{"id":1894,"date":"2026-03-12T23:11:41","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T23:11:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ludoff.life\/?p=1894"},"modified":"2026-03-12T23:11:41","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T23:11:41","slug":"70-of-saudi-university-students-sleep-with-phones-nearby-or-under-the-pillow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ludoff.life\/?p=1894","title":{"rendered":"70% of Saudi university students sleep with phones nearby or under the pillow"},"content":{"rendered":"

The study \u201cPromoting a Smartphone\u2011Free Bedroom Environment to Enhance Sleep Quality among University Students\u201d<\/strong> examined how smartphone habits relate to sleep quality and related behaviors in a large sample of undergraduate students at Jazan University in Saudi Arabia<\/strong>. Designed as a cross\u2011sectional survey conducted between April and May 2023, the study used an online questionnaire to collect demographic data, smartphone usage patterns, and sleep quality scores<\/strong> using the validated Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Among 1,153 participants, the vast majority (90.03%) were between the ages of 18 and 24<\/strong>, predominantly female (82.91%), and mostly unmarried.<\/p>\n

The average global PSQI score was 8.19<\/strong>, indicating poor overall sleep quality<\/strong> across the sample. Nearly three\u2011quarters of participants (73.46%<\/strong>) reported using smartphones for more than six hours daily, and almost all (92.37%) kept their devices close while sleeping<\/strong>. Over two\u2011thirds spent at least one hour on their phones at bedtime<\/strong>, and a significant portion woke up at least once during the night to check their smartphones.<\/p>\n

Regression analysis identified several significant predictors of poor sleep quality<\/strong>: using a smartphone in the evening, waking up multiple times to check the phone, and spending 1\u20132 hours or more on the device right before bedtime. Waking up twice or more to check a smartphone was the strongest predictor, significantly increasing PSQI scores.<\/p>\n

In addition to overall poor sleep quality, specific issues were highlighted. Participants who spent more time on smartphones before bed experienced longer sleep latency (taking over 60 minutes to fall asleep), more frequent sleep disturbances, greater reliance on sleep medications, and increased daytime dysfunction<\/strong>. These findings underline how bedtime smartphone use can affect both nighttime rest and daytime functioning<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Beyond sleep outcomes, the study contextualized smartphone use as widespread and deeply integrated into students\u2019 routines: 84.65% used their smartphones immediately upon waking<\/strong>, and nearly three\u2011quarters used them in the afternoon and evening.<\/p>\n

The authors conclude that high levels of smartphone use \u2014 especially at bedtime \u2014 are significant risk factors for poor sleep quality among Saudi university students<\/strong> and suggest promoting smartphone\u2011free bedroom environments and better sleep hygiene practices to improve rest and overall well\u2011being.<\/p>\n

\"\ud83d\udd0d\"\u00a0Want the full picture?<\/p>\n

https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC12130935\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The study \u201cPromoting a Smartphone\u2011Free Bedroom Environment to Enhance Sleep Quality among University Students\u201d examined how smartphone habits relate to sleep quality and related behaviors in a large sample of undergraduate students at Jazan University in Saudi Arabia. Designed as a cross\u2011sectional survey conducted between April and May 2023, the study used an online questionnaire […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":1895,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-study"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ludoff.life\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ludoff.life\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ludoff.life\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ludoff.life\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ludoff.life\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1894"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ludoff.life\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1897,"href":"https:\/\/ludoff.life\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1894\/revisions\/1897"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ludoff.life\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ludoff.life\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ludoff.life\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ludoff.life\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}