Skip to content

Countermeasures to Circadian Misalignment

Time-restricted Feeding to Mitigate Metabolic Impairments During Circadian Misalignment

Status
Recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04966351
Acronym
C2CM
Enrollment
32
Registered
2021-07-19
Start date
2021-07-07
Completion date
2026-06-30
Last updated
2025-07-24

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorder of Shift Work Type, Metabolic Disease, Insulin Sensitivity

Keywords

Shift work, Sleep, Blood sugar, Metabolism

Brief summary

Insufficient sleep and circadian misalignment are independent risk factors for the development of obesity and diabetes, yet few strategies exist to counter metabolic impairments when these behaviors are unavoidable. This project will examine whether avoiding food intake during the biological night can mitigate the impact of circadian misalignment on metabolic homeostasis in adults during simulated night shift work. Findings from this study could identify a translatable strategy to minimize metabolic diseases in populations that include anyone working nonstandard hours such as police, paramedics, firefighters, military personnel, pilots, doctors and nurses, truck drivers, and individuals with sleep disorders.

Detailed description

People who work evening, night or rotating shifts (i.e. nonstandard work hours) represent one in five U.S. employees and are alarmingly 44% more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes (T2D) compared to people who work standard day shifts. Circadian misalignment is one mechanism suggested to increases the risk of obesity and diabetes in people who work non-standard hours, and is highly prevalent and often unavoidable in modern, 24-hour society (e.g. shift work, long work hours, jet lag, medical residency, emergency responders, military personnel, Daylight Savings Time changes, etc). Disruptions in sleep and circadian rhythms have been linked to insulin resistance, increased energy intake, weight gain, and increased total body, abdominal and intrahepatic fat content, yet there have been limited attempts at identifying strategies or countermeasures to prevent the impact of such disruption on T2D risk in a sizeable proportion of the population. Therefore, the long-term goal is to identify and develop effective, behavioral countermeasures to combat the increased risk for metabolic diseases associated with sleep and circadian disruption when these behaviors are unavoidable. The overall objective for this project is to test the impact of time-restricted feeding to a 7h period in the day as a noninvasive countermeasure to the metabolic impairments associated with circadian misalignment. The central hypothesis is that time-restricted feeding to the daytime period will prevent metabolic impairments during circadian misalignment compared to a condition where energy is consumed throughout the day and night. The rationale for the proposed project is that defining a non-invasive, scalable and feasible countermeasure to circadian misalignment could mitigate the risk of obesity and T2D. To test the overall hypothesis, a randomized crossover study will be used with a rigorous inpatient diet, activity and light-controlled protocol in healthy men and women. The impact of time restricted feeding during circadian misalignment on metabolic homeostasis will be determined. Findings from this study represent a critical advancement in the fields of translational circadian and metabolic physiology by identifying and testing a countermeasure to circadian misalignment. Achievement of the proposed aims could lead to the development of new intervention strategies for chronic disease prevention and management. The knowledge to be gained offers the potential to support cost-effective programs that may inform healthcare approach to metabolic disease prevention in populations at risk for these diseases such as shift workers, individuals with sleep disorders and anyone who eats outside of daytime hours.

Interventions

Each subject will participate in both conditions (CM and CM+TRF)--one in which food is allowed during the nighttime period and one in which food will be restricted to the daytime only. Food intake will be matched across conditions and designed to keep participants weight stable.

Healthy lean subjects will undergo circadian misalignment induced using a simulated night shift-work protocol in both conditions of the study. Each condition will last approximately 6 days.

Sponsors

University of Colorado, Denver
CollaboratorOTHER
Salk Institute for Biological Studies
CollaboratorOTHER
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
CollaboratorNIH
Colorado State University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 35 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

1. 18-35 old; men and women; equal numbers of women and men will be included. 2. Body Mass Index (BMI) between 20.0 and 24.9 (normal weight). 3. Physical activity history: inactive to habitual moderate physical activity level 4. Sleep/wake history: habitual sleep duration between 7-9.25 hours. 5. Altitude history: Potential subjects must have lived at Denver altitude or higher for at least 3 months prior to inpatient stay.

Exclusion criteria

1. Any clinically significant medical, psychiatric, or sleep disorder 2. Use of prescribed medications/supplements/illicit drugs within one month prior to study 3. History of shift work in year prior to study, or travel more than one time zone in three weeks prior to study. \[NOTE: Subjects can be studied at a later date.\] 4. Women with history of prior gynecological pathology, \<1 year post-partum, breast-feeding and/or pregnant. 5. Non-English speakers will be excluded, as we do not have access to a translator who could rely accurate information to the participant for the consent or throughout the study.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
Insulin sensitivity-derived from glucose tolerance testChange to be assessed at Day 3, Day 5, Day 31, Day 33.
Muscle tissue lipids-assessed by lipidomic analysesChange to be assessed at Day 3, Day 5, Day 31, Day 33.

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
24-hour circulating blood glucose levels-assessed by assayChange to be assessed at Day 3, Day 5, Day 31, Day 33.
24-hour circulating blood insulin levels-assessed by assayChange to be assessed at Day 3, Day 5, Day 31, Day 33.
24-hour circulating blood free fatty acid levels-assessed by assayChange to be assessed at Day 3, Day 5, Day 31, Day 33.

Other

MeasureTime frameDescription
Sleep quality assessments-assessed by ActiwatchChange to be assessed at Day 2, Day 4, Day 30, Day 32.movement and light sensor equipment
Sleep quality assessments-assessed by Maintenance of Wakefulness TestChange to be assessed at Day 2, Day 4, Day 30, Day 32.onset of sleep latency
Sleep quality assessments-assessed by Leeds Sleep Evaluation QuestionnaireChange to be assessed at Day 2, Day 4, Day 30, Day 32.subjective feelings of last night's sleep compared to usual of (1) getting to sleep- (easier, harder), (quicker, slower), (more drowsy, less drowsy); (2) quality of sleep- (more restful, less restful), (few periods of wakefulness, more periods of wakefulness); (3) awakening pattern-(easier, more difficult), (took shorter, took longer); (4) balance and coordination- (less clumsy, more clumsy)
Cognitive assessments-Karolinska Sleepiness ScaleChange to be assessed at Day 3, Day 5, Day 31, Day 33.subjective sleepiness measurement 1-9, 1=Very Alert, 9=Very sleepy, great effort to keep awake, fighting sleep
Functional balance-assessed by multi-sensor recorderChange to be assessed at Day 1, Day 3, Day 29, Day 31.gyroscope, accelerometer, attitude
Systolic and diastolic blood pressureChange to be assessed at Day 2, Day 4, Day 30, Day 32.automatic vitals machine
Functional grip strength-measured by hand dynamometerChange to be assessed at Day 2, Day 4, Day 30, Day 32.average force
Cognitive assessments-Positive and Negative Affect ScheduleChange to be assessed at Day 3, Day 5, Day 31, Day 33.subjective emotions & feelings, Scores range from 10-50 with higher scores represent higher levels of positive affect of 20 emotions & feelings items, and lower scores represent lower levels of negative affect of 20 emotions & feelings items.
Cognitive assessments- Psychomotor Vigilance TaskChange to be assessed at Day 3, Day 5, Day 31, Day 33.reaction time
Cognitive assessments- Conjunction Visual Search TaskChange to be assessed at Day 3, Day 5, Day 31, Day 33.reaction time & error rate
Sleep staging-assessed by polysomnographyChange to be assessed at Day 2, Day 4, Day 30, Day 32.Electrical activity across the scalp will be measured using polysomnography and sleep will be staged as Wake, Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3 and REM.

Countries

United States

Contacts

Primary ContactJosiane L Broussard, PhD
josiane.broussard@colostate.edu9704913103
Backup ContactEllen Lyon, MS
ellen.lyon@colostate.edu9704913103

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026