Guilty as charged! As I sit here writing this blog post at the last minute, I once again fall victim to the not-so-good habit of procrastination. Judging from the other posts popping up here and there, I suspect some of my colleagues are susceptible to these tendencies as well. In fact, about twenty percent of the population are chronic procrastinators (Jaffe, 2013), so luckily us frantically-typing-blog-posters are not alone in our woes. As with many chronic things, however, procrastinating for a prolonged period of time could actually prove to be harmful.
Chronic procrastination can lead to a variety of detrimental physiological responses. Putting off a project, could cause your amygdala to be on constant high alert affecting your nervous and endocrine systems. The pituitary gland will then send out signals like ACTH and TTH which stand for adrenocorticotropic hormone and thyrotropic hormone respectively. TTH will make your thyroid gland pump out thyroid hormones affecting your metabolism and causing your heart and lungs to work harder, while ACTH will head to the adrenal glands signaling for cortisol to flood throughout your body (this can cause a multitude of health issues including inflammation caused by decreased sensitivity to cortisol). While this is all happening, the hormone vasopressin tells your body to horde water causing blood pressure to increase. Since the liver has to work so much harder, visceral fat cells begin to surround the liver causing more inflammation and potentially fatty liver disease (Seidu, 2017). See video below for a quick synopsis, it is quick and quite cute! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROh5TLC8jzM&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=Men%27sHealth
In a study done at the University of Sheffield, participants who self reported as having hypertension (HT) and/or cardiovascular disease (CVD) were compared to a control group in order to find out what personality factors might have a causal effect. Results suggested procrastination is a vulnerability factor for poor adjustment to and management of HT/CVD (Sirosis, 2015). This data shows that there is a correlation between these diseases/conditions and procrastination which is quite worrisome!
All in all, what I have found shows that chronic procrastination, as with many chronic exposure to things, is not a good thing. It is all about balance and time management (something that I have learned is very important in this program, which also translates to everyday life). Although I have fallen victim to procrastination this time, I will try harder to not put things off until the last minute. As a wise man once said it is all about growth mindset! Now onto the next post…(:
References:
Jaffe, E. (2013, March 29). Why Wait? The Science Behind Procrastination. Retrieved November 21, 2020, from https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/why-wait-the-science-behind-procrastination
Seidu, F. (2017, October 26). The Physiological Response to Procrastination. Retrieved November 21, 2020, from https://fonnatasha.com/blog/2017/10/15/the-physiological-response-to-procrastination
Sirois, F. M. (2015). Is procrastination a vulnerability factor for hypertension and cardiovascular disease? Testing an extension of the procrastination–health model. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 38(3), 578-589. doi:10.1007/s10865-015-9629-2
As students we have all been procrastinators at some point, I think this semester specifically many people are procrastinating a lot more than before. As you mention that putting off a project may cause our amygdala to be on constant high alert, it makes complete sense why so many who have procrastinated feel a sense of anxiety (myself included). now that so many of us are at home during COVID I wonder if there will be an increase in HT or CVD soon after COVID is over.
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