Nighttime Synchrony of Your Nutrition and Circadian Health

NCT ID: NCT07329283

Last Updated: 2026-01-22

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 120 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2025-12-19
• Study Completion Date: 2031-05-31

Brief Summary

Sleep is an important factor for overall health. This study will see how different light exposure patterns and food intake impact a person's metabolism (how the body breaks down food) when sleeping is reduced.

Participants will attend 6 to 8 in-person visits to the study clinic, including three overnight stays. People will complete surveys and medical tests. The study will last about 4 to 6 months.

Detailed Description

This study is a randomized in-lab, cross-over trial. Each participant will complete all three arms in either condition order #1 (A-B-C) or order #2 (A-C-B). Each arm will consist of 5 nights of experimental sleep restriction followed by a constant routine protocol for assessment of 24-h rhythms. Sleep restriction in the three arms will occur under the following conditions: (A-control condition) Sleep Restriction with Central and Peripheral Alignment; (B) Sleep Restriction with Central Clock Misalignment; and (C) Sleep Restriction with Peripheral Misalignment. Prior to enrollment participants will complete a comprehensive medical history and clinical overnight sleep disorders screening. Baseline consists of a ~2-week ambulatory real-world monitoring segment that will occur immediately prior to each in-lab sleep restriction condition. Following the 5 days of sleep restriction in each arm, participants will complete an intravenous glucose tolerance test to analyze insulin sensitivity, prior to completing the constant routine.

Conditions

Sleep; Metabolism Changes; Circadian Rhythm; Lifestyle Factors; Sleep Hygiene; Sleep Hygiene, Inadequate; Sleep Deprivation; Insufficient Sleep; Circadian Misalignment; Circadian Dysregulation; Light Exposure

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Primary Study Purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE
• Blinding Strategy: TRIPLE

Study Groups

Sleep Restriction with Central and Peripheral Alignment

(Arm "A")-Control condition with central and peripheral aligned circadian rhythms

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Sleep Restriction with Central Clock Misalignment

(Arm "B")-Misalignment of the central clock by nighttime electrical light exposure and dim-light in morning hours.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Central Clock Misalignment

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Light exposure will be dimmed during the first 4 hours of scheduled wakefulness, with bright light exposure during the nighttime hours of extended wakefulness.

Sleep Restriction with Peripheral Misalignment

(Arm "C")-Misalignment of peripheral oscillators by shifting the majority of food intake to the nighttime hours.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Peripheral Misalignment

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Most daily calories will be given later in the day to shift eating patterns toward the nighttime hours.

Interventions

Central Clock Misalignment

Light exposure will be dimmed during the first 4 hours of scheduled wakefulness, with bright light exposure during the nighttime hours of extended wakefulness.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Peripheral Misalignment

Most daily calories will be given later in the day to shift eating patterns toward the nighttime hours.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

1. Age: 18-35 years old; equal numbers of men and women

2. Body Mass Index (BMI): 18.5-24.9 kg/m2

3. Sleep Habits: habitual self-reported average total sleep time (TST) 7-9 hours per night for prior 6 months

Exclusion Criteria

1. Clinically diagnosed sleep disorder or apnea hypopnea index (AHI) ≥5

2. Evidence of significant organ system dysfunction or disease (e.g., heart disease, diabetes)

3. Fasting plasma glucose ≥100 mg/dL

4. Major psychiatric illness (e.g., major depressive disorder)

5. Cancer that has been in remission less than 5 years

6. History of shift-work in prior year

7. Weight change >5% of body weight over prior six months

8. Currently following a weight-loss program

9. Menopause

10. Pregnant/nursing

11. Greater than 5-day variation in menstrual cycle length month-to-month

12. Currently smoking

13. Alcohol intake >14 drinks/week or >3 drinks/day.

14. Use of prescription medications (except oral contraceptives) within one month prior to or during in-lab visits.

15. Consumption of illegal drugs or >500mg per day of caffeine.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 35 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

University of Utah

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Christopher Depner

PhD

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Christopher Depner, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Utah

Locations

College of Health Research Complex - University of Utah, Salt Lake City 84112

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

United States

Central Contacts

Victoria Miranda, MS

Role: CONTACT

SleepStudyParticipant@utah.edu

385-309-0551

Grace Zimmerman, PhD

Role: CONTACT

SleepStudyParticipant@utah.edu

385-309-0551

Facility Contacts

Christopher Depner, PhD

Role: primary

sleepstudyparticipant@utah.edu

8015812275

Other Identifiers

185590

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id