Modifying the Impact of Eveningness Chronotype (“Night-Owls”) in Youth: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Abstract
Objective: To determine whether an intervention to reduce eveningness chronotype improves sleep, circadian, and health (emotional, cognitive, behavioral, social, physical) outcomes. Method: Youth aged 10 to 18 years with an evening chronotype and who were “at risk” in 1 of 5 health domains were randomized to: (a) Transdiagnostic Sleep and Circadian Intervention for Youth (TranS-C; n = 89) or (b) Psychoeducation (PE; n = 87) at a university-based clinic. Treatments were 6 individual, weekly 50-minute sessions during the school year. TranS-C addresses sleep and circadian problems experienced by youth by integrating evidence-based treatments derived from basic research. PE provides education on the interrelationship between sleep, stress, diet, and health. Results: Relative to PE, TranS-C was not associated with greater pre–post change for total sleep time (TST) or bed time (BT) on weeknights but was associated with greater reduction in evening circadian preference (pre-post increase of 3.89 points, 95% CI = 2.94–4.85, for TranS-C, and 2.01 points, 95% CI = 1.05–2.97 for PE, p = 0.006), earlier endogenous circadian phase, less weeknight–weekend discrepancy in TST and wakeup time, less daytime sleepiness, and better self-reported sleep via youth and parent report. In terms of functioning in the five health domains, relative to PE, TranS-C was not associated with greater pre–post change on the primary outcome. However, there were significant interactions favoring TranS-C on the…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design. Reported size: 89 participants or records.
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