Sleep in Collegiate Baseball Players

Assessing and Optimizing Sleep, Diet, and Performance in Columbia University Baseball Players

Sleep is an essential biological function that impacts nearly every aspect of an athlete's physical and mental health. For athletes, the importance of high-quality sleep cannot be overstated, as it plays a critical role in performance, recovery, and overall well-being. Sleep supports muscle recovery by promoting protein synthesis and the release of growth hormones, essential for healing after intense physical exertion. Furthermore, adequate sleep is crucial for maintaining cognitive sharpness, decision-making abilities, and emotional regulation-all of which are necessary for optimal athletic performance. The study will assess both sleep quality and quantity in baseball players at Columbia University. These tools will help quantify key sleep metrics, including sleep duration, latency (the time it takes to fall asleep), and the number of awakenings during the night. Similarly, the study will analyze dietary patterns using the Automated Self-Administered 24-Hour Dietary Assessment (ASA24), tracking nutrient intake, meal timing, and the consumption of ultra-processed foods. These assessments will establish a baseline from which to measure improvement post-intervention. The intervention will focus on improving diet, time in bed, and light exposure to improve sleep, diet, and performance in collegiate baseball athletes.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Sleep
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Sleep and diet

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 38
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • New York, New York, United States, 10032
      • Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Collegiate baseball player at Columbia University

Exclusion Criteria:

• None

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Sleep & diet intervention; Participants will be asked to increase their fruit and vegetable consumption, time in bed, and modify light exposure across the day	Behavioral: Sleep and diet; Participants will be asked to increase their fruit and vegetable consumption, time in bed, and modify light exposure across the day

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Athletic performance (position-specific for batters and pitchers)	Batters: Baseball radar gun, outcome is exit velocity (speed at which ball leaves the bat, in miles/h) Pitchers: Baseball radar gun measuring velocity (miles/h)	pre and post intervention (4-6 weeks)
Sleep quality	Duration (h:min)	Nightly for 6 weeks
Sleep quality	Sleep stage (%REM, %Deep sleep)	Nightly for 6 weeks
Dietary quality	3-day food recalls (ASA-24)	pre and post intervention (4-6 weeks)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7)	7 questions, 0-3 points each (not at all to nearly every day); global score 0-21, higher score is worse	pre and post intervention (4-6 weeks)
Patient Health Questionnaire-9	9 questions, 0-3 points each (not at all to nearly every day); global score 0-27, higher score is worse	pre and post intervention (4-6 weeks)
Sport Anxiety Scale-2	4-point Likert scale (not at all to very much); global score 5-20, higher score is worse	pre and post intervention (4-6 weeks)
Pitching accuracy	Ratio of strikes to balls (pitchers only)	pre and post intervention (4-6 weeks)
Isometric wall push	Hand-held dynamometer (pounds) (pitchers only)	pre and post intervention (4-6 weeks)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Columbia University
• Collaborators: Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd.; University of Arizona; Oura Ring
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Marie-Pierre St-Onge, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 16, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 31, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): October 31, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 23, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 30, 2025
• First Posted (Estimated): October 8, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): December 18, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 11, 2025
• Last Verified: December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena; Diet, Food, and Nutrition; Physiological Phenomena; Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; Diet; Sleep
• Other Study ID Numbers: AAAV4501

Drug and device information, study documents

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