Background: Poor sleep quality (PSQ) is an increasing health problem and adolescents also constitute risk groups. Portable mobile and media devices have become a part of children’s lives and may affect their sleep duration and quality. This study aimed to explore the prevalence of PSQ and identify the association between media use and PSQ among adolescents studying in high school grades 10-12.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Ratchaburi Province. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to enroll 777 adolescents from 8 schools from August-October 2016. The research instruments comprised factors of demographics and consumption behaviors and the questionnaire of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Multivariable logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios (ORadj) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CI).
Results: Prevalence of PSQ was 56.24%. The study subjects were mostly 16-17 years old (67.82%) and female (70.39%). Multivariable logistic regression, after controlling for possible confounders, there was an increased odds of PSQ in those who used a social media device (OR=1.34, 95%CI=0.97-1.87), and it showed a higher proportion of social media use among PSQ group.
Conclusions: The surveillance system of media use and PSQ should be conducted accompanied by knowledge sharing on media use among parents, teachers and adolescents. To determine causal relationships, further longitudinal studies will be required to test for the association between media users and PSQ. This study may also provide some implications for health promotion on sleep quality of senior high school students.