Background The use of smartphones among the general public and health care practitioners, in particular, is ubiquitous. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between smartphone addiction and sleep quality, psychological distress, and loneliness among health care students and workers in Saudi Arabia. Methods This cross-sectional study used an online questionnaire to collect data on smartphone addiction, sleep quality, psychological distress, and loneliness as well as demographic information. Results A total of 773 health care students and workers participated in the study, with an average age of 25.95 ± 8.35, and 59.6% female participants. The study found a positive significant association between smartphone addiction and psychological distress (F(1,771) = 140.8, P < 0.001) and emotional loneliness (F(1,771) = 26.70, P < 0.001). Additionally, a significant negative association between smartphone addiction and sleep quality was found (F(1,771) = 4.208, P = 0.041). However, there was no significant relationship between smartphone addiction and social loneliness (F (1,771) = 0.544, P < 0.461). Conclusion These findings suggest that smartphone addiction has a negative impact on psychological distress, sleep quality, and emotional loneliness among health care students and workers. It is important to promote strategies to reduce smartphone dependency in order to avoid the harmful consequences of smartphone addiction.

With the rapid evolution of technology and social media, there has been a growing trend of social media addiction among health care professionals and this could have negative consequences on their mental health. This study was done to assess the relationship between social media addiction and; (i) psychological distress; (ii) sleep quality; and (iii) loneliness among health care professional in Saudi Arabia. This cross sectional study used an electronic questionnaire that was distributed through social media. The questionnaire included questions related to the measurement of demographics in terms of social media addiction, sleep quality, psychological distress, and loneliness. A total of 773 health care students or practitioners from different cities in Saudi Arabia completed the questionnaires. The participants score of psychological distress was directly associated with social media addiction (p<0.001), with Rsquared of 0.189. There was an inverse relationship between social media addiction and sleep quality (p<0.001). There was strong positive association between social media addiction and emotional loneliness (p=0.006, R-squared=0.01). Our study suggests social media addiction is strongly associated with psychological distress, sleep quality and loneliness.