Effect of a Sleep Hygiene–Focused Health Education Intervention on Screen-Time Behaviours and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Outcomes

Abstract

Background: Excessive screen time – particularly during the evening and at bedtime – has been increasingly implicated in poor sleep quality, shorter sleep duration, and daytime sleepiness among young adults, making it a modifiable target for health education interventions.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of a structured health education session on screen-time behaviours and sleep outcomes.

Methods: A pre–post interventional study was conducted over six months in the Department of Physiology, Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute, Kelambakkam, Tamil Nadu, India, among 100 participants who underwent baseline assessment of screen-time behaviours and sleep outcomes. A structured health education session on healthy digital habits and sleep hygiene was delivered, after which the same measures were reassessed and analysed using paired statistical tests (p<0.05).

Results: Among 100 participants (mean age 23.3 ± 5.4 years; 47% male), most were students (85%) and 59% lived at home. Baseline lifestyle risks included 49% overweight/obesity, 60% caffeine use (mean 1.9 ± 0.7 cups/day among users), and 59% late-evening meals. After the health education session, screen exposure reduced significantly: weekday screen time fell from 6.28 ± 1.64 to 5.17 ± 1.85 h/day and evening exposure after 8 pm from 2.57 ± 1.12 to 1.82 ± 1.23 h/day (all p<0.001). Bedtime screen use decreased (68% → 49%) and the screen-free interval before sleep increased (11 → 37 minutes, p<0.001). Sleep improved with lower PSQI (9.56 → 5.64, p<0.001), fewer poor sleepers (65% → 43%), longer sleep duration (5.43 → 5.97 h/night), and better SHI (29.1 → 24.3, p<0.001).

Conclusion: A brief health education intervention was associated with significant reductions in bedtime screen exposure and improved sleep hygiene, translating into better PSQI-defined sleep quality, longer sleep duration, and reduced daytime sleepiness.