Impact of Chronic Circadian Disruption vs. Chronic Sleep Restriction on Metabolism

Mass General Brigham

Status: Completed

Conditions: Aging; Circadian Disruption; Sleep Restriction

Treatments: Behavioral: Control; Behavioral: Circadian Disruption; Behavioral: Sleep Restriction

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT02171273

2014-P-000243

2P01AG009975-16A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

The overall objectives of the proposed study are to examine the consequences of chronic circadian disruption and chronic sleep restriction on metabolic function in healthy adults.

Full description

It has long been recognized that sleep patterns change with age. A common feature of aging is the advance of the timing of sleep to earlier hours, often earlier than desired. These age-related changes are found in even healthy individuals who are not taking medications and who are free from sleep disorders. In addition to these sleep disturbances, many older individuals curtail their sleep voluntarily, reporting similar rates of sleep restriction (sleeping less than 7 or less than 6 hours per night) when compared to young adults. Whether voluntary or not, insufficient sleep has medical, safety and metabolic consequences. In fact, converging evidence in young adults suggests that sleep restriction per se may impair metabolism, and that reduced sleep duration is associated with weight gain, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and mortality. An understanding of how the circadian and sleep homeostatic neurobiological processes responds to increasing homeostatic sleep pressure, and the effects of sleep restriction on metabolism at different ages, should provide information on the regulation of sleep and metabolism in aging, as well as direction for future treatments. In the present study, we will study the separate impacts of chronic sleep restriction (while minimizing circadian disruption) and chronic circadian disruption (while minimizing sleep disruption) and a poor diet on metabolism.

Enrollment: 21 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 21 to 70 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Healthy adults with conventional and regular sleep-wake timing
• Non-smokers
• Completion of medical, psychological, and sleep screening tests
• Able to spend 37 consecutive days/nights in the laboratory

Exclusion criteria

• History of neurological or psychiatric disorder
• History of sleep disorder or regular use of sleep-promoting medication
• Current prescription, herbal, or over-the-counter medication use
• Traveling across 2 or more time zones within past 3 months
• Donating blood within past 8 weeks
• Worked night or rotating shift work within past 3 years
• Hearing impairment
• Drug or alcohol dependency

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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21 participants in 3 patient groups

Chronic circadian disruption

Experimental group

Description:

Following a baseline of adequate time in bed, study participants will spend 3 weeks on a daily jet-lag schedule (where each day is longer than 24 hours).

Treatment:

Behavioral: Circadian Disruption

Chronic sleep restriction

Experimental group

Description:

Following a baseline of adequate time in bed, study participants will have a shortened opportunity for sleep during each 24-hour day (for three weeks).

Treatment:

Behavioral: Sleep Restriction

Control (sleep extension)

Active Comparator group

Description:

Following a baseline of adequate time in bed, study participants will continue to have adequate time in bed and opportunity for sleep during each 24-hour day, for 3 weeks.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Control