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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2023; 27(02): e324-e328
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1748807
Original Research

Technologies and Mental Health in University Students: An Unhealthy Combination

Mariana Pires Ferreira Novaes da Silva 
1   Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu, UNESP, Botucatu, SP, Brasil
,
Gabriela Miloch da Silva Cardoso 
1   Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu, UNESP, Botucatu, SP, Brasil
,
Sidnei Rinaldo Priolo Filho 
2   Universidade Tuiuti do Paraná, UTP, Curitiba, PR, Brasil
,
Silke Anna Theresa Weber 
1   Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu, UNESP, Botucatu, SP, Brasil
,
Camila de Castro Corrêa 
3   Centro Universitário Planalto do Distrito Federal, UNIPLAN, Brasília, DF, Brasil
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Abstract

Introduction The exposure of medical students to a full-time schedule that includes classes, extracurricular activities, patients' lives responsibility, and great competition between classmates can interfere in emotional issues and in the sleep time.

Objective The aim of the present study was to evaluate the sleep quality, and the incidence of anxiety and depression in medical school undergraduates as well as the relationship of these parameters with the intense use of technologies.

Methods Fifty-five medical school undergraduates in their second year participated in the present study, answering questionnaires to evaluate sleep quality (Pittsburgh sleep quality index - PSQI), night-time use of technology (sleep time-related information and communication technology - STRICT), and signs of anxiety or depression (hospital anxiety and depression scale - HADS).

Results The results showed 31 students (56.4%) with poor sleep quality (PSQI > 5). Based on the STRICT questionnaire, 36 (65.4%) of the participants referred to making use of technology at night-time; and 34 (61.8%) students had compatible anxiety score, while 14 (25.4%) had a compatible score for depression on the HADS questionnaire. There has been a correlation between poor sleep quality, the abuse of technologies before sleep time, and the presence of anxiety or depression.

Conclusion The abuse of technology before sleep time reduced the sleep quality in the studied population, besides increasing the symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Keywords

sleep - technology - sleep hygiene - sleep quality - depression - anxiety


Publication History

Received: 23 November 2021

Accepted: 13 February 2022

Article published online:
11 July 2022

© 2022. Fundação Otorrinolaringologia. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commecial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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