A peer-reviewed study published on Tuesday in Frontiers in Psychiatry found that 40% of college students are addicted to their smartphones – and have poorer sleep quality.
In 2019, researchers at King’s College London interviewed 1,043 students aged 18 to 30 about smartphone use, including the average amount of use per day and time. They then compared it to the average number of hours that respondents reported sleeping during the week, as well as the overall quality of their sleep.
The study found that 38.9% of students were addicted to smartphones. Of those with addiction, 68.7% had poor sleep quality, compared with 57.1% of those who did not have addiction.
The researchers found that students who used the phone for several hours during activities with family or friends and after midnight were more likely to become addicted.
What’s more, the study found that those who stopped using the device an hour before bed were less likely to become addicted compared to those who stopped less than 30 minutes before bed.
However, according to the study, “smartphone addiction was associated with poor sleep, regardless of the duration of use, indicating that the time period should not be used as a proxy for harmful use”.
Students who used a smartphone for more than five hours a day, who were unable to control how long they stayed on the phone, who felt anguished for not being able to access the phone and who lost life’s activities as a result were considered addicted.
Another study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine in June reported similar findings with the relationship between smartphone overuse and sleep in younger children. The study concluded that the excessive use of smartphones is related to lower total sleep time and quality of sleep.
But some experts disagree with the term “smartphone addiction”. Smartphone addiction is not a condition recognized by any global health agency and there is no formal clinical diagnosis, according to Bob Patton, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Surrey, who studies addictive behaviors.
In addition, it is important to note that the results of the study cannot be applied to the general population because the study included only students and young adults.
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