously discussed in the literature, were identified based on the manner in which BPS items were presented and scored.

Conclusions: Few university students have regular sleep habits. BtP is present in a sufficiently large enough proportion of students to be of health concern. The BPS is likely to require modifications for future use.