Smartphone Addiction and Its Relationship with Sleep Quality among University Students

Background/purpose. Smartphone addiction is widespread among adolescents. Recent literature reports a strong link between excessive use of smart devices and declines in sleep quality. This study investigated smartphone addiction and sleep quality among adolescents at a university and examined differences by demographic variables (gender and academic level).

Materials/methods. Using a descriptive correlational approach, a sample of 295 male and female students was selected from a Saudi university using stratified random sampling. Data were collected using the Smartphone Addiction and Sleep Quality Scales.

Results. University students suffer from high levels of smartphone addiction symptoms. Multidimensional sleep disturbances were prevalent, with the most common being difficulty initiating sleep and reduced overall sleep duration. Next, addiction levels significantly differed by gender, favoring males. However, no differences were observed by academic level. Correlation analysis results showed significant relationships between some addiction dimensions and sleep quality, particularly a negative relationship between loss of control and sleep duration, and a positive relationship between psychological distress and difficulty initiating sleep. Linear regression analysis indicated that addiction dimensions like social withdrawal, relationship deterioration, distress, and negative emotions significantly contribute to predicting sleep quality decline. However, the model explains a limited amount of variance.

Conclusion. Smartphone addiction negatively affects sleep quality among university adolescents, with detailed effects from two dimensions: social action and negative beliefs.

Keywords: Smartphone addiction, sleep quality, university students, sleep and mental health

References

Aftab, T., & Khyzer, E. (2023). Smartphone addiction and its association with hypertension and quality of sleep among medical students of Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Medical Journal, 44(10), 1013. https://doi.org/10.15537/SMJ.2023.44.10.20230402

Alahdal, W. M., Alsaedi, A. A., Garrni, A. S., Alharbi, F. S., Alahdal Jr, W. M., Alsaedi, A., Al-Garrni, A. S., & Alharbi, F. (2023). The impact of smartphone addiction on sleep quality among high school students in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Cureus, 15(6). https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.40759

Alam, M., Abbas, K., Sharf, Y., & Khan, S. (2024). Impacts of blue light exposure from electronic devices on circadian rhythm and sleep disruption in adolescent and young adult students. Chronobiology in Medicine, 6(1), 10–14. https://doi.org/10.33069/cim.2024.0004

Alosaimi, F. D., Alyahya, H., Alshahwan, H., Al Mahyijari, N., & Shaik, S. A. (2016). Smartphone addiction among university students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Medical Journal, 37(6), 675. https://doi.org/10.15537/smj.2016.6.14430

Alshoaibi, Y., Bafil, W., & Rahim, M. (2023). The effect of screen use on sleep quality among adolescents in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Journal of family medicine and primary care, 12(7), 1379–1388. https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_159_23

Delahoyde, M.-K., Tyack, C., Kugarajah, S., & Joseph, D. (2024). Insomnia and other sleep disorders in adolescence. BMJ Paediatrics Open, 8(1), e001229. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjpo-2021-001229

Elamin, N. O., Almasaad, J. M., Busaeed, R. B., Aljafari, D. A., & Khan, M. A. (2024). Smartphone addiction, stress, and depression among university students. Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health, 25, 101487. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cegh.2023.101487

Emanuel, R., Bell, R., Cotton, C., Craig, J., Drummond, D., Gibson, S., Harris, A., Harris, M., Hatcher-Vance, C., & Jones, S. (2015). The truth about smartphone addiction. College Student Journal, 49(2), 291–299.

Espie, C. A. (2002). Insomnia: conceptual issues in the development, persistence, and treatment of sleep disorders in adults. Annual Review of Psychology, 53(1), 215–243. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135243

Gao, T., Zhang, H., Shi, Y., Xu, Y., Zhou, C., & Meng, X. (2025). The co-occurrence between depressive symptoms and smartphone addiction: a network analysis. Behaviour & Information Technology, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2025.2525300

Gori, A., & Topino, E. (2024). Theoretical Perspectives and Empirical Evidence on the Association Between Alexithymia and Social Media Addiction. Handbook of the Behavior and Psychology of Disease (pp. 1–20).

Hangouche, A. J. E., Jniene, A., Aboudrar, S., Errguig, L., Rkain, H., Cherti, M., & Dakka, T. (2018). Relationship between poor quality sleep, excessive daytime sleepiness, and low academic performance in medical students. Advances in Medical Education and Practice, 631–638. https://doi.org/10.2147/AMEP.S162350

Karaaziz, M., & Keskindağ, B. (2015). “I love my smartphone”: A review study of smartphone addiction and related psychological risk factors. Journal of Dependence, 16(2), 78-85.

Karaaziz, M., Keskindağ, B., & Dergisi, B. (2015). I love my smartphone: a review study of smartphone addiction and related psychological risk factors. Bağımlılık Dergisi, 16(2), 78-85.

Kılıç, F. E., Küçükkelepçe, O., & Konyalıoğlu, F. S. (2025). The role of smartphone addiction and family dynamics in sleep quality among earthquake-affected adolescents. BMC Psychiatry, 25(1), 481. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-025-06926-w

Li, S., Deng, Y., Cai, L., & Wu, L. (2025). The relationship between smartphone addiction and sleep disorder among college students: negative emotions as a mediator and gender as a moderator. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 16, 1542243. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1542243

Mac Cárthaigh, S., Griffin, C., & Perry, J. (2020). The relationship between sleep and problematic smartphone use among adolescents: A systematic review. Developmental Review, 55, 100897. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2020.100897

Mahfouz, M. S., Ali, S. A., Bahari, A. Y., Ajeebi, R. E., Sabei, H. J., Somaily, S. Y., Madkhali, Y. A., Hrooby, R. H., & Shook, R. a. N. (2020). Association between sleep quality and physical activity in Saudi Arabian University students. Nature and Science of Sleep, 775–782. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.2147/NSS.S267996

Nikolic, A., Bukurov, B., Kocic, I., Vukovic, M., Ladjevic, N., Vrhovac, M., Pavlović, Z., Grujicic, J., Kisic, D., & Sipetic, S. (2023). Smartphone addiction, sleep quality, depression, anxiety, and stress among medical students. Frontiers in Public Health, 11, 1252371. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1252371

Ozkaya, H., Serdar, M., Acar, H., Pekgor, S., & Arica, S. G. (2020). Evaluation of the frequency/addiction of smartphone use and its effect on sleep quality in university students. , , . https://doi.org/10.5455/annalsmedres.2019.11.737

Rathakrishnan, B., Bikar Singh, S. S., Kamaluddin, M. R., Yahaya, A., Mohd Nasir, M. A., Ibrahim, F., & Ab Rahman, Z. (2021). Smartphone addiction and sleep quality on academic performance of university students: An exploratory research. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(16), 8291. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168291

Reisenzein, R. (2017). Varieties of cognition-arousal theory. Emotion Review, 9(1), 17–26. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073916639665

Samat, F., Mokhtar, M., & Wahab, S. (2020). The Relationship between smartphone addiction, sleep quality, and stress among university students. Journal Personalia Pelajar, 23(1).

Santoro, G., Musetti, A., Costanzo, A., & Schimmenti, A. (2025). Self-discontinuity in behavioral addictions: A psychodynamic framework. Addictive Behaviors Reports, 100601. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2025.100601

Sohn, S. Y., Krasnoff, L., Rees, P., Kalk, N. J., & Carter, B. (2021). The association between smartphone addiction and sleep: a UK cross-sectional study of young adults. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 629407. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.629407

Tossell, C., Kortum, P., Shepard, C., & Rahmati, A. (2015). Exploring smartphone addiction: insights from long-term telemetric behavioral measures. International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies, 9(2). https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v9i2.4300

Ütük, F. A., Yücel, O., Asadi, M., Yücel, M., Yanık, D., Demirhindi, H., Mete, B., & Mete, E. D. (2025). A Mediational Evaluation of Smartphone Addiction Effect on Insomnia and Sleepiness in Adolescents and Young Adults. Turkish Journal of Sleep Medicine,. https://doi.org/ 10.4274/jtsm.galenos.2024.30074

Yogesh, M., Ladani, H., & Parmar, D. (2024). Associations between smartphone addiction, parenting styles, and mental well-being among adolescents aged 15–19 years in Gujarat, India. BMC Public Health, 24(1), 2462. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19991-9

Zhu, W., Liu, J., Lou, H., Mu, F., & Li, B. (2024). Influence of smartphone addiction on sleep quality of college students: The regulatory effect of physical exercise behavior. PLOS One, 19(7), e0307162. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0307162

Announcement

EDUPIJ Citation Metrics

EDUPIJ News!