BACKGROUND: Mobile phone addiction is an emerging behavioral concern linked to adverse mental health outcomes, including depression. Sleep disturbances have been proposed as a potential mediator in this relationship. However, there is limited research addressing this phenomenon in the Indian context, particularly among medical students who are vulnerable to both addiction and mental health challenges. AIM: To explore the mediating role of sleep disturbances in the relationship between mobile phone addiction and depression among medical students in Central India. METHODS: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted among 362 undergraduate medical students at a government medical college in Central India. Participants completed validated tools, including the Mobile Phone Addiction Scale (MPAS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Statistical analysis included correlation and mediation analysis using SPSS (v26) to assess relationships and the mediating effect of sleep disturbances. RESULTS: The prevalence of mobile phone addiction in the study population was 53.3%. Mobile phone addiction demonstrated significant positive correlations with both poor sleep quality (rs = 0.35, < .05) and depression scores (rs = 0.41, < .05). Sleep quality also correlated moderately with depression (rs = 0.52, < .05). Mediation analysis revealed that sleep disturbances partially mediate the relationship between mobile phone addiction and depression, accounting for 29.8% of the total effect. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the role of sleep disturbances as a critical link between mobile phone addiction and depression. Interventions targeting sleep quality could mitigate the depressive symptoms associated with mobile phone addiction. These findings underscore the importance of integrating behavioral and mental health screening into primary care, particularly for students and young adults.