The Impact of Using Cell Phones After Light-Out on Sleep Quality, Headache, Tiredness, and Distractibility Among Students of a University in North of Iran

Background: Cell phone is a mere fascinating, as well as entertainment object and serves to keep young individuals in constant contact with their peers; and gives them a feeling of autonomy, identity and credibility.

Objectives: Considering the increasing trend of using cell phones, the aim of the current study was to assess the extent to which the students of Mazandaran university of medical sciences use their phones after light-out, and to determine its relationship with sleep quality, headache, tiredness, and distractibility, after elimination of the impact of stressful events.

Materials and methods: Overall, 358 students from different schools of the university participated in a cross-sectional study with self-report questionnaires (demographic questionnaire, cell phone use questionnaire, Pittsburgh sleep quality index, and social readjustment rating scale). Descriptive indices were used to express data, and the chi-square and logistic regression were used to interpret the results.

Results: Overall, 60% of the students used their cell phones after lights were out. There was a significant relationship between using cell phones late at night and insomnia, low energy, tiredness and headache. Once the impact of stressful events was eliminated, the relationship remained significant only for insomnia. No significant relationship was observed between using cell phones and distractibility.

Conclusions: Students of Mazandaran university of medical sciences used their cell phones extensively after lights were out and the resulting insomnia may have affected their learning, as well as the quality of medical services provided by them.