Abstract:Abstract Background: Sleep quality plays a significant role in student health, but poor sleep quality is increasingly prevalent among university students. Extensive use of social media, especially before bedtime, may contribute to sleep disruptions. Understanding the association between students’ socio-demographic characteristics, social media habits, and sleep quality is essential for developing effective, evidence-based health strategies in academic settings. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of poor sleep quality and assess its association with socio-demographic characteristics and social media habits patterns among postgraduate students in Malaysia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 402 postgraduate students at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang between July and August 2023. Self-administered questionnaires included socio-demographic characteristics, social media habits, and sleep quality assessed via the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Logistic regression was used to determine the associations. Results: The prevalence of poor sleep quality was 58.0% (n=233). The most commonly used social media platforms were Instagram (19.4%), Facebook (19.2%), YouTube (15.4%), and WeChat (13.4%), followed by other platforms such as TikTok and WhatsApp. Regarding PSQI components, 25.3% reported fairly or very bad sleep quality, 21.9% had difficulty falling asleep, and 13.4% had shorter sleep duration. Although 85.3% did not use sleep medications, 24.1% experienced sleep disturbances and 47.5% reported daytime dysfunction. Multivariate logistic regression showed that male gender (aOR: 1.62, 95% CI: 1.02 2.59), humanities discipline (aOR: 1.58, 95% CI: 1.01 2.45), and <¥1 hour of social media use before sleep (aOR: 2.37, 95% CI: 1.48 3.79) were significantly associated with poor sleep quality. Conclusions: Poor sleep quality is prevalent among postgraduate students, and it is strongly influenced by both socio-demographic characteristics and social media usage habits. Interventions promoting healthy digital behaviours and sleep hygiene are needed in academic settings worldwide
Keywords: Mental Health, Social media habits, Sleep quality, University students, Postgraduates, Malaysia
