The association between smartphone use and sleep quality, psychological distress, and loneliness among health care students and workers in Saudi Arabia

Alzhrani, Abdullah Muhammad; Aboalshamat, Khalid; Badawoud, Amal Mohammmad; Abdouh, Ismail; Badri, Hatim Matooq; Quronfulah, Baraa Sami; Mahmoud, Mahmoud Abdulrahman; Rajeh, Mona

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0280681

Cited by 13 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“… 34 , 70 This also supports the I-PACE model, 49 namely that medical students with higher levels of loneliness are more prone to utilizing online social interactions to meet their social-emotional and social relationship needs, and are more at risk of exhibiting problematic smartphone use behaviors, emotional problems, and poor sleep health. 71 , 72 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Support and Daytime Sleepiness Among Chinese Medical Students: Mediating Roles of Loneliness and Problematic Smartphone Use

Chen,

Li,

Wen

2023

PRBM

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Background Sleep problems have become a serious threat to public health worldwide. Daytime sleepiness is an important indicator of many sleep problems, which have a significant impact on academic performance, physical and mental health, and wellbeing among medical students. We aimed to explore the factors associated with daytime sleepiness among medical students. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 466 medical students recruited via convenience sampling. Self-rated psychometric scales, including the Social Support Rate Scale, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, the Chinese version of the UCLA loneliness scale, and the Mobile Phone Addiction Index (MPAI), were utilized to evaluate social support, daytime sleepiness, loneliness, and problematic smartphone use. A sequential mediation model was constructed with daytime sleepiness as the dependent variable, social support as the independent variable, and loneliness and problematic smartphone use as mediating variables. Age, gender, and grade were taken as covariates. Results Social support among medical students was negatively associated with loneliness, problematic smartphone use, and daytime sleepiness ( p < 0.01). A sequential mediation analysis showed that loneliness (the first mediator) and problematic smartphone use (the second mediator) sequentially mediated the path from social support to daytime sleepiness among medical students ( β = −0.008; 95% CI = −0.016, −0.002). Moreover, there were also significant mediating roles observed in the relationship between social support and daytime sleepiness via loneliness only ( β = −0.037; 95% CI = −0.062, −0.015) and problematic smartphone use only ( β = −0.022; 95% CI = −0.041, −0.008). Conclusion Social support, loneliness, and problematic smartphone use among medical students influenced their daytime sleepiness. Interventions targeting medical student loneliness and problematic smartphone use behaviors might attenuate the effects from low levels of social support and further improve daytime sleepiness.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Support and Daytime Sleepiness Among Chinese Medical Students: Mediating Roles of Loneliness and Problematic Smartphone Use

Chen,

Li,

Wen

2023

PRBM

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“…Particularly, short-wavelength emissions from electronic devices delay the onset and phases of sleep [ 23 ]. Additionally, excessive internet usage may result in gray matter atrophy, negatively impacting an individual’s concentration and decision-making abilities [ 25 ]. Poor sleep quality further impairs cognitive processes like memory and learning abilities, putting students’ academic performance at risk and leading to physical and psychological health problems, as well as disruptions in other growth and development processes [ 20 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Pew Research Centre reports that smartphone ownership among individuals in Saudi Arabia ranges from 60% to 95%, and this percentage continues to rise [ 32 ]. Nearly 99% of adults in Saudi Arabia own smartphones [ 25 ]. The internet encompasses various social media and smart applications, extensively used in education, healthcare, and entertainment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Saudi Arabia hosts approximately 36 universities with over 1.7 million students [ 8 ]. Despite limited studies in Saudi Arabia that have examined the prevalence of internet addiction and its correlation with certain variables [ 5 , 8 , 25 , 29 , 33 , 35 , 36 ]. There is a dearth of research on internet addiction and sleep quality among university students, particularly those in medical specialties.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The association between internet addiction and sleep quality among medical students in Saudi Arabia

Hammad,

Alyami,

Awed

2024

Annals of Medicine

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Background Sleep is one of the fundamental human needs, essential for maintaining a high quality of life and mental and physical well-being across all age groups. Poor sleep quality often stems from negative lifestyle habits, including excessive internet usage. Therefore, it is important to determine the prevalence of internet gaming disorder among youth in Saudi Arabia and to examine the relationship between internet addiction levels and sleep quality. Methods Data were collected from 338 medical students in the southern region of Saudi Arabia (mean age = 21.2 years, standard deviation = 3.29 years). Participants completed an online questionnaire comprising the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Data analysis employed iterations, chi-square tests, Pearson correlation coefficients, and ANOVA. Results The results revealed that 21% of the participants exhibited severe internet addiction, while 31% displayed moderate internet addiction. Furthermore, the findings indicated a positive correlation between sleep quality and the severity of internet addiction. Sleep quality symptoms explained 75% of the variance in Internet addiction scores, even after controlling for demographic variables. Additional bivariate analyses revealed that individuals who spent six or more hours online daily were more likely to experience symptoms of poor sleep quality and exhibit a higher severity of internet addiction. Additionally, Men were more susceptible to developing internet addiction compared to women. Moreover, students with internet addiction tended to have lower academic achievements. Conclusion These findings, while exploratory, offer valuable insights into potential interventions, strategies, and programs for mitigating internet addiction and enhancing sleep quality among medical college students.

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“…In this context, nomophobia (no mobile phone phobia) is considered a modern age-specific anxiety for not being able to communicate, for losing connectedness, for not being able to access information, and for giving up convenience [ 1 ]. The literature is not consistent as regards the wording and the underlying theoretical psychological concepts, in that some are talking about nomophobia [ 1 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ], while some claim that excessive smart phone use is considered a smart phone addiction [ 5 , 9 , 10 , 12 , 29 , 30 ] or problematic or excessive smart phone use [ 6 , 11 , 31 , 32 ]. Further, to make the point in the case, nomophobia and excessive smart phone use were associated with higher scores for emotional loneliness and insomnia among a sample of 773 students (mean age: 25.95 years; 59.6% females) [ 29 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nomophobia (No Mobile Phone Phobia) and Psychological Health Issues among Young Adult Students

Abdoli,

Sadeghi-Bahmani,

Salari

et al. 2023

EJIHPE

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Background: Smart phone use has become a part of people’s everyday life. However, when the lack of using the smart phone to establish and maintain electronic communication is related to psychological distress, such a behavior may be considered a modern-age phobia, or nomophobia (no mobile phone phobia). The aims of the present study were to investigate among a sample of young adults the associations between scores for nomophobia and symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia, and obsessive–compulsive disorders. Methods: A total of 537 students (mean age: 25.52 years; 42.3% females) participated in the study. They completed a booklet of self-rating questionnaires covering sociodemographic information and symptoms of nomophobia, depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia, and obsessive–compulsive disorders. Results: Higher scores for nomophobia were associated with higher scores for depression, anxiety, and stress, but not with scores for insomnia and obsessive–compulsive disorders. The regression model confirmed that symptoms of anxiety predicted nomophobia. Conclusions: The present results support the assumption that nomophobia appears to be a mood disturbance related to stronger associations with symptoms of anxiety and, to a lesser extent, with symptoms of depression and stress. By contrast, nomophobia appeared to be unrelated to insomnia and symptoms of obsessive–compulsive disorders.

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The association between smartphone use and sleep quality, psychological distress, and loneliness among health care students and workers in Saudi Arabia

Cited by 13 publications

References 51 publications

Social Support and Daytime Sleepiness Among Chinese Medical Students: Mediating Roles of Loneliness and Problematic Smartphone Use

Social Support and Daytime Sleepiness Among Chinese Medical Students: Mediating Roles of Loneliness and Problematic Smartphone Use

The association between internet addiction and sleep quality among medical students in Saudi Arabia

Nomophobia (No Mobile Phone Phobia) and Psychological Health Issues among Young Adult Students

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