The Effect of Pre-Sleep Arousal on Bedtime Procrastination: A Longitudinal study

Bedtime procrastination describes going to bed later than intended, leading to insufficient sleep. Although difficulty falling asleep and pre-sleep arousal are assumed to cause bedtime procrastination, the relationship has not been directly examined. In this study, we examined whether difficulty falling asleep and pre-sleep arousal lead to bedtime procrastination.

We conducted a longitudinal survey, administered three times at 1-month intervals, among participants aged 18-65 years; 1,102 participants were included in the final analysis. Participants were asked to complete questionnaires that included bedtime procrastination, difficulty falling asleep, and pre-sleep arousal (cognitive and somatic) measures. The random intercept cross-lagged panel model was used to test the hypothesis that difficulty falling asleep and pre-sleep arousal increased bedtime procrastination.

No significant cross-lagged path was observed from difficulty falling asleep or pre-sleep cognitive arousal to bedtime procrastination. A significant positive path was observed from pre-sleep somatic arousal to bedtime procrastination between Times 2 and 3, but not Times 1 and 2.

Although difficulty falling asleep did not lead to bedtime procrastination, pre-sleep somatic arousal partially led to bedtime procrastination. These findings suggest that individuals with higher pre-sleep somatic arousal might develop more bedtime procrastination.