Battling Sleep Disturbances and Academic Procrastination in Undergraduates: A Pilot Study on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy vs. Motivational Interviewing

OBJECTIVES: This pilot study aimed to preliminarily assess the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) vs. Motivational Interviewing (MI) in battling sleep disturbances and academic procrastination among Malaysian undergraduates.

METHOD: In this single-blind, quasi-experimental study, thirty undergraduate students were randomly assigned to either six online therapist-led Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) sessions (n = 15) or six online therapist-led Motivational Interviewing (MI) sessions (n = 15). The Tuckman Procrastination Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and Psy-Flex were administered at baseline, the end of session 3, session 6, and one-month follow-up.

RESULTS: Participants in both groups showed significant improvement in academic procrastination, sleep disturbances, and psychological flexibility(p