Clinical Trial: Simulated Dawn Med Students
Study Status: Completed
Recruit Status: Completed
Study Type: Interventional
Official Title: The Effect of Improving Sleep and Circadian Rhythms on Affective Symptoms In First Year Medical Students
Brief Summary: Medical students score higher than the general population on measures of depression, anxiety, fatigue, poor sleep and sleepiness. Data suggest that disparages in circadian phase might contribute to these problems. From an internal validity standpoint, first year medical students are an ideal group to study. The majority of the students will be matched on variables such as education, age, and intelligence. However, more importantly, they have a nearly identical life style when it comes to factors such as schedule, living conditions, level of stress, and timing of stressors. The specific aim and hypothesis is:Medical students randomized to sleep hygiene counseling plus simulated dawn will report less depression, anxiety, fatigue, sleepiness, and sleep disruption (as measured by standardized questionnaires) than students randomized to just sleep hygiene counseling.
Detailed Summary:
There is a substantial and growing body of literature that has identified medical students as a group that suffers from increased levels of depression, anxiety, and other markers of "psychological distress". Other studies have demonstrated that in conjunction with the "psychological distress", medical students suffer from sleep deprivation, sleep disruption, and daytime sleepiness. Finally there is some preliminary evidence that residents and interns show increased symptoms of fatigue. It might reasonably be assumed that all of these symptoms are inter-related and more importantly detrimental to both the student and those patients under their care. There have been interventional studies aimed at educating participants on stress management, however these attempts have had only limited success.
Circadian rhythms are biological rhythms that contribute to most of our bodies' physiological processes. It has been determined that light is the major environmental cue that influences the setting of our circadian rhythm. Under ideal circumstances exposure to natural sunlight is sufficient to maintain a consistent and synchronized circadian rhythm. Often times this is not the case. Reduced exposure to natural light and increased exposure to artificial light are just two influencing factors.
Artificial light therapy has been successfully applied to the treatment of disorders of circadian rhythms as well as the treatment of some affective disorders. Most notably, light therapy has been shown to be effective in treating symptoms of depression and sleep disruption, specifically in patients with seasonal affective disorder, non-seasonal major depression, delayed sleep phase syndrome, advanced sleep phase syndrome, and sub-syndromal levels of each of these.
The theoretic
Sponsor: Medical University of South Carolina
Current Primary Outcome: Sleep quality [ Time Frame: 3 months ]
Original Primary Outcome: Same as current
Current Secondary Outcome:
Original Secondary Outcome:
Information By: Medical University of South Carolina
Dates:
Date Received: February 26, 2014
Date Started: July 2007
Date Completion:
Last Updated: March 14, 2014
Last Verified: February 2014
