Investigating the Impact of Blue Light Exposure on Sleep Patterns and Musculoskeletal Discomfort on Karachi’s Medical Undergraduate Student: A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

The blue light emitted by digital media is related to circadian rhythm disorders and is very necessary for biological well-being, but its use in the evenings and night contributes to melatonin inhibition and disturbed sleep patterns. Medical students, due to their intense study requirements and extensive use of digital media for learning and practicing, are particularly vulnerable. Irregular study patterns and excessive use of digital media add to sleep disturbances and reduced attention and performance. Excessive sitting and improper postures also lead to musculoskeletal discomfort. Sleep and biological problems, in turn, affect the performance and well-being of the medical students negatively. Careful evaluation of the risks associated with these problems, employing standardized scales such as the PSQI and NMQ, can determine the risks related to the health of the medical students.To investigate the impact of Blue Light exposure on Sleep pattern and Musculoskeletal discomfort on Karachi medical undergraduate student.This cross-sectional study was to find out the impact of blue light exposure on sleep pattern and musculoskeletal discomfort among different Karachi medical undergraduate student. The Pittsburg sleep quality index (PSQI) were used to assess the usual sleep habits during past month only and Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) were used to assess pain or discomfort in different body regions over the past 12 months due to late night screen use among the medical undergraduate students. A non-probability convenience sampling method enrolled 255 participants. Ethical standards were followed, and informed consent was obtained. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 26 with chi-square tests and descriptive statistics, considering a significance level of p< 0.05.The prevalence was high for sleep disturbances among medical undergraduate students as 86.7% of the study population reported poor sleep quality. Neck and lower back symptoms were the most common musculoskeletal symptoms, with a moderate positive relationship between poor sleep quality and musculoskeletal discomfort, thus associating prolonged screen exposure with impaired sleep and musculoskeletal health to a large extent.This research proves that the negative effects of screen usage and blue light emission have a significant impact on the sleep quality and musculoskeletal disorders of medical undergraduate students in Karachi. A majority of students were found to have severe sleep problems, with 86.7% of students showing poor sleep quality on the PSQI. Musculoskeletal pain was found to be a common problem, particularly in the neck, lower back, shoulder, and upper back regions, as indicated by the NMQ. A moderate positive correlation was established between poor sleep quality and musculoskeletal pain, showing a link between the two factors. The results of this research emphasize the need for ergonomic changes, blue light filters, and sleep quality education.