Hi Everyone
With my last passion post for the semester, let’s discuss a topic which is inevitably close to every student’s heart: Procrastination. You do it…I do it…no matter who we are, we have all at least once procrastinated on a deadline and pushed back a responsibility even when faced with an approaching due-date. In all shapes of the word, procrastination is a deadly idea. With the temporary relief we feel with pushing a task back, we eventually feel the burdens of that very task ten-fold with all the pressures of a closer due-date. In many ways, it makes me wonder why we choose to go down this path time and time again. In a recent article published by the Journal of Behavioral Medicine, we get a glimpse of another hidden characteristic associated with procrastination that may better encourage us to reconsider our ideas of simply pushing off our assignments and homework all together.
This recently published study details the association between procrastination and many human health effects, such as an increased likelihood for heart disease. Within the testing pool, Dr. Fuschia M. Sirois from the Bishop’s University of Quebec, ran two trials with individuals who expressed hypertension and heart disease with a group of individuals who were considered healthy. After clinical observations, each group was given designed questionnaires, testing one’s proclivity to putting off certain responsibilities and commitments. Through these observations, it was seen that the people with heart disease had a higher penchant for delaying their responsibilities and agreeing with the motto, “I’ll do it tomorrow”.
Although this study largely did not introduce specific conclusions as to why procrastination may have a relation to heart disease, there are a few key factors which may be the ultimate cause for this correlation. For one, with individuals who tend to procrastinate often, daily chores such as exercising and paying attention to one’s health often come last on their agenda. As a result, many of these individuals gather chronic health issues as a result from this harmful mindset. Similarly, with individuals who procrastinate regular responsibilities, such as school work, we all know that although we may not have to finish our work at the moment, we still have to complete the assignment eventually. It has been seen through prior studies the impact of stress on one’s overall health, yet alone one’s heart. As we continue to overload ourselves with these burdens, we unknowingly place the brunt of our stresses onto one the most vital components of our body.
Now that we finally are given tangible evidence as to the negative effects of procrastination…what next? It is easy to “tell” someone to stop procrastinating, but actually motivating someone to break their old habits and turn towards dedication and prioritizing one’s work is no easy task. Can it be done? Absolutely! It isn’t the first time where people, when placed in right situations, can reshape themselves.
Thank you all for reading my blogs over the semester! I’ve had a great time finding these stories and sharing them all with you. I hope you all enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed writing them!
Peace! Ayush
