Internet addiction and feelings of loneliness have a serious impact on the rest and sleep patterns of university students. A collaborative study between Mercu Buana University Yogyakarta (UMBY) and Sanata Dharma University has revealed a striking finding: 75.9 percent of students report having poor sleep quality.

The research stems from the phenomenon of student dependency on digital activities. Faced with the pressures of academic assignments, students often turn to the internet as a primary escape for entertainment and social interaction. Unfortunately, this uncontrolled usage carries significant, non-negligible side effects.

The study was supported by the Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM) at UMBY through a domestic collaborative research grant. The research team included experts from the UMBY Faculty of Psychology—Santi Esterlita Purnamasari, M.Si. (Psychologist), Kondang Budiyani, M.A. (Psychologist), and Dr. Martaria Rizky Rinaldi, M.Psi. (Psychologist)—who collaborated with Febriana Ndaru Rosita, M.Psi. (Psychologist) from Sanata Dharma University.

In terms of behavior, internet addiction among students is not measured solely by the duration of "screen time." It is also characterized by an inability to stop online activities, a persistent habit of checking social media, and spending excessive time playing games or consuming digital content late into the night.

"Such behaviors become increasingly problematic when they lead to the neglect of academic responsibilities and rest, while also interfering with daily functioning," explains Santi Esterlita.

The study involved an online survey of 207 students from various universities and academic disciplines. Of the 203 responses analyzed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), 154 students (75.9 percent) were found to have poor sleep quality. This high figure serves as a red flag for the academic community. This is because quality sleep serves as a vital foundation for physical recovery, emotional regulation, and memory consolidation.

Students who consistently lack sleep are prone to daytime fatigue, difficulty concentrating in class, and impaired memory. If left unaddressed over the long term, this condition not only threatens a student’s Grade Point Average (GPA) but also increases the risk of metabolic and cardiovascular disorders.

The team’s analysis also revealed that students with high levels of internet addiction tend to have poorer sleep quality. A similar correlation was found regarding loneliness: the lonelier a student feels, the worse their sleep quality tends to be.

Interestingly, the research demonstrates that loneliness and internet addiction independently impair sleep quality, rather than reinforcing one another. This implies that addressing sleep issues among students requires a two-pronged approach: regulating digital behavior and fulfilling psychosocial needs.

In response to these findings, Santi Esterlita offers suggestions for students to begin cultivating healthy digital habits. It is not necessary to abstain from devices entirely; students can simply adopt straightforward measures, such as avoiding screens 30–60 minutes before bedtime and turning off non-essential notifications at night.

Furthermore, keeping one’s phone out of reach from the bed has proven effective in reducing the impulse to constantly check for messages. Students are also encouraged to maintain real-world social connections with friends or family to help alleviate feelings of loneliness.

Moving forward, higher education institutions are urged to look beyond campaigns focused solely on limiting internet use and instead actively develop mental health promotion programs. Such initiatives should encompass strengthening students' self-regulation, providing education on healthy sleep habits, and creating supportive spaces for social interaction. Currently, the findings from this collaborative research have been published in a scientific article titled "Internet Addiction and Sleep Quality Among University Students: Testing the Moderating Role of Loneliness." The article is in the process of being submitted to the *Journal of Educational, Health and Community Psychology* (JEHCP)—a national journal accredited as SINTA 2, published by the Faculty of Psychology at Universitas Ahmad Dahlan.