ROSA-B: ALAN Exposure and Brain Health in Midlife Women With VMS

Participants will be exposed to a controlled artificial-light-at-night condition during the scheduled overnight sleep episode. Light will be delivered using a standardized light source at a predetermined intensity and timing to examine its effects on sleep, brain health, and related physiological outcomes in midlife women with vasomotor symptoms.

Participants will be exposed to a controlled dim-light condition of approximately 5 lux during the scheduled overnight sleep episode. This condition will serve as the comparator for the artificial-light-at-night condition of approximately 100 lux.

Wake After Sleep Onset (WASO) is a measure of sleep fragmentation. Participants complete a daily diary each morning for a week where they report how many minutes they think they were awake the previous night after first falling asleep. Nightly WASO collected over 1 week immediately preceding each timepoint are averaged. Higher WASO indicates more sleep disruption.

Number of lapses recorded during the 10-minute Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) is a measure of neurobehavioral alertness. A lapse on the PVT is a response to stimulus >500 msec. A higher number of lapses indicates lower vigilance and greater neurobehavioral impairment.

The Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) is a measure of self-reported sleepiness, a one-item scale from 1 (very alert) to 9 (sleepy; great effort to keep awake).

Self-reported resting state stress is measured using a one-item visual analog scale (VAS) from 0 (Stressed Out) to 100 (Calm/Relaxed). Participants answer the resting state stress VAS each morning upon wake. Daily scores collected over 1 week immediately preceding each timepoint are averaged

Change in cortisol before and after a 20-minute stress task is measured using salivary biosamples.

Cognitive function is measured with a multi-day learning curve composite score based on a cognitive assessment that participants complete daily over 1 week preceding the timepoint. The composite score ranges from 0 (no learning) to 1 (optimal learning).

The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-Depression Scale (PROMIS-D) is a self-report short-form to assess depressive symptoms. A higher score indicates more depressive symptoms.

The World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS) 2.0 is a 36-item self-report questionnaire to assess daily functioning. The score ranges from 0 (no disability) to 100 (full disability).