The Association of Internet Overuse with Sleep and Mood in Indian Female University Students

The exponential use of Internet is a matter of concern regarding the physical and mental health of young people. In particular, Internet overuse has been linked to the altered sleep behavior and disturbed mental health. Present study examined the association of Internet overuse with sleep and mood in a study sample of 605 college female students of two north Indian Universities using a battery of questionnaires. We collected the socio-demographic detail of all participants, which were from mixed social and economic backgrounds. Initially, we assessed the overall difference in Internet use between the users of basic and smart phones, and between participants who lived with their families or lived by self. Then, we examined Internet addiction (IA) effects on the measures associated with sleep (sleep latency and inertia, sleep onset, sleep end, sleep duration, total time in bed, daytime sleepiness, and sleep quality), fatigue and mood (depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms), and assessed if sleep effects that were found were influenced by the social schedule, i.e., college days vs free days. The excessive use of Internet conformed to its addiction among smart phone users, and this was not influenced by subjects’ chronotype or whether subject lived with family or on its own. Importantly, we found a negative association of the IA with sleep (assessed in latency, onset and offset, inertia, and quality of sleep, and in daytime sleepiness, social jetlag and fatigue levels), and mood (assessed in stress, anxiety and depression symptoms) response of subjects. However, the social schedule (college days vs. free days) seemed to affect the IA-induced sleep effects. There was an overall negative effect on the sleep and mood of Internet overuse in college female students. Among the IA cohort, there was also a significant effect of the social schedule (college days vs. free days) on different sleep variables.