Background: Due to the ease of access, the use of mobile phones is increasing. Sleep is a basic necessity that constitutes almost a third of the human lifetime. This research was conducted to investigate the degree of dependence on mobile phone and its relationship with sleep quality among students of Bam University of Medical Sciences.
Methods: This was an analytical study conducted cross-sectionally in 2020 on 280 students of Bam University of Medical Sciences using a stratified sampling method. In this research, Jenaro et al’s Excessive Use of Cell Phone Questionnaire was used to measure degree of dependence on mobile phones, and the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Questionnaire was used to measure sleep quality.
Results: Of the 280 subjects in this research, 59.3% were female, and 95% were single. Regarding the field of study, the highest percentage belonged to medicine (9.28%) and the lowest to emergency medicine (1.02%). The average score for dependence on mobile phones was 2.07 ± 1.34, and the average sleep quality score was 1.34 ± 0.47. The average dependence on mobile phones was 2.11 + 0.346 among male students and 2.04 ± 0.255 among female students (P = 0.04). A statistically significant correlation was found between dependence on mobile phones and sleep quality (r=0.152) (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: The increase in the use of mobile phones leads to poor sleep quality. This relationship causes adverse effects on health, academic performance, energy, etc. Therefore, more attention from officials and policymakers is required for interventions such as increasing scientific, cultural, educational, recreational, and research programs.