Smartphone Addiction and Insomnia in the General Arab Population: A Multi-Country Cross-Sectional Study

In the modern world, the smartphone has become a constant companion, a tool for work, a window to the world, and a source of endless entertainment. Yet, for many, this device has crossed the line from a helpful utility into a compulsive habit. This phenomenon, often called smartphone addiction, involves a preoccupation with the screen, a loss of control over usage, and a continued reliance on the device even when it causes problems in daily life. It is not merely about spending time on a phone; it is a behavioral pattern that can disrupt sleep, increase anxiety, and interfere with relationships. Sleep, particularly the inability to fall or stay asleep known as insomnia, is another fundamental human need that is increasingly under threat. When these two issues collide, they create a cycle where the device that keeps us awake also makes it harder to rest, leaving a growing number of people caught between a glowing screen and a sleepless night.

Researchers have long suspected a link between excessive phone use and poor sleep, but much of the existing data comes from specific groups, such as university students in a single country, or relies on rough estimates of how many hours people spend online. To get a clearer picture of this relationship across a broader region, a team of scientists from Egypt, Algeria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia conducted a large-scale investigation. They wanted to understand how common smartphone addiction and insomnia are among adults in the Arab world and to see if factors like money, mental health, or age played a role in who struggled with these issues. By gathering data from nearly two thousand people across four distinct Arab sub-regions, the study aimed to move beyond isolated snapshots and provide a more comprehensive view of the situation.

The researchers reached out to adults aged eighteen and older who owned a smartphone, asking them to fill out an anonymous online survey. The participants, who were mostly young adults living in cities and a large majority of whom were students, shared details about their lives, their phone habits, and their sleep. The team used established, validated questionnaires to measure two things: the severity of smartphone addiction and the severity of insomnia. For addiction, the questions looked at whether a person felt unable to stop using their phone, if they felt anxious when they couldn't access it, or if their use interfered with their daily responsibilities. For insomnia, the survey assessed how difficult it was to fall asleep, how often they woke up during the night, and how much their sleep problems affected their daytime functioning.

The results painted a striking picture of a population deeply engaged with their devices and frequently struggling to rest. Among the 1,823 adults surveyed, nearly three-quarters were found to have symptoms of smartphone addiction. Even more surprisingly, a similar proportion, about 74 percent, met the criteria for insomnia. On average, these participants reported spending six and a half hours every day on their phones. The most popular activities were social media, which dominated usage, followed by video streaming and mobile gaming. The sheer scale of these numbers suggests that for many in this sample, the boundary between being awake and being asleep has become increasingly blurred by the light of the screen.

When the researchers looked deeper into the data to find out what made some people more likely to be addicted than others, they found that financial security and mental health were key factors. People who reported having enough family income to save money were less likely to be addicted to their phones compared to those who had enough to get by but no savings. Conversely, individuals who had been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, such as depression or anxiety, were significantly more likely to struggle with smartphone addiction. The study did not find that age, gender, or where a person lived within the Arab region made a major difference in addiction rates once these other factors were taken into account.

The connection between the phone and sleep was even more direct. The analysis revealed that smartphone addiction was the single strongest predictor of insomnia. Adults who were addicted to their phones were more than three times as likely to suffer from insomnia compared to those who were not addicted. This suggests that the compulsive use of the device is a major driver of sleeplessness in this group. Other factors also played a role; women were more likely to report insomnia than men, and older adults were slightly less likely to struggle with sleep problems than younger ones. Just as with addiction, having a pre-existing psychiatric disorder increased the odds of insomnia, while having sufficient income with savings offered some protection.

It is important to note that this study captured a specific moment in time and relied on people reporting their own habits and feelings. Because the researchers recruited participants through social media, the group they studied was heavily skewed toward young, urban, single students who are already very active online. This means the high rates of addiction and insomnia found here might be even higher than in the general adult population of these countries, or they might reflect the specific struggles of a digital-native generation. The study cannot prove that the phone use causes the sleeplessness or that the sleeplessness causes the phone use, only that they are tightly linked. However, the findings are clear enough to signal a public health concern.

The study concludes that both smartphone addiction and insomnia are highly prevalent among adults in this region, with the two conditions feeding into one another. The research highlights that while financial stability can act as a buffer against these issues, underlying mental health challenges make people more vulnerable to both. For the millions of adults in the Arab world who are spending hours on their screens and losing sleep as a result, the message is that these are not just personal habits but interconnected health issues that deserve attention. As the digital world continues to expand, understanding how it reshapes our nights and our minds remains one of the most pressing questions of our time.