Experimental Manipulation of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms and the Role Played on Reward Function in Teens

Conditions

• Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome

Eligibility Criteria

Sex

ALL

Age

13 Years - 15 Years

Healthy Volunteers

Accepted

Interventions

• Increase morning bright light — OTHER
  Participants will wear Re-Timer bright glasses for 30 minutes each morning upon rising
• Decrease evening blue light — OTHER
  Participants will wear tinted glasses that block blue wavelength light for 2 hours before bed
• Sleep Scheduling — BEHAVIORAL
  Participants will advance their bedtime by 1.5 hours and regularize their wake time
• Monitor sleep, mood, and substance use — BEHAVIORAL
  Participants will complete smartphone-based sleep, mood, and substance use monitoring

Study Details

Adolescence is a time of heightened reward sensitivity and greater impulsivity. On top of this, many teenagers experience chronic sleep deprivation and misalignment of their circadian rhythms due to biological shifts in their sleep/wake patterns paired with early school start times. Many studies find that this increases the risk for substance use (SU). However, what impact circadian rhythm and sleep disruption either together or independently have on the neuronal circuitry that controls reward and cognition, or if there are interventions that might help to modify these disruptions is unknown. Project 2 (P2) of the CARRS center will test an innovative and mechanistic model of brain circuitry that uses multi-method approaches, takes a developmental perspective, and incorporates key sleep and reward constructs.

Key Dates

Start date

May 1, 2021

Status verified

Apr 2026

Primary completion

May 31, 2026

Completion

May 31, 2026

Study Design

Enrollment

100 participants (estimated)

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Arms

• Experimental: Advance/Extend Manipulation
  For \~2 weeks, Manipulation participants will advance bedtime and regularize wake time. The first night of the manipulation will be conducted in the lab under tightly-controlled experimental conditions. Participants will then go home and for the next 12 days and will be instructed to: * Sleep scheduling-- advance bedtime by 1.5 hours ( + sleep duration) * Decrease evening blue light exposure via blue blocker goggles (2 hrs before bed) * Increase morning bright light exposure via bright light goggles (30 min after rise) * Monitor sleep, mood, and substance use via smartphone-based platform and wrist actigraph
• Active Comparator: Control
  Control participants will complete the baseline laboratory study, then maintain their habitual sleep schedules over the next 12 days at home, with no instruction on sleep timing or light exposure. Control participants will complete smartphone-and text-based assessments and wear an actigraphy watch to monitor their sleep, behavior and sleep habits thereby controlling for effort.

Primary Outcome Measure

Weekday Sleep Duration--Actigraphy & Diaries [ Time Frame: Baseline (2 Weeks), T2 (2 weeks) ]

Central Contacts

• Ronette G Blake, MS
  (412) 246-6443
  [email protected]

Locations (1)

Find similar trials in Pittsburgh, PA

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