Effects of Chronic Sleep Restriction in Young and Older People

April 28, 2009 updated by: National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Sleep, Aging, and Circadian Rhythm Disorders

The purpose of this study is to examine the consequences of chronic sleep restriction on nighttime sleep, daytime alertness, performance and memory functions, and metabolic and cardiovascular function, and to determine if the consequences of chronic sleep restriction differ between healthy young and older adults.

Study Overview

Status

Unknown

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

It has long been recognized that sleep patterns change with age. A common feature of aging is the advance of the timing of sleep to earlier hours, often earlier than desired. Polysomnographically-recorded sleep in older people shows an increased number of awakenings, a reduction of stages 3 and 4 (SWS) sleep, and a flattening of REM sleep distribution throughout the night. These age-related changes are found in even healthy individuals who are not taking medications and who are free from sleep disorders. In addition to these sleep disturbances, many older individuals curtail their sleep voluntarily, reporting similar rates of sleep restriction (sleeping less than 7 or less than 6 hours per night) as young adults. Whether voluntary or not, insufficient sleep has medical, safety and metabolic consequences. In fact, converging evidence in young adults suggests that sleep restriction per se may impair metabolism, and that reduced sleep duration is associated with weight gain, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and mortality.

The study begins with 21 days of outpatient study in which the participants will be required to sleep for 10 hours each night in order to ensure they are well-rested. This will be followed by a 39-day inpatient study. The study will begin with 3 "sleep satiation" days during which all participants will be scheduled to sleep for 12 hours per night and have a 4 hour nap each afternoon. This is followed by 3 baseline days in which the participants will follow the same sleep-wake schedule they were following at home. Following this, the participant will undergo 3 weeks of chronic sleep restriction while living on a non-24-hour schedule. The participant will live on a schedule that is equivalent to 5.6 hours of sleep per 24 hours. Following these 3 weeks, the participant will be scheduled to again sleep for 10 hours per night for 10 nights.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

25

Phase

  • 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
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115
        • Recruiting
        • Brigham & Women's Hospital
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Charles A Czeisler, PhD, MD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Jeanne F Duffy, PhD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Sean W Cain, PhD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Mirjam Munch, PhD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Daniel Aeschbach, PhD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Elizabeth B Klerman, MD, PhD

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 70 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Chronic or acute medical condition
  • Medication use
  • Depression
  • History of psychiatric illness
  • Sleep disorder

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

  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Changes in sleep and waking EEG measures
Time Frame: During 3-week chronic sleep restriction segment of inpatient study
During 3-week chronic sleep restriction segment of inpatient study
frequent measures of performance, attention, alertness, and memory
Time Frame: During 3-week chronic sleep restriction segment of inpatient study
During 3-week chronic sleep restriction segment of inpatient study
measures of cardiovascular and metabolic function
Time Frame: During 3-week chronic sleep restriction segment of inpatient study
During 3-week chronic sleep restriction segment of inpatient study

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

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

December 1, 2006

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

June 1, 2011

Study Completion (Anticipated)

June 1, 2011

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 27, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 20, 2007

First Posted (Estimate)

July 25, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

April 29, 2009

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 28, 2009

Last Verified

April 1, 2009

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • AG0077
  • 2P01AG009975-11 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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