Night Time Gadget Use and Quality of Sleep among Health Science Students in Bangalore, India

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Electronic gadgets have become a necessity for modern life, and unstructured
use of these devices can result in sleep disturbances among youth in the digital era. This study
correlated patterns of nighttime electronic gadget use and quality of sleep among health science
students.
METHODS: Cross-sectional research study was conducted among 243 health science students
of selected colleges in Bangalore. The subjects comprised students from pharmacy 79 (32.6%),
physiotherapy 79 (32.6%) and nursing 84 (34.7%). A self-administered questionnaire was used to
collect demographic information on nighttime electronic gadget use. Sleep quality was assessed
using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).
RESULTS: Watching movies (43.6%), communicating (36.1%) and academic use (20.3%) were the
most reported purposes of nighttime gadget use among the students. 22.8 % of the participants
were using the gadgets for 2-4 hours and 7.5 % of the students used them for more than 5 hours
at night. Linear regression analysis revealed that the habit of checking one’s phone at night and
staying up late at night had an impact on the daytime activity of students. Subjective sleep quality,
sleep latency, sleep duration and sleep efficiency were significantly affected by nighttime gadget
use.
CONCLUSION: Unrestricted gadget use during nighttime can result in sleep-deprived individuals
who may not be able to perform as efficiently. Effective measures should be initiated to structure
the use of technologies.