ArticlePloS one2023
The association between smartphone use and sleep quality, psychological distress, and loneliness among health care students and workers in Saudi Arabia.
Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exploring the link between internet addiction and sleep quality and the implications of this relationship: a systematic review.Trends in psychiatry and psychotherapy · 2025Pooled it
- A narrative review of challenges faced by informal caregivers of people with dementia in the Middle East and North Africa.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Association between electronic device use time and self-rated health in medical students: mediating role of sleep quality and moderating effect of psychological stress.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Article
- Promoting a Smartphone-Free Bedroom Environment to Enhance Sleep Quality among University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study from Saudi Arabia.Pakistan journal of medical sciences · 2025Article
- Predictors of the Intention to Stop Using Smart Devices at Bedtime Among University Students in Saudi Arabia: Cross-Sectional Survey.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- The influence of difficult child temperament and parenting stress on parental problematic smartphone use in early childhood: a moderated mediation analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- The association between internet addiction and sleep quality among medical students in Saudi Arabia.Annals of medicine · 2024Article
- Adolescents smartphone screen time and its association with caries symptoms experience from the Korea youth risk behavior web-based survey 2020-2021.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Social Media Use and Sleep Quality Among Secondary School Students in Aseer Region: A Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of general medicine · 2024Article
- Prevalence of smartphone addiction and its relation with psychological distress and internet gaming disorder among medical college students.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Influence of smartphone addiction on sleep quality of college students: The regulatory effect of physical exercise behavior.PloS one · 2024Article
- Nomophobia (No Mobile Phone Phobia) and Psychological Health Issues among Young Adult Students.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2023Article
- Social Support and Daytime Sleepiness Among Chinese Medical Students: Mediating Roles of Loneliness and Problematic Smartphone Use.Psychology research and behavior management · 2023Article
- Prevalence of Nomophobia and Its Association with Academic Performance Among Physiotherapy Students in Saudi Arabia: A Cross- Sectional Survey.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2023Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe use of smartphones among the general public and health care practitioners, in particular, is ubiquitous. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between smartphone addiction and sleep quality, psychological distress, and loneliness among health care students and workers in Saudi Arabia.
methodsThis cross-sectional study used an online questionnaire to collect data on smartphone addiction, sleep quality, psychological distress, and loneliness as well as demographic information.
resultsA total of 773 health care students and workers participated in the study, with an average age of 25.95 ± 8.35, and 59.6% female participants. The study found a positive significant association between smartphone addiction and psychological distress (F(1,771) = 140.8, P < 0.001) and emotional loneliness (F(1,771) = 26.70, P < 0.001). Additionally, a significant negative association between smartphone addiction and sleep quality was found (F(1,771) = 4.208, P = 0.041). However, there was no significant relationship between smartphone addiction and social loneliness (F (1,771) = 0.544, P < 0.461).
conclusionThese findings suggest that smartphone addiction has a negative impact on psychological distress, sleep quality, and emotional loneliness among health care students and workers. It is important to promote strategies to reduce smartphone dependency in order to avoid the harmful consequences of smartphone addiction.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.