– Especially if you live at home, it’s easy to start with cleaning the house and doing laundry and things like that. Suddenly it becomes very interesting to keep going, says Anna Harborg. She sits together with a student friend. The two have the bad habit that many others have: They put off doing what they were supposed to do. They procrastinate. “Suddenly, a notification on the phone is more interesting than what you are doing,” says Andrine Bøigaard. They are not alone in procrastinating, but a new Swedish study shows that it can cause a number of health problems. – Among other things, it can cause symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, but also health behaviors such as less physical activity and poor sleep, says Fred Johansson. Pain in the body Johansson is one of the researchers behind the study that forskning.no mentioned first. In the study, 3,525 Swedish university students answered questions about procrastination and their own health. RESEARCHER: Fred Johansson is a PhD student and licensed psychologist at Sophiahemmet University in Stockholm Photo: Andreas Emtinger – Procrastination is also linked to social factors such as loneliness and financial difficulties, says Johansson. The students could also experience disabling pain in the body. – Those who procrastinate had a higher level of pain in the upper extremities such as shoulders, elbows and hands, says Johansson. Andrine Bøigaard is aware that suspension can have such big consequences, and says that in the past she has had goals to get better at getting things done. – But, I often fell back into old habits. It is difficult to change. Perhaps not so surprising, because the two are in a deferred group for expulsion. LONG DAYS: Student Anna Harborg is not surprised by the researcher’s findings. – When I sit for long days and try to finish the tasks, I notice that my body is getting tired. You often sit by yourself and do not have the opportunity to meet friends. Photo: Kari Nygard Tvilde / news Common among students Psychology professor Frode Svartdal has researched procrastination. He says around 20 per cent of the normal population procrastinate. The figure for students is “much higher”. – The fact that procrastination is linked to physical and psychological ailments has been known at least since Baumeister published his classic study in 1997, he says. PROCRASTINATION: Frode Svartdal is a researcher and professor of psychology at the University of Tromsø. Photo: Frode Svartdal The study he and a colleague published in 2022 shows that many students choose to postpone academic tasks. It is called academic procrastination. – This causes one to fall behind with study work. Typical consequences are stress, reduced self-confidence, and can cause one to brood and feel down, says Svartdal. Why do you procrastinate? Why someone procrastinates is naturally not so easy to answer. But the short version is: Because the person tends to be impulsive, take things on their own. Because the environment people are in allows procrastination. The study environment is characterized by great freedom, long deadlines, difficult tasks, and more, all known factors that increase the likelihood of procrastination. Points 1 and 2 together are a “perfect storm”. Source: Psychology professor Frode Svartdal at UiT, who has researched procrastination. Starting a group At Høgskulen i Innlandet, conversation therapist Rune Grønbakken may have a solution. Soon he will start a group for students who procrastinate and who want to do something about it. GROUP: Speech therapist Rune Grønbakken says the hope with the procrastination group is that the students get to do what they are supposed to, and that they learn that you feel better when you get things done. Photo: Kari Nygard Tvilde / news – The idea is that you should first sit down with another student and find out what your assignment is for next week. The person you sit with must follow you up, says Grønbakken. – Then you sit down with another student who you will follow up on. Researcher Fred Johansson thinks such a group is good. – What can reduce distractions can be studying at school instead of at home, and you can try to break down long-term goals into smaller tasks, says Johansson. GROUP: Posters hang around the university, with an invitation to a group for procrastinating students. Photo: Kari Nygard Tvilde / news How to stop? Or start? Johansson says studies have been done on how to treat procrastination. They have then seen that cognitive therapy, with extensive efforts with a psychologist, has proven to be the most effective treatment. He has tips for what you can do yourself: – For example, remove distractions, put the phone away or turn off notifications, so that you can focus on what you are doing. Svartdal has tips for what institutions can do: – To start with what is easy to do something about, namely long deadlines and great freedom. That freedom destroys about half of the students, because they cannot cope with it. Svartdal believes that the student can also do something: – Fellow students, whom it is fun to talk to, you can shield yourself from by seeking a place other than the reading room when you have to work on something important. Anna and Andrine understand that they have to stop delaying. – We are going to start a bachelor’s thesis, so we really have to set good deadlines so that we push ourselves to do a good job there, says Anna. – Setting up a to-do list with dates to keep will probably help us further, says Andrine. Do you plan to put things off? Yes, a little too often… Only sometimes. No, I do things right away! Show result Do you need a little more procrastination? Listen to this Ekko episode: Read a little more about it: Are you a master at procrastinating? Do you procrastinate? Then the risk of anxiety and depression increases Or read these cases: Over one in three dare not be honest with their employer about their mental health Several students struggle mentally – this is how Carl William (22) took action
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Procrastination can give students worse health – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
