Association between Digital Burnout and Sleep Quality among King Faisal University Students

Background: As a public health issue, both burnout syndrome and sleep problems affect students' academic performance and their well-being. Overuse of digital devices can cause digital burnout (DBO) to university students. This study aimed to explore digital device usage, sleep quality, DBO levels, and their association with sleep quality (SQ) among King Faisal University (KFU) students for the academic year 2022-2023. Methods: This cross-sectional study targeted undergraduate students of both genders at KFU across all academic levels and specialties. An online self-administered questionnaire was created using Google Forms and distributed via e-mail to KFU students between May and July 2023. Data were analyzed using SPSS software with statistical tests applied, and a p -value of 0.05 was considered the significance threshold. Results: In total, 744 KFU students participated in the study. Data analysis revealed moderate DBO levels and average SQ, 427(57.4%) and 526 (70.8%) respectively, with no significant differences based on age, gender, college, and marital status. Additionally, a statistically significant association was found between higher DBO levels and poorer SQ among the participants (Pearson’s correlation test, r = 0.548, p = 0.000). Conclusions: Our study confirmed the association between DBO and SQ among KFU students. These findings underline the importance of university initiatives that promote stress-reducing activities and adaptive behaviors as resilience measures to support students' mental health, academic performance, and well-being.