Simulated Dawn Med Students

The Effect of Improving Sleep and Circadian Rhythms on Affective Symptoms In First Year Medical Students

Medical students score higher than the general population on measures of depression, anxiety, fatigue, poor sleep and sleepiness. Data suggest that disparages in circadian phase might contribute to these problems. From an internal validity standpoint, first year medical students are an ideal group to study. The majority of the students will be matched on variables such as education, age, and intelligence. However, more importantly, they have a nearly identical life style when it comes to factors such as schedule, living conditions, level of stress, and timing of stressors. The specific aim and hypothesis is:Medical students randomized to sleep hygiene counseling plus simulated dawn will report less depression, anxiety, fatigue, sleepiness, and sleep disruption (as measured by standardized questionnaires) than students randomized to just sleep hygiene counseling.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Depression; Fatigue; Anxiety; Sleepiness; Sleep Disruption
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Simulated Dawn Light Box; Behavioral: Sleep Hygiene instructions

Detailed Description

There is a substantial and growing body of literature that has identified medical students as a group that suffers from increased levels of depression, anxiety, and other markers of "psychological distress". Other studies have demonstrated that in conjunction with the "psychological distress", medical students suffer from sleep deprivation, sleep disruption, and daytime sleepiness. Finally there is some preliminary evidence that residents and interns show increased symptoms of fatigue. It might reasonably be assumed that all of these symptoms are inter-related and more importantly detrimental to both the student and those patients under their care. There have been interventional studies aimed at educating participants on stress management, however these attempts have had only limited success.

Circadian rhythms are biological rhythms that contribute to most of our bodies' physiological processes. It has been determined that light is the major environmental cue that influences the setting of our circadian rhythm. Under ideal circumstances exposure to natural sunlight is sufficient to maintain a consistent and synchronized circadian rhythm. Often times this is not the case. Reduced exposure to natural light and increased exposure to artificial light are just two influencing factors.

Artificial light therapy has been successfully applied to the treatment of disorders of circadian rhythms as well as the treatment of some affective disorders. Most notably, light therapy has been shown to be effective in treating symptoms of depression and sleep disruption, specifically in patients with seasonal affective disorder, non-seasonal major depression, delayed sleep phase syndrome, advanced sleep phase syndrome, and sub-syndromal levels of each of these.

The theoretical mechanism of action is reviewed by Terman et al and asserts that morning bright light therapy advances and stabilizes the circadian rhythm of individuals who have delayed or drifting rhythms. There is subsequent synchronization and entrainment of the individual's endogenous rhythm with the environmental rhythm of daily life as reviewed in.

The timing, duration, and type of light delivered are of paramount concern, as improper delivery of therapy has been shown to have no advantage over placebo. One method of light delivery is simulated dawn light therapy. Simulated dawn light therapy works by gradually increasing light exposure over a specified period of time at the end of the sleep period. This gradually increasing light exposure during the sleep period is in contrast to traditional light therapy, which is delivered at full intensity after wake time. Simulated dawn has shown great promise as being just as effective as traditional light therapy but with the additional advantages of being more time efficient, easier to use, and more easily tolerated. All of these factors are important considerations in the application of this intervention to medical students, as being short on time and under significant stress are both hallmarks of medical education. The following proposal is a novel approach, using light therapy, to improve the mental well-being of first year medical students.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 46
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • Buffalo, New York, United States, 14260
      • University at Buffalo

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Being a first year medical student
• Good academic standing after the first module
• Reporting attending morning lectures regularly.

Exclusion Criteria:

• No reported history of psychiatric illness,sleep illness, ophthalmic illness
• No current use of photosensitizing medications

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: DAWN simulation; Simulated Dawn Light box	Device: Simulated Dawn Light Box; per3 model of Naturebright It was set at the participants habitual wake time, and automatically began ramping between 30 and 90 minutes prior to that time (based upon participant preference). The ramp increased in a curvilinear fashion, mimicking sunrise during the summer at 45 degrees North latitude and reached a maximum light intensity of 300lux. They were allowed to switch the lamp off during the ramp period, and sleep in on off days, but were asked to allow the light to begin its ramp.; Other Names: per3 model of Naturebright; Behavioral: Sleep Hygiene instructions; Sleep Hygiene instructions read aloud
Active Comparator: Sleep hygiene instructions read aloud; Standard sleep hygiene instructions were read aloud.	Behavioral: Sleep Hygiene instructions; Sleep Hygiene instructions read aloud

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Sleep quality	3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Medical University of South Carolina
• Collaborators: University at Buffalo
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Gregory Sahlem, MD, Medical University of South Carolina

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: July 1, 2007
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 1, 2010
• Study Completion (Actual): January 1, 2010

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 26, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 14, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): March 17, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 24, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 23, 2023
• Last Verified: May 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Medical Students
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Sleepiness
• Other Study ID Numbers: Dawn

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No