High School Sleep Study

The High School Sleep Study is for high schoolers, ages 14-18, who sometimes experience low mood or depression. We hope to learn more about how sleep and biological rhythms impact mood, response to stressors, and brain function.

Click here to see if you’re eligible!

Two Study Phases

Observational Phase

All participants will track their activity and sleep for 1 week and come to the sleep lab for 2 lab visits. Lab visits include assessments of sleep and biological rhythms, an MRI brain scan, behavioral and physiological assessments, and questionnaires.

Experimental Phase

Some participants will also keep a regular sleep schedule for 2 weeks and come to the UO Sleep Lab for one more lab visit. Participants will be randomly assigned (like a coin toss) to either go to bed at a regular time for 2 weeks (owl/late routine) or go to bed 90 minutes earlier than usual for 2 weeks (lark/early routine).

What’s Involved?

Health Assessment

You’ll complete an interview about your sleep health and mental health (approximately 3.5 hours). This will help determine your eligibility for the study.

At-home Sleep Tracking

You’ll track your activity and sleep patterns by wearing an activity watch on your wrist for at least a week. You will also wear a sleep tracker on your forehead for four nights. Participants in the experimental study will complete an additional 2 weeks of wearing the activity watch and 4 more days of sleep tracking.

Lab Visits

You’ll have 2-3 lab visits. The first visit includes a practice MRI brain scan and takes about 1 hour. The remaining visits take about 11 hours and include an MRI brain scan, computer and performance tasks, physiological assessments, and questionnaires.

MRI brain scan

You’ll do an MRI brain scan during lab visits in the observational and experimental phases of the study. MRI scans are very safe unless you have magnetic material (such as metal) in your body.

Biological Samples in Dim Light

During overnight visits for the observational and experimental phases of the study, you’ll spend about 6 hours in dim light while we collect tubes of your saliva every 30 minutes. Your saliva will be used to measure melatonin, which your body naturally produces in the hours before sleep.

Computer tasks

You’ll complete different computer tasks during
your lab visits. These tasks measure how you
respond to winning and losing money, and your
motivation, impulsivity, and attention.

Performance tasks

You’ll complete performance tasks while we measure your heart rate and blood pressure. We will also collect tubes of your saliva, which we use to measure cortisol, a hormone that your body naturally produces when you are alert or stressed.

Surveys

You’ll complete online surveys every day
during sleep tracking (approximately 15
minutes per day), and additional surveys during lab visits. These surveys include questions about
your sleep, daily activities, stress, mood, and substance use.