Relations of Bedtime Mobile Phone Use to Cognitive Functioning, Academic Performance, and Sleep Quality in Undergraduate Students

Abstract

The present cross-sectional study examined the relations of bedtime mobile phone use to cognitive functioning, academic performance, and sleep quality in a sample of undergraduate students. Three hundred eighty-five undergraduate students completed a self-administered questionnaire containing sociodemographic variables, bedtime mobile phone use, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (attention and verbal memory). At bivariate level, increased scores in bedtime mobile phone use were significantly correlated with decreased scores in academic performance and sleep quality. Our multivariate findings show that increased scores in bedtime mobile phone use uniquely predicted decreased scores in academic performance and sleep quality, while controlling for gender, age, and ethnicity. Further untangling the relations of bedtime mobile phone use to academic performance and sleep quality may prove complex. Future studies with longitudinal data are needed to examine the bidirectional effect that bedtime mobile phone use may have on academic performance and sleep quality.

Use of mobile phones by youth regarding the potential health consequences – a survey study

“…On the other hand, sleep can be negatively affected by stress, also related to news in mobile phones, cognitive and emotional stimulation, or exposure to blue light before bedtime. Using the telephone at night may negatively affect attention, verbal memory, and learning efficiency [13]. Late bedtime and poor sleep contribute to problems with getting up and sleepiness during the day.…”

“…In recent years, there have been a sharp increase in the development of telecommunication and the number of mobile phone users [1]. The latest phone modelssmartphones are multifunctional and broadly available, making them a convenient tool for watching movies, listening to music, and quick communication [2]. They are used at school, at work, in a restaurant, and even in the toilet.…”

Impact of Intense Social Media Usage on Sleeping Pattern

“…Nighttime television and social media usage were positively associated with weight and weight status among different first-semester college students in America [17]. The impact of college student bedtime and increased mobile phone usage was substantially decreased with academic achievement and sleep quality [18]. It is essential to understand how much time college students invest in social networking platforms and the activities they participate.…”

Smartphone use and daily cognitive failures: A critical examination using a daily diary approach with objective smartphone measures

“…Firstly, many of the previous studies have not controlled for important variables and relied on between‐person association to study the link between smartphone use and cognitive functions (e.g., Al‐Khlaiwi et al, 2020; Chen et al, 2016; Ragupathi et al, 2020; Wilmer & Chein, 2016), thus susceptible to myriad confounds related to individual differences. For example, socioeconomic status (SES) can potentially confound the relationship between smartphone use and cognitive functions as SES has been shown to be negatively associated with smartphone use (e.g., Rahmati et al, 2012) while being positively associated with cognitive development (e.g., Hartanto et al, 2019; Raizada & Kishiyama, 2010).…”