Abstract
BACKGROUND: The widespread use of digital devices among adolescents has raised concerns about the potential impact of screen time on sleep quality. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between screen time and self-reported sleep quality in adolescents. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on adolescents (13- to 19-year-olds) using multi-stage cluster sampling with probability proportional to the size of public schools. Data were collected in November 2022 through self-administered questionnaires. The questionnaire collected sociodemographic characteristics, sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and screen time on weekdays and weekends using the Screen Time Questionnaire (STQ). A scoring system was used in the PSQI and a global score of more than 5 indicates poor sleep quality. The relationship between screen time and sleep quality was analysed using simple and multiple linear regression. RESULTS: A total of 547 adolescents participated in the study, with a mean (SD) age of 16.66 (1.54) years. The mean (SD) PSQI score was 5.98 (2.70), and 52% of participants had poor sleep quality. The sleep disturbance component had the highest mean (SD) score at 1.35 (0.5) out of a total score of 3.0. The mean (SD) screen time for a weekday was 537.6 (301.5) minutes, and a weekend day was 725.5 (339.2) minutes. The highest median screen time was spent on smartphones during the whole week. A significant linear relationship was observed between age and PSQI global score (p = 0.008), with a 0.2 increase in PSQI global score for each year increase in age (95% CI: 0.05, 0.35). Being female was also significantly associated with a high PSQI global score (p < 0.001). Additionally, a significant linear relationship was observed between screen time on a weekend and PSQI score (p = 0.032). CONCLUSIONS: The study found that half of the adolescents had poor sleep quality, which was associated with being female, increased screen time on weekends, and older age. Future research endeavours should focus on conducting longitudinal studies to assess the temporal relationship between screen time and sleep quality.