Multi-scale Modeling of Sleep Behaviors in Social Networks

The project is designed to document in college undergraduates the relationships among sleep/wake timing and duration, use of mobile phones and other electronic devices, food timing and content, self-reported mood and physiological measures.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Healthy Volunteers
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: No intervention. Observation only

Detailed Description

College undergraduates are studied in cohorts of ~ 50 in fall or spring semesters. They complete diaries once in the morning and once in the evening about sleep/wake timing, timing of social and school activities, and mood. They wear physiological sensors. They install (1) an application on their mobile phone that tracks timing, duration and de-identified sender/recipient of phone calls and text messages, use of internet or apps (but not the content or names of those internet sites and apps) and (2) meal content and timing. They also spend at least one overnight session providing saliva samples for later assay for hormones.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 729

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115
      • Brigham and Women's Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

College undergraduates

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• undergraduate at institution at which we have permission to perform study
• owning a mobile device on which the phone app can be installed
• ability to wear the wrist-worn sensors

Exclusion Criteria:

• no travel outside one time zone starting approximately 2 weeks before monitoring begins through end of approximately one month of monitoring.
• participation in a prior group studied

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
College students; College students will be monitored and will complete online surveys, install apps on their mobile phones, wear physiological sensors and provide saliva samples for later assay.	Other: No intervention. Observation only; No intervention. Observation only

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Timing of sleep and wake	Timing of self-reported sleep onset and wake onset	Approximately one month
Timing of phone use (e.g., mobile phone calls, text messages, applications and internet use)	Timing of phone use (e.g, mobile phone calls, text messages, applications and internet use)	Approximately one month

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Mood	Self-reported mood using a linear non-numeric scale	Approximately one month
Activity levels	Activity levels collected every minute using a wrist-worn device	approximately one month
Light exposure levels	Light exposure levels collected every minute using a wrist-worn device	approximately one month
Food choice	Content of food	approximately one month
Circadian phase	Calculated time of melatonin phase as a marker of circadian rhythms	one day
Electrodermal activity	Electrodermal activity as measured using a wrist-worn device	approximately one month
Timing of meals	Time meals are eaten	approximately one month

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Brigham and Women's Hospital
• Collaborators: Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Harvard University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Fischer D, McHill AW, Sano A, Picard RW, Barger LK, Czeisler CA, Klerman EB, Phillips AJK. Irregular sleep and event schedules are associated with poorer self-reported well-being in US college students. Sleep. 2020 Jun 15;43(6):zsz300. doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsz300.
• McHill AW, Phillips AJ, Czeisler CA, Keating L, Yee K, Barger LK, Garaulet M, Scheer FA, Klerman EB. Later circadian timing of food intake is associated with increased body fat. Am J Clin Nutr. 2017 Nov;106(5):1213-1219. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.117.161588. Epub 2017 Sep 6.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 1, 2013
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 1, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): June 1, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 15, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 24, 2016
• First Posted (Estimate): July 27, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 11, 2018
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 9, 2018
• Last Verified: July 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: sleep; mood; circadian rhythms; social networks; undergraduates
• Other Study ID Numbers: BrighamHospital

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED