Effects of exposure to screens on sleep quality in higher education students

Introduction: The definition of normal sleep is described as that which provides an individual with a feeling of well-being or physical and mental rest after a night's sleep. The literature has established that one of the high-risk groups predisposed to being affected by sleep disorders are students. According to some authors, sleep deprivation causes depression, agitation, apathy and poor academic performance in students, with the main reason for the decline in academic performance being the reduction in the total number of hours of sleep. Objectives: To evaluate the quality of sleep in higher education students and relate it to exposure to screens. Materials and Methods: The sample was collected by completing online surveys by students. The survey consists of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESE) and another part to characterize the sample and evaluate consumption habits and exposure to screens. Results: Data was collected from 94 students aged between 18 and 33 years. The prevalence of poor sleep quality was 50%. It was found that those who slept less than 7 hours per night had a higher prevalence of poor sleep quality, with a statistical significance of 0.002. Conclusion: This study found that more than half of the students studied slept less than 7 hours and that they had poor sleep quality.