Social Media Use and Sleep Disturbances among Medical Undergraduates in Southern Nigeria

Abstract: This study sought to determine the average time spent on social media by medical undergraduates in
University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria and to determine the relationship between social media use and
disturbances of sleep quality and quantity amongst medical undergraduates in University of Uyo. It was a cross sectional
population based study among 208 medical students in University of Uyo, Southern Nigeria. They were randomly
selected with a proportionate stratified random sampling method and data collection was done using a self-reporting
anonymous questionnaire. Social media use was assessed using multiple items reflecting the frequency, volume, location
and platform of social media use. The average time spent on social media by respondents was 1-3 hours. Proportionately,
the most time was spent on Facebook. In models that adjusted for all covariates, participants who spent more time on
social media per day had significantly greater odds of having disturbance of sleep quality. Compared with those who
spent more than 3 hours per day on social media, those who spent 1-3 hours per day had an adjusted odds ratio of 4.59
(95%CI: 4.14-5.48, p value < 0.001) for sleep disturbance. A significant association was reported between volume of
social media use and sleep disturbance. This has important clinical implications for the health of young adults. Future
work would focus on the interactions on the various social media platforms that make their use significant to young
adults.