Examining bedtime procrastination through the lens of academic stressors among undergraduate students: academic stressors including mediators of mobile phone addiction and active procrastination

The present study investigated the indirect effects of active procrastination and mobile phone addiction on the relationship between academic workload and bedtime procrastination. A total of 474 Chinese undergraduates were recruited to complete assessments on academic workload, active procrastination, mobile phone addiction, and bedtime procrastination. The results revealed that academic workload not only directly impacts bedtime procrastination but also has an indirect influence through the mediating factors of active procrastination and mobile phone addiction. The sheer volume of work crowds out students’ time, destroying the procrastinator’s time structure centered around leisure and diminishing the enjoyment of tasks. Additionally, the stress of work also makes it easier for students to become addicted to mobile phones, leading them to use their sleep time to compensate for the time lost due to their workload. These findings shed light on the interaction between mobile phone addiction and the daily lives of college undergraduates, as well as how they mutually influence each other. The study underscores the importance of schools in alleviating the academic burden placed on students.