Influence of smartphone addiction on sleep and mental wellbeing among dental students

Background: In terms of connectivity and at hand accessibility to the ocean of information, smartphones could be considered a boon to the students. Yet, due their lucrative benefits, addictive behaviour is surfacing, hampering the sleep quality and mental wellbeing among individuals.Aim: To assess the influence of smartphone addiction on sleep and mental wellbeing among undergraduate dental students of Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted to assess the smartphone addiction (SAS-SV), sleep quality (PSQI) and mental wellbeing (WHO-5 Well Being Index), among 427 undergraduate dental students. Mean values and frequency distributions were used to assess the addiction levels, sleep quality and wellbeing. Multiple regression analysis was performed to assess the influence of independent SAS-SV components and smartphone related variables on sleep and mental wellbeing.Results: Smartphone addiction was seen among 42.60 % (n = 190) of students. Majority of the smartphone addicts used the phone during the night and approximately for 6-8 hs/day. Also, smartphone addicts reported poorer sleep quality (8.16 +/- 3.74; p = 0.00) and wellbeing (12.46 +/- 4.94; p = 0.00). The components of SAS-SV 'Daily life disturbance' influenced PSQI (p = 0.000) and WHO-5 WBI scores (p = 0.009), whereas, 'Withdrawal' and 'Tolerance' had influenced the PSQI scores (p = 0.000; p = 0.00) alone. Smartphone related variables had no influence on sleep quality and wellbeing (p > 0.01)Conclusion: Findings of the study showed that 42 % of the students were addicted to smartphone. Smartphone addiction demonstrated a positive correlation with poor sleep quality and negative correlation with mental wellbeing among this sample.