Mediating Role of Sleep Hygiene in the Association Between Time Perspective and Chronotype

Previous studies have consistently demonstrated associations between time perspective and chronotype, but the mechanisms underlying these associations remain poorly understood. Drawing on the view that time perspective manifests in behaviours that can shape bedtime routines, which in turn affect the state component of chronotype, the present study examined whether sleep hygiene mediates the relationship between time perspective and chronotype. Among 455 adults who self-reported time perspective, sleep hygiene, and chronotype, eveningness was associated with poorer sleep hygiene, lower future and past-positive orientations, higher past-negative orientation, and greater deviation from a balanced time perspective. Furthermore, poor sleep hygiene was associated with lower future and lower past-positive orientations, higher present-fatalistic orientation, and greater deviation from a balanced time perspective. Mediation analyses demonstrated that the associations of lower future and past-positive orientations, higher past-negative, and greater deviation from a balanced time perspective with chronotype were partly mediated by poor sleep hygiene. These findings suggest that the indirect associations between time perspective and chronotype through sleep hygiene are consistent with the proposed theoretical mechanism. The results align with the view that chronotype incorporates a state component that represents a potential target of sleep hygiene interventions aimed at shifting this component toward morningness for some individuals.