Screen time and sleep pattern among the next generation doctors in India – A cross-sectional study

Introduction: Good quality sleep is essential for a healthy mind and body. An increase in screen time due to online classes and lack of schedule during the coronavirus disease 2019 lockdown could have led to altered sleep-wake cycles among upcoming doctors. Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the screen time and sleep pattern among future doctors of India during the lockdown and to check for the association between the same. Methods: An online, cross-sectional study was conducted among the next generation of doctors across India in the age group of 18–25 years. The convenient sampling technique was adopted and data were collected through Google Forms using two standard questionnaires: the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the screen-time questionnaire. A total of 591 out of 607 received responses were complete and therefore analyzed using SPSS v21.0. Results: Among the total 591 participants, the mean age was 20.84 ± 1.33 years, the majority were females (70.7%), and they were in their second year of medical school (40.3%). The average weekday screen time was found to be high (6–12 h), which affected subjective sleep quality ( P = 0.001), and the average weekend screen time was also high (6–12 h), which had an impact on sleep latency ( P = 0.025) and subjective sleep quality ( P = 0.025). Conclusions: High screen exposure resulted in suboptimal sleep quality, sleep latency, and daytime dysfunction. Therefore, structured planning of online training, screen time, and awareness regarding adjustment of screen brightness and hazards of prolonged screen time are important for optimal sleep hygiene.