Individually Tailored Lighting System to Improve Sleep in Older Adults

January 7, 2019 updated by: Mariana G Figueiro, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
In conjunction with investigators at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, we propose to develop and evaluate a low-cost, minimally obtrusive device that delivers individualized light therapy to adults with early-awakening insomnia - the most common sleep disturbance in older adults, and a significant problem because of its relationship to daytime sleepiness, use of potentially hazardous sleep medication, and reduced quality of life. The proposed device will measure light/dark exposure data over 24 hours, estimate optimum timing for light delivery, and deliver an individualized light dosage while subjects are asleep. Light applied through closed eyelids in the early part of the night will delay the dim light melatonin onset, a marker of the circadian clock, and help those with early sleep onset to fall asleep later

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

We will recruit 50 subjects who report going to bed early and desiring later bedtimes and will ask them to wear an active and an inactive light mask for 8 consecutive weeks each. A 2-week washout period between active and inactive conditions will be applied. Outcome measures will be collected periodically throughout the 8 weeks. Baseline (no intervention) will be collected prior to the active and inactive lighting interventions.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
46

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • Troy, New York, United States, 12180
        • Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

65 years and older (Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • age 65 or older
  • cognitively capable
  • able to respond to study staff verbally and in English
  • score greater than 6 using the Pittsburgh Sleepiness Quality Index
  • suffer from insomnia
  • suffer from excessive daytime sleepiness

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Severe sleep apnea
  • Severe restless leg syndrome (RLS)
  • Significant cognitive impairment
  • History of severe photosensitivity dermatitis

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Blue light
The study protocol consisted of two 8-week intervention/control periods in which each participant wore either the intervention (blue light) or control (red light) mask every night, with the order of presentation of the two conditions randomized by the study's biostatistician. A light mask housing two blue Light Emitting Diodes (LED) arrays delivered a train of blue or red light pulses of 2 second duration that were presented every 30 s for no longer than 2 hr, resulting in a maximum total of approximately 240 pulses per night. the blue light mask was worn nightly for 8 weeks. There will be a two week washout period between each intervention
Other: Blue light
After a two week baseline collection period, half of the subjects will initially be given light masks that deliver blue light through the closed eyelids, while subjects are sleeping. The light mask will always be turned on 120 min before estimated core body temperature minimum (CBTmin); it is expected that blue light exposure will delay the timing of the CBTmin.
Placebo Comparator: Red light
The study protocol consisted of two 8-week intervention/control periods in which each participant wore either the intervention (blue light) or control (red light) mask every night, with the order of presentation of the two conditions randomized by the study's biostatistician. A light mask housing two red Light Emitting Diodes (LED) arrays delivered a train of blue or red light pulses of 2 second duration that were presented every 30 s for no longer than 2 hr, resulting in a maximum total of approximately 240 pulses per night. the red light mask was worn nightly for 8 weeks, with a two week washout period between each intervention
Other: Red light
After a two week baseline collection period, half of the subjects will initially be given light masks that deliver red light through the closed eyelids, while subjects are sleeping. The light mask will always be turned on 120 min before estimated core body temperature minimum (CBTmin); it is expected that red light exposure will have no effect on the timing of the CBTmin.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Sleep Disturbance
Time Frame: Baseline (week 0) and week 8 of lighting intervention

Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Score range 0 - 21. A score over 5 is indicative of sleep disturbance.

Change in score from baseline to intervention is reported. A larger difference indicates a better outcome.
Baseline (week 0) and week 8 of lighting intervention
Total Sleep Time
Time Frame: baseline week (week 0) and the last week of intervention (week 8)
The change in total amount of minutes spent sleeping at night from baseline week to the last week of intervention. A higher number is an improved outcome
baseline week (week 0) and the last week of intervention (week 8)
Sleep Efficiency
Time Frame: baseline week (week 0) and the last week of intervention (week 8)
The change in sleep efficiency from baseline to last week of intervention. A higher number is a better outcome. Sleep efficiency is the percentage of time spent in bed sleeping. Scored total sleep time divided by interval duration minus total invalid time (sleep/wake) of the given rest interval multiplied by 100. This data was collected using actigraphy data.
baseline week (week 0) and the last week of intervention (week 8)
Sleep Start Time
Time Frame: baseline week (week 0) and the last week of intervention (week 8)
Change in sleep start time, in minutes, from baseline week to the last week of intervention. A higher number is a better outcome. Based on actigraph data
baseline week (week 0) and the last week of intervention (week 8)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
University of North Carolina

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Mariana G Figueiro, PhD, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
March 1, 2013

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 1, 2017

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 1, 2017

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 9, 2013

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 15, 2013

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 16, 2013

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
January 29, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 7, 2019

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
January 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • R01AG042602 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

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