Social media use has become an extremely popular pastime for young adults. Unfortunately, it is linked to poor sleep quality, which is a risk factor for mental and physical health challenges. In an article titled “Determinants of Subjective Poor Sleep Quality in Social Media Users Among Freshmen College Students,” Saudi researchers found significant links between types of social media use and quality of sleep.
The researchers asked 842 freshman college students who used social media to complete a questionnaire. The researchers analyzed differences in the characteristics of poor and good sleepers and estimated the relative risk of poor sleep quality in relation to social media usage patterns.
More than 75 percent of the participants reported poor sleep quality. There was a significant difference in the poor sleep quality rate between males and females, with more than 66 percent of males and more than 79 percent of females having poor sleep quality. Among those who were physically active, 67 percent experienced poor sleep quality compared to 82.4 percent among those who were less active. Among the students who were mentally depressed, 86 percent reported sleep issues as opposed to only 61.5 percent who were not depressed. Similar differences occurred for those with and without anxiety. Generally, the risk of poor sleep quality was lower among the students who used social media for education, had higher laptop usage, and had higher social media usage during the daytime. The risk of poor sleep quality was higher among those who reported their social media usage occurred mostly at bedtime.
The study revealed that among social media users, poor sleep quality was related to these sociodemographic features, lifestyle characteristics, and health-risk factors.
Source: Determinants of Subjective Poor Sleep Quality in Social Media Users Among Freshman College Students