Failing to plan: Bedtime planning, bedtime procrastination, and objective sleep in university students

Many people go to bed later than intended, yet very little is known about how bedtime plans are formed and followed. This study aimed to characterize bedtime planning, procrastination, and their relationship with objective sleep behavior among university students.

Participants (N = 119; full-time university students) were monitored for 2-4 weeks during their term time. Day-to-day bedtime planning was reported through a smartphone application, with plan frequency and deviation (actual-planned bedtime) as outcomes. Daily sleep timing and duration were objectively measured through wearable sleep trackers. Prior to monitoring, participants completed sleep-related questionnaires, including the bedtime procrastination scale, measuring the tendency to go to bed later than intended.

Participants (mean age [SD] = 22.66 [1.67] year, 64 females [53.8 %]) planned their bedtime on a minority of nights only (median [IQR] = 0.93 [0.37-2.75] nights/week). Moreover, when they did plan a specific bedtime, they frequently overran their planned time (mean [SD] bedtime deviation = 46.23 [48.99] minutes) which correlated with baseline bedtime procrastination scores. On a day-to-day basis, having a bedtime plan associated with better sleep outcomes (i.e. earlier bedtimes [mean -11.78 min]; longer total sleep time [mean + 11.88 min]), compared to days without a plan. Study/work and e-leisure were the most common reasons for overrunning a bedtime plan.

University students often did not plan bedtime, and when a plan was in place, it was often overrun. Bedtime planning was associated more favorable sleep outcomes and should be considered as a strategy for health behavior change.