Smartphone Use, Cognitive Biases, and Sleep Quality Among University Students: A Dual Process Perspective

Abstract

Sleep is crucial for physical well-being, emotional stability, and cognition; however, inadequate sleep quality is widespread among university students. One factor in sleep disruption is late-night smartphone use; however, the fact that people continue to use it even when they know it is harming their sleep suggests that cognitive processes are at play. This research, based on dual-process theory, investigated the effects of smartphone use on sleep quality, with cognitive biases mediating the relationship. It had a quantitative cross-sectional design with 300 university students aged 18 to 30 years. The validated scales were smartphone use, cognitive biases, and sleep quality, such as the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The findings showed that smartphone users had a positive correlation with cognitive biases (r =.51, p <.01) and poor sleep quality (r =.55, p <.01), although cognitively biased were also correlated with poor sleep (r =.49, p <.01). Regression analysis revealed that smartphone use was a significant predictor of sleep quality (β =.55, p <.001) and cognitive biases (β =.51, p <.001), and that cognitive biases were a significant predictor of sleep quality (β =.49, p <.001). The mediation analysis demonstrated that there was a significant indirect effect (95% CI [.170, .332]), suggesting that there was partial mediation. These results imply that both cognitive biases and smartphone use should be considered when working to enhance students' sleep quality.