The Relationship Between Screen Time and Sleep Patterns on the Incidence of Headache Among Medical Students of Methodist University of Indonesia Class of 2022

Abstract

Headache is commonly experienced by medical students, especially tension-type headache and migraine, due to academic pressure, excessive smartphone use, and lack of sleep. This study aimed to determine the relationship between screen time and sleep patterns with the frequency of headaches among medical students of the Faculty of Medicine, Methodist University of Indonesia, class of 2022. This research was an observational analytic study with a cross-sectional design. The study was conducted in June 2025 with 90 respondents selected using consecutive sampling. Data were collected through questionnaires on screen time and sleep patterns adapted from previous studies. The results showed a significant relationship between screen time and the incidence of headaches (p = 0.005), as well as between sleep patterns and the incidence of headaches (p = 0.008). The most influential factor for headaches was screen time, with an odds ratio (OR) of 4.160. This study concludes that excessive screen time and poor sleep patterns increase the risk of headaches among medical students.

Keywords: Headache, Screen Time, Sleep Pattern, Tension-Type Headache, Migraine