Healthy Volunteers
Conditions
Keywords
sleep, social networks, undergraduates, mood, circadian rhythms
Brief summary
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.
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.
Interventions
OTHERNo intervention. Observation only
No intervention. Observation only
Sponsors
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Harvard University
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Study design
Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
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
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Timing of sleep and wake | Approximately one month | Timing of self-reported sleep onset and wake onset |
| Timing of phone use (e.g., mobile phone calls, text messages, applications and internet use) | Approximately one month | Timing of phone use (e.g, mobile phone calls, text messages, applications and internet use) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Light exposure levels | approximately one month | Light exposure levels collected every minute using a wrist-worn device |
| Food choice | approximately one month | Content of food |
| Mood | Approximately one month | Self-reported mood using a linear non-numeric scale |
| Electrodermal activity | approximately one month | Electrodermal activity as measured using a wrist-worn device |
| Timing of meals | approximately one month | Time meals are eaten |
| Circadian phase | one day | Calculated time of melatonin phase as a marker of circadian rhythms |
| Activity levels | approximately one month | Activity levels collected every minute using a wrist-worn device |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed