Cognitive risk and behaviour related to the effects of mobile phone use on sleep quality: an analysis of data from Chinese college students

This study assessed the relationships among cognitive risk, phone use behaviors, and sleep quality. We used a questionnaire, which included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), mobile phone use behaviours, and questionnaires on mobile phone use cognitive risk to gather information from 1204 college students. T-test, chi-square test, and Wilcoxon signed rank test were applied to test differences in measurement data. Generalized linear regression analysis was used to analyze the factors influencing sleep quality. The percentage of people with poor sleep quality significantly increased during COVID-19, with a significant increase in sleep latency and diurnal dysfunction and a significant decrease in sleep persistence, sleep disturbance, and sleep efficiency. The PSQI scores significantly decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic (0.27 and 0.34 for overall and females in the 'Often take a break' subgroup), only females in the 'Often increase the distance between the screen and the eyes' subgroup had a significant decrease in the PSQI score (0.37). Bedtime use and bedtime light use in females significantly increased during the epidemic. Regression analysis revealed that rest or increased screen distance significantly improved sleep quality compared to rarely rest or rarely increased screen distance and had a more significant effect on sleep quality during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to before. The time spent using a phone with lights off before bedtime was significantly associated with poor sleep quality. Often resting, increasing the distance between the screen and the eyes, reducing phone use time, and reducing the time of lights off when using mobile phones are all protective factors for sleep quality. Females were more often affected by poor sleep quality.