A cross-sectional study on internet addiction disorder and its association with sleep quality in young adults

Abstract

Background: India is estimated to have 650 million Internet users in the country by 2023, with such explosive numbers internet addiction is emerging to be a major concern within the nation, particularly among youngsters. Aim:To study internet addiction disorder and its association with sleep quality in young adults. Methods And Materials: A cross-sectional study was conducted enrolling a total of 310 participants. Internet addiction and sleep quality were assessed in these participants using Young's Internet Addiction Scale and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, respectively. Result: Out of 310 participants, a total of 140 (45.1%) study participants were found to have an Internet addiction. Consequently,268 (87%) participants showed poor sleep quality. A further outcome of the study implicated Internet addiction influenced job performance (60%), individual's productivity (70.9%), and symptoms such as difficulty in breathing, long pauses between breaths, loud snoring, legs twitching, or jerking, and episodes of disorientation or confusion while asleep. Conclusion: The study results suggest a significant association between sleep quality and Internet addiction and that poor sleep quality is mediated by internet addiction and potentially keeping individuals at risk of developing obstructive sleep apnoea, insomnia, restless legs syndrome, periodic limb movement disorder, depression, anxiety, etc., which upon worsening might lead to the wide variety of cardiovascular diseases, neurological, and psychiatric disorders.