Effect of Perceived Stress on Sleep Procrastination in College Students: A Chain-Mediated Role Between Depression and Inhibitory Control

Background: Sleep procrastination is a prevalent health behavior problem among college students, yet the psychological mechanisms through which perceived stress influences this behavior remain incompletely understood. Drawing upon Temporal Self-Regulation Theory, this study aimed to explore the relationship between perceived stress and sleep procrastination among college students with a particular focus on the serial mediating roles of depression and inhibitory control. Results: The mean sleep procrastination score was 37.20 ± 3.88. Perceived stress was significantly positively correlated with sleep procrastination (r = 0.596, p < 0.01) and depression (r = 0.605, p < 0.01) and negatively correlated with inhibitory control (r = −0.520, p < 0.01). Mediation analyses revealed that depression (indirect effect = 0.180, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.147, 0.215]) and inhibitory control (indirect effect = 0.042, 95% CI [0.021, 0.064]) independently mediated the relationship between perceived stress and sleep procrastination. Moreover, a significant serial mediation pathway through depression followed by inhibitory control was identified (indirect effect = 0.014, 95% CI [0.007, 0.023]). Conclusions: These findings indicated that perceived stress is associated with sleep procrastination both directly and indirectly through sequential associations involving depression and inhibitory control. Specifically, higher perceived stress corresponded to greater depressive symptoms, which in turn were related to reduced inhibitory control, and this chain of associations is further linked to increased sleep procrastination. This study provides a novel theoretical contribution by an associative chain mediation mechanism underlying sleep procrastination. Practical implications include the potential value of stress reduction interventions, depression management, and inhibitory control training as strategies to mitigate sleep procrastination among college students.