Editing Procrastination (section)

== Health perspective ==
To a certain degree it is [[normality (behavior)|normal]] to procrastinate and it can be regarded as a useful way to prioritize between tasks, due to a lower tendency of procrastination on truly valued tasks.<ref>{{cite web|last=Pavlina|first=Steve|title=How to Fall in Love with Procrastination|url=http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2010/06/how-to-fall-in-love-with-procrastination/|access-date=18 April 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419055057/http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2010/06/how-to-fall-in-love-with-procrastination/|archive-date=19 April 2013|date=2010-06-10}}</ref> However, excessive procrastination can become a problem and impede normal functioning. When this happens, procrastination has been found to result in health problems, [[Stress (biology)|stress]],<ref name="Tice1997">{{cite journal | last1 = Tice | first1 = DM | last2 = Baumeister | first2 = RF | year = 1997 | title = Longitudinal Study of Procrastination, Performance, Stress, and Health: The Costs and Benefits of Dawdling | jstor = 40063233 | journal = Psychological Science| volume = 8| issue = 6| pages=454–58 | doi=10.1111/j.1467-9280.1997.tb00460.x| citeseerx = 10.1.1.461.1149 | s2cid = 15851848 }}</ref> [[anxiety]], a sense of [[guilt (emotion)|guilt]] and [[crisis]] as well as loss of personal [[productivity]] and social disapproval for not meeting responsibilities or commitments. Together these feelings may promote further procrastination and for some individuals procrastination becomes almost [[chronic condition|chronic]]. Such procrastinators may have difficulties seeking support due to procrastination itself, but also [[social stigma]]s and the belief that task-aversion is caused by [[laziness]], lack of [[Self discipline|willpower]] or low ambition. In some cases, problematic procrastination might be a sign of some underlying [[Mental disorder|psychological disorder]].<ref name="Steel2007" />

Research on the [[physiological]] roots of procrastination have been concerned with the role of the [[prefrontal cortex]],<ref name="Evans2007">{{cite book|last=Evans|first=James R.|title=Handbook of Neurofeedback: Dynamics and Clinical Applications|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=20oUOtjs9DkC&pg=PA293|access-date=8 October 2010|date=8 August 2007|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-7890-3360-4|page=293|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601195833/http://books.google.com/books?id=20oUOtjs9DkC&pg=PA293|archive-date=1 June 2012}}</ref> the area of the brain that is responsible for [[executive functions|executive brain functions]] such as [[Inhibitory control|impulse control]], [[attention]] and planning. This is consistent with the notion that procrastination is strongly related to such functions, or a [[Executive dysfunction|lack thereof]]. The prefrontal cortex also acts as a filter, decreasing distracting stimuli from other brain regions. Damage or low activation in this area can reduce one's ability to avert diversions, which results in poorer organization, a loss of attention, and increased procrastination. This is similar to the prefrontal lobe's role in [[Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder|ADHD]], where it is commonly under-activated.<ref name="strub">{{cite journal |pmid=2775008 |year=1989 |last1=Strub |first1=RL |title=Frontal Lobe Syndrome in a Patient with Bilateral Globus Pallidus Lesions |volume=46 |issue=9 |pages=1024–27 |journal=Archives of Neurology |doi=10.1001/archneur.1989.00520450096027}}</ref>

In a 2014 U.S. study surveying procrastination and impulsiveness in [[twin#Dizygotic (fraternal) twins|fraternal]] and [[twin#Monozygotic (identical) twins|identical twin]] pairs, both traits were found to be "moderately heritable". The two traits were not separable at the genetic level (r<sub>genetic</sub> = 1.0), meaning no unique genetic influences of either trait alone was found.<ref name="gustav">{{cite journal|last=Gustavson|first=Daniel E|author2=Miyake A|author3=Hewitt JK|author4=Friedman NP|title=Genetic Relations Among Procrastination, Impulsivity, and Goal-Management Ability Implications for the Evolutionary Origin of Procrastination|journal=Psychological Science|date=4 April 2014|volume=25|doi= 10.1177/0956797614526260|pmid=24705635|issue=6|pages=1178–88|pmc=4185275}}</ref> The authors confirmed three constructs developed from the evolutionary hypothesis that procrastination arose as a by-product of impulsivity: "(a) Procrastination is heritable, (b) the two traits share considerable genetic variation, and (c) goal-management ability is an important component of this shared variation."<ref name="gustav" />