SMARTPHONE USE BEFORE SLEEP AND ITS EFFECT ON SLEEP QUALITY AMONG HOSTELIZED UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

The technology that has developed and the smartphones that are available to students now can have an effect on their sleep. The current study explores the use of smartphone by students of the hostel before sleeping and its impact on students’ sleep quality in Faisalabad, Pakistan. The study adopted a qualitative research design and used a purposive sampling technique, while the target population for this study comprised 10 students of the hostel who are known to use a smartphone while in bed. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data obtained from semi-structured interviews. The themes that emerged during the analysis were: Pre-Bedtime Mobile Usage Routine, Affective regulation And Monotony Relief, Impairment in Sleep Initiation, Sleep Fragmentation and Daytime Exhaustion, Cognitive Awareness but Self-Control Deficit. The results show that the students' psychological coping mechanism to overcome the loneliness phenomenon in hostel is using a smartphone, which was found to have an impact on sleep latency and excessive daytime sleepiness. At this level, they mean there is a need to raise awareness and implement practical digital well-being programs and guidelines to the university administrations, especially with regard to sleep hygiene in the context of hostels.