Problematic Smartphone Use and Sleep Regularity Among Healthcare Students and Workers in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Problematic smartphone use is associated with poorer sleep quality, but its relationship with day-to-day sleep regularity is less well understood. Objective: To examine the exploratory association between generalized problematic smartphone, use and the Global Sleep Regularity Questionnaire (SRQ) score as the primary outcome; Circadian Regularity and Sleep Continuity were secondary outcomes. Methods: This online cross-sectional survey analyzed 647 consenting healthcare students and workers without a self-reported diagnosed sleep disorder. Participants were recruited using convenience sampling from September 2025 to January 2026. The English-language SAS-SV and SRQ were administered without assessment of English proficiency or local linguistic validation. Multivariable models were adjusted simultaneously for age group, gender, marital status, region, participant status, and healthcare specialty; all adjusted models included 647 participants. The analyses were considered exploratory because bedtime-specific smartphone exposure was not collected and the exposure and SRQ scoring. Results: Among 647 participants, 348 (53.8%; exact 95% CI 49.9%–57.7%) screened positive using the exploratory SAS-SV ≥33 thresholds. SAS-SV was not associated with the Global SRQ in crude analysis (r = .052, 95% CI −.025 to .129; p = .182). After covariate adjustment, a small positive association emerged (B = 0.48 points per 10-point higher SAS-SV score, 95% CI 0.08–0.89; p = .020; adjusted R² = .047). Adjusted associations were null for Circadian Regularity (B = 0.10, 95% CI −0.20 to 0.40; p = .506) and positive but small for Sleep Continuity (B = 0.38, 95% CI 0.21–0.55; p < .001). Conclusions: Generalized problematic smartphone use showed no meaningful crude association with the Global SRQ or Circadian Regularity. The small, adjusted association with the Global SRQ appeared attributable mainly to the two-item Sleep Continuity component.