Why Study Sleep in Youth?
Adolescent development is a dynamic process through young adulthood. Your body is growing and changing, your social life is expanding, along with changes in your feelings and emotions. Your brain is also changing as you mature, and we want to learn how these changes affect the regulation of sleep and daily rhythms. Bradley Hospital’s Sleep Research Team is dedicated to learning more about sleep processes and biological timing.

Who Should Get Involved and How?
We are inviting special kids ages 9 to 11 and 15 to 16 to take part in our exciting “Summer Sleep Study” We plan to have a Lab Tour/Information session for you and your parents to hear about and see details of the summer project Until then, we’d like to give you a short description of the study:

At Home Assessments
First, you and your parents will come to an orientation session where you will be given a sleep schedule that requires you to be in bed at 10PM and out of bed at 8AM every day for 10 to 14 days. You will be required to complete a sleep diary every day, to phone the lab each day when you wake up and before going to bed, and to wear a wrist activity monitor. Otherwise, you are free to go about your normal activities

About half way through the at-home portion, you will come to the lab for a brief visit, during which we check your activity monitor and schedule

You will come to the lab for 2 consecutive overnight visits in order for you to have a better understanding of what it is like to stay in the lab.

Finally, you will come to live in the lab for 7 days and nights for:

Sleep Laboratory Assessments
Nighttime testing: Sensors and wires are attached to your scalp, face, shoulder, and side to measure your brain waves, eye movement, muscle, and heart activity. We also watch your sleep with a video monitor.

Daytime activities: Each day in the lab, you are on a schedule that includes brief naps, simple performance tests, crafts, games, movies and other activities. When not in testing, we have fun activities scheduled for you and the other sleep participants.

Saliva Samples: You provide small samples of saliva whenever you are awake. These samples let us detect at intervals the hormone melatonin.

Sleep-wake schedule: On the first night, you will sleep at your regularly scheduled times. During the rest of your time in the lab, you will have an altered sleep-wake schedule

Meals and other activities: Each day includes a family style breakfast, lunch, dinner, and evening snack. You will also be able to participate in arts and crafts, games, puzzles, and watching movies. With the exception of the study procedures and being indoors, you will experience a camp-like environment. During your stay, your family members are not permitted to visit you, but they can send cards and letters to you, and you can write to them, too.

Genotyping Method: At our initial meeting, you will be asked to prove a sample of skin cells from the inside of your cheek. These cells are use to identify specific genes that may be associated with sleep and biological

Medical Evaluation
Physical exam: You will be examined by our staff doctor to make sure you do not have any medical problems. During this exam, the doctor also evaluates your pubertal status.

Physician release: You will be asked to have a medical release signed by your physician stating that you are healthy enough to participate in the study.

Compensation
You will be compensated for your time and effort. This compensation is identified in the consent form.

click here to download a copy of our consent form for minors