Internet Addiction and Sleep Problems among Tertiary Institution Students in Nsukka Local Government Area, Enugu Sate: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

The high reliance on digital technology among tertiary institution students has introduced dual public health challenges: maladaptive internet use and compromised sleep architecture. This study investigated the level of internet addiction and the proportion of students experiencing sleep problems among tertiary institution students in Nsukka Local Government Area (LGA), Enugu State, Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was adopted for the study. A multi-stage sample of 436 undergraduate students was selected from tertiary institutions within Nsukka LGA. Data were collected using a validated structured questionnaire integrating the adapted Young’s Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentage) and inferential statistics (One-way Analysis of Variance, Independent Samples t-test, and Chi-squared test of independence) at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that students presented mild overall level of internet addiction (x̄ = 38.1, SD = 28.8). On the other hand, 89.2% (n = 389) of the student population suffered from severe sleep problems (x̄ = 10.939, SD = 6.96). Inferential analyses indicated that internet addiction significantly differed based on gender (p = 0.000), with males showing higher dependency, as well as study year (p = 0.003) and daily exposure time (p = 0.000). Strikingly, age was the only factor that significantly differentiated sleep problem proportions (p = 0.022), while gender (p = 0.575) and financial stipends (p = 0.104) showed uniform, pervasive sleep issues across the entire cohort. Among others, the researchers recommended that mandatory seminar on sleep hygiene should be integrate into orientation programmes for first-year students in tertiary.