The SleepWell Study - Chronotherapeutic Intervention to Improve Sleep Following ACS

A Pilot Chronotherapeutic Intervention to Improve Sleep Following Acute Coronary Syndrome: The SleepWell Study

This two-phase pilot study will test the feasibility of a "combined chronotherapy" (CC) intervention consisting of morning bright light therapy (BLT) and evening blue light blocking (BLB), administered daily for 4 weeks in patients who experienced acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Phase A of the study will be a single-arm open-label study of the home-based CC intervention in 5 post-ACS patients. Phase B of the study will be a parallel-arm randomized clinical trial (RCT) in which 15 post-ACS patients will be randomized (using a 2:1 allocation) to active CC treatment or sleep hygiene education control group. In Phase A and Phase B, the primary aims are study feasibility, acceptability, appropriateness, and usability. In Phase B, the investigator will additionally assess whether the intervention engages its proposed proximal target mechanism - sleep.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Insomnia; Sleep Disturbance; Acute Coronary Syndrome
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: BLT Intervention; Behavioral: BLB Intervention; Behavioral: Sleep Hygiene Education

Detailed Description

Survivors of acute medical events often experience psychological distress including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The goal of this project is to conduct preliminary testing of a chronotherapeutic intervention targeting disturbed sleep in survivors of ACS.

There are many ways to try and improve sleep. Some of these include taking medications or working with a trained sleep specialist. The goal of this research study is to investigate the usefulness of a new way of trying to improve sleep (an "intervention") that does not involve taking medications or working with a specialist or therapist. Chronotherapeutic interventions are non-pharmacologic approaches that target the circadian or sleep-wake cycle to improve behavioral or health outcomes. Light is the strongest external signal for the human circadian system and manipulations of the light environment (e.g., morning bright light exposure and evening light avoidance) are effective in improving sleep and mood.

Participants in Phase A of this study will be asked to use a light visor to administer light to the eye each morning (BLT component of the CC) and orange-colored glasses to block out short wavelength ("blue") light to the eye each night before going to bed (BLB component of the CC) for 4 weeks. Participants are also asked to wear an activity/sleep monitor throughout the 4-week period and complete questionnaires about their sleep. Participants will also receive a sleep hygiene education by watching educational videos.

In Phase B of the study, participants will be randomized to either the active CC intervention condition (consisting of both the BLT and BLB components along with sleep hygiene education) or a sleep hygiene education only control condition. Participants will be randomized in a 2:1 ratio to CC condition or control condition. All participants (i.e., those in the CC and control groups) will wear an activity/sleep monitor throughout the 4-week period and complete questionnaires about their sleep. There will also be a 3 month follow up after the end of the 4-week intervention period for both groups where we assess sleep outcomes.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 19
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • New York, New York, United States, 10032
      • CUIMC

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Patients will be eligible for PHASE A if they meet the following criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

1. 18 years of age or older,
2. can write, speak and read English,
3. provider and patient confirmed ACS,
4. ACS event occurred within the past 3 months, and
5. presence of insomnia symptoms based on the Insomnia Symptoms Questionnaire, or frequently (3-4 times per week) or always (5-7 times per week) experiencing short sleep duration of 6 hours or less per night.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. severe disabling chronic medical and/or psychiatric comorbidities determined on a case-by-case basis that prevent safe or adequate participation;
2. deemed unable to comply with the protocol (either self-selected or indicated during screening that s/he/they could not complete all requested tasks). This includes, but is not limited to, patients with a level of cognitive impairment indicative of dementia, patients with current alcohol or substance abuse, and patients with severe mental illness (e.g., schizophrenia);
3. unavailable for follow-up for reasons such as terminal illness and imminent plans to leave the United States (as we have migrant or mobile patients due to their citizenship and work issues);
4. Non-English speaking;
5. Lack of reliable phone or e-mail access;
6. History of bipolar disorder (manic episode can be triggered by BLT) or positive screen for bipolar disorder based on the Mood Disorder Questionnaire;
7. Eye disease including glaucoma or retinopathy (BLT contraindications);
8. Blindness;
9. Night shift work schedules;
10. taking any anti-depressant or anti-anxiety medications; and
11. taking other medications that increase sensitivity to light (by self-report).

Patients will be eligible for PHASE B if they meet the following criteria:

Inclusion Criteria:

1. 18 years of age or older,
2. can write, speak and read English or Spanish,
3. provider and patient confirmed ACS,
4. ACS event occurred within the past 3 months, and
5. presence of insomnia symptoms based on the Insomnia Symptoms Questionnaire, or frequently (3-4 times per week) or always (5-7 times per week) experiencing short sleep duration of 6 hours or less per night.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. severe disabling chronic medical and/or psychiatric comorbidities determined on a case-by-case basis that prevent safe or adequate participation;
2. deemed unable to comply with the protocol (either self-selected or indicated during screening that s/he/they could not complete all requested tasks). This includes, but is not limited to, patients with a level of cognitive impairment indicative of dementia, patients with current alcohol or substance abuse, and patients with severe mental illness (e.g., schizophrenia);
3. unavailable for follow-up for reasons such as terminal illness and imminent plans to leave the United States (as we have migrant or mobile patients due to their citizenship and work issues);
4. Non-English and non-Spanish speaking;
5. Lack of reliable phone or e-mail access;
6. History of bipolar disorder (manic episode can be triggered by BLT) or positive screen for bipolar disorder based on the Mood Disorder Questionnaire;
7. Eye disease including glaucoma or retinopathy (BLT contraindications);
8. Blindness;
9. Night shift work schedules;
10. taking any anti-depressant or anti-anxiety medications; and
11. taking other medications that increase sensitivity to light (by self-report).

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Phase A - open label single-arm; All Phase A participants randomized to the home-based CC intervention will be use a light visor to administer "bright light therapy" in the morning for 30 minutes after waking up (BLT), and use orange-colored glasses for "blue light blocking" at night from 8:00 pm until going to sleep (BLB).	Behavioral: BLT Intervention; BLT will be administered via a Luminette 3 light therapy visor. The Luminette 3 is a visor worn above the eyes containing light emitting diode (LEDs) emitting a blue-enriched white light reflecting to the retina at 1,000 lux via a holographic system in order to ensure correct penetration into the eye without impeding vision. This range of light and intensity is sufficient to synchronize the circadian clock.; Other Names: Bright light therapy intervention; Behavioral: BLB Intervention; BLB will be administered via orange lenses that filter out short-wavelength blue light, while allowing the other visible spectrum light to pass. The BLB lenses result in a reduction in melanopic irradiance (i.e., the light that affects sleep) of about 85%. The BLB lenses only make the overall light environment about 30% dimmer. Therefore, the BLB lenses are effective in blocking out most of the blue light in the visible environment that impacts sleep, but do not result in drastic overall dimming/darkening of the light environment.; Other Names: Blue light blocking intervention; Behavioral: Sleep Hygiene Education; The sleep hygiene education will consist of watching a sleep education video (background on the regulation of sleep, the impacts of insufficient sleep on mental and physical health, etc.) and a sleep hygiene video (providing overview of sleep hygiene approaches).
Experimental: Phase B - active CC treatment; For all Phase B participants randomized to the active CC group, BLT will occur each morning after awakening and will last for 30 minutes and BLB at night from 8:00 pm until going to sleep throughout the 4-week intervention period. Participants in the CC group will also receive a sleep hygiene education.	Behavioral: BLT Intervention; BLT will be administered via a Luminette 3 light therapy visor. The Luminette 3 is a visor worn above the eyes containing light emitting diode (LEDs) emitting a blue-enriched white light reflecting to the retina at 1,000 lux via a holographic system in order to ensure correct penetration into the eye without impeding vision. This range of light and intensity is sufficient to synchronize the circadian clock.; Other Names: Bright light therapy intervention; Behavioral: BLB Intervention; BLB will be administered via orange lenses that filter out short-wavelength blue light, while allowing the other visible spectrum light to pass. The BLB lenses result in a reduction in melanopic irradiance (i.e., the light that affects sleep) of about 85%. The BLB lenses only make the overall light environment about 30% dimmer. Therefore, the BLB lenses are effective in blocking out most of the blue light in the visible environment that impacts sleep, but do not result in drastic overall dimming/darkening of the light environment.; Other Names: Blue light blocking intervention; Behavioral: Sleep Hygiene Education; The sleep hygiene education will consist of watching a sleep education video (background on the regulation of sleep, the impacts of insufficient sleep on mental and physical health, etc.) and a sleep hygiene video (providing overview of sleep hygiene approaches).
Active Comparator: Phase B - sleep hygiene education control group; All Phase B participants randomized to the control group will receive a sleep hygiene education alone at the start of the 4 week monitoring period.	Behavioral: Sleep Hygiene Education; The sleep hygiene education will consist of watching a sleep education video (background on the regulation of sleep, the impacts of insufficient sleep on mental and physical health, etc.) and a sleep hygiene video (providing overview of sleep hygiene approaches).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Proportion of participants who complete 100% of the outcome assessments at study conclusion	The total number of participants who complete all endpoint questionnaire assessments will be documented and the proportion of participants who fully complete outcome assessments will be computed.	At end of 4-week intervention period
Proportion of participants who report scores ≥4 for their final rating of the intervention's feasibility	Participants in Phase A and those participants in Phase B who were randomized to the intervention group will complete the Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM). The FIM is a 4-item questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale (completely disagree to completely agree).	At end of 4-week intervention period
Proportion of participants who report scores ≥4 for their final rating of the intervention's acceptability	Participants in Phase A and those participants in Phase B who were randomized to the intervention group will complete the Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM). The AIM is a 4-item questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale (completely disagree to completely agree).	At end of 4-week intervention period
Proportion of participants who report scores ≥4 for their final rating of the intervention's appropriateness for improving sleep	Participants in Phase A and those participants in Phase B who were randomized to the intervention group will complete the Intervention Appropriateness Measure (IAM). The IAM is a 4-item questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale (completely disagree to completely agree).	At end of 4-week intervention period
Proportion of participants who report total scores ≥68 for their final rating of the intervention's usability	Participants in Phase A and those participants in Phase B who were randomized to the intervention group will complete the System Usability Scale (SUS). The SUS is a 10-item questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale (strongly disagree to strongly agree).	At end of 4-week intervention period
Proportion of who report administering the intervention (i.e., morning BLT and evening BLB) on ≥50% (and ≥75%) of the days throughout the 4-wk treatment period	Participants will complete a daily use log where the times of use of the intervention devices will be documented. Adherence to the protocol will be calculated as using the devices on ≥50% of days. The proportion of participants who meet adherence criteria at 4 week endpoint will be computed. (Similar calculations will be done with a criteria of using intervention devices on 75% of days).	At end of 4-week intervention period

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Difference in the total score of Insomnia Severity Index	This is to measure the baseline-to-study conclusion change in insomnia symptom severity. The range of values is 0-28, with higher values indicating worsened severity of insomnia symptoms. The total score is interpreted as follows: absence of insomnia (0-7); sub-threshold insomnia (8-14); moderate insomnia (15-21); and severe insomnia (22-28).	Baseline, 4 weeks
Difference in the total global score of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index	This is to measure the baseline-to-study conclusion change in global sleep quality. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index is a 19-item questionnaire that is completed by the participant. The score range is 0-21. Higher score indicates poorer sleep quality. A cutoff value of a total score > 5 is often used to indicate the presence of poor sleep quality.	Baseline, 4 weeks
Difference in the sleep duration item of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (i.e., Question #4).	This is to measure the baseline-to-study conclusion change in self-reported sleep duration (hours spent asleep). Participants enter a value as a whole number in response to the question: "During the past month, how many hours of actual sleep did you get at night? (This may be different than the number of hours you spend in bed.)"	Baseline, 4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Columbia University
• Collaborators: National Institute on Aging (NIA)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Ari Shechter, PhD, Associate Professor of Medical Sciences

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 18, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 27, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 30, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 15, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 24, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): March 29, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 23, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 22, 2024
• Last Verified: May 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: sleep; acute coronary syndrome; insomnia; intervention; circadian; cardiovascular; light therapy; chronotherapy; short sleep duration
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Pathologic Processes; Myocardial Ischemia; Heart Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Vascular Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Sleep Disorders, Intrinsic; Dyssomnias; Sleep Wake Disorders; Disease; Syndrome; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders; Acute Coronary Syndrome
• Other Study ID Numbers: AAAU0150; P30AG064198-02 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Drug and device information, study documents

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