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Circadian Light Exposure Adjustment for Restfulness

Sponsor: University of Arizona • ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT07391852

Registry updated: 2026-10-14

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Description

Many young children are exposed to light int he evening hours before bedtime. Children's biological clocks are highly sensitive to evening light exposure, which can delay the timing of the clock and make it harder to fall asleep. The purpose of this study is to test three strategies (adjustment to home lighting, amber-tinted glasses, clear glasses) to reduce evening light exposure in children ages 5-6 years with parent-reported sleep onset difficulties in order to improve their sleep and the timing of their biological clock. This study takes place over approximately 5 weeks. After baseline assessments of children's sleep timing, light exposure, cognition, and circadian rhythms, they will be randomly assigned to one of three interventions to reduce evening light exposure for two weeks. After the two-week intervention period, the baseline measures are repeated and parents are interviewed about their and their child's experiences with the intervention.

Interventions

Amber Tinted Glasses (Device)
Children will wear amber-tinted glasses in the evening hours before bedtime to reduce exposure to short-wavelength (blue) light. The glasses are intended to reduce circadian disruption associated with evening light exposure.
Clear Glasses (Device)
Children will wear clear glasses in the evening hours before bedtime. This sham intervention controls for wearing glasses without reducing light exposure.
Smart Lightbulbs (Device)
Smart light bulbs will be installed in the child's home and programmed to reduce short-wavelength light exposure during evening hours before bedtime.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria: * Inclusion requires that children are aged 5.0-6.9 years at the time of enrollment with a parent-reported sleep onset of ≥ 60 min after parents' desired bedtime at least three nights per week. One adult parent of each participating child will also take part in the study. Parents must be able to provide consent for themselves and their child and to complete the interview at the end of the study. Exclusion Criteria: * Children are excluded for the following reasons: * All sleep disorders as indicated on the telephone screener or by clinical cut-off scores on the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), except for insomnia or DSWPD as features of these disorders are directly targeted by the intervention. Secondary analyses will explore if outcomes differ among participants with or without parent-reported symptoms consistent with these diagnoses. * Physical abilities that interfere with assessments (e.g., visual impairment), developmental disabilities (e.g., autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), pervasive developmental disorder), epilepsy or other neurological disorders, metabolic disorders, medical conditions that commonly require treatments or assessments during the night (e.g., cancer, diabetes, active asthma), current infection or lead poisoning; a head injury involving loss of consciousness in the past 6 months. * Current use of medications affecting daytime sleepiness, the circadian system, or light sensitivity. * Eye disorders or color blindness (determined with Ishihara Color Vision Test); corrected vision with eyeglasses is permitted.

Conditions

Sleep Onset Latency

Locations

University of Arizona — Tucson, Arizona, United States

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Official Source

Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

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