Themes

Participants in Sleep for Science studies since about 1994 may recognize the procedures described in the papers listed in the following sections. Certain of these projects have been recently completed, others remain in progress, and only part of the information has been analyzed and published. As we make additional progress, we’ll add more.

Our perspective on teen sleep has been summarized in the following article: Carskadon, M.A. When worlds collide: adolescent need for sleep versus societal demands. Phi Delta Kappan 80(5):348-349, 1999.

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Presentations School Transition Project College Sleep Study Teen Survey Teen Sleep Aactigraphy Methods Summer Sleep Camp Sleep Development Sleep and Alcohol Other Surveys & Projects Miscellaneous Areas of Interest

Check out a few the lab’s poster presentations:

Holding for updated posters

School Transition Project

In a series of visits, a number of Rhode Island students contributed to an important study of how teens adjust (or do not) their sleep patterns when school start time changes from 8:25 to 7:20 am. This project, supported by NIMH, provided important impetus for our research models about adolescent sleep regulation.

Carskadon, M.A., Wolfson, A.R., Acebo, C., Tzischinsky, O., and Seifer, R. Adolescent sleep patterns, circadian timing, and sleepiness at a transition to early school days. Sleep 21(8):871-881, 1998.

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College Sleep Study

The College Sleep Study (also known as the “Prospective Study”) took place at Brown University from 2010-2014.

This project was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health with several goals, including examining whether genetic variations were implicated in the link between insufficient sleep and depressed mood. Each year, the project spanned the last few weeks of high school through the first 10 weeks or so of the first year at Brown. Incoming Brown first-year students were invited in May to complete a survey about their sleep patterns and other variables, such as circadian phase preference, mood, and so forth. Students who completed this survey were invited to join the extended phase of the study when they arrived at Brown for their first year. This extended phase included providing a blood or saliva sample for genetics determination, completing daily diaries of sleep and other behaviors, as well as biweekly surveys of mood and academic work load, and a final set of surveys at the end of first semester.

The project was approved by the Lifespan Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects Research, and participants received the gratitude of the SleepForScience team and monetary payments.

Nine papers have been published thus far from data gathered in the College Sleep Study. As others are written, they will be added to this site.

Carskadon, M.A., Sharkey, K.M., Knopik, V.S., and McGeary, J.E. Short sleep as an environmental exposure: A preliminary study associating 5-HTTLPR genotype to self-reported sleep duration and depressed mood in first-year university students. Sleep 35(6):791-796, 2012.
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Roane, B.M., Seifer, R., Sharkey, K.M., Van Reen, E., Bond, T.L.Y., Raffray, T., and Carskadon, M.A. Reliability of a scale assessing depressed mood in the context of sleep. TPM Test Psychom Methodol Appl Psychol 20(1):3-11, 2013.
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Van Reen, E., Sharkey, K.M., Roane, B.M., Barker, D., Seifer, R., Raffray, T., Bond, T.L., and Carskadon, M.A. Sex of college students moderates associations among bedtime, time in bed, and circadian phase angle. Journal of Biological Rhythms 28(6): 425-431, 2013.
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Roane, B.M., Seifer, R., Sharkey, K.M., Van Reen, E., Bond, T.L., Raffray, T., and Carskadon, M.A. What role does sleep play in weight gain in the first semester of university? Behavioral Sleep Medicine 13(6): 491-505, 2015.
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Orzech, K.M., Gradner, M.A., Roane, B.M., and Carskadon, M.A. Digital media use in the 2 h before bedtime is associated with sleep variables in university students. Computers in Human Behavior 55: 43-50, 2016.
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Van Reen, E., Roane, B.M., Barker, D.H., McGeary, J.E., Borsari, B., and Carskadon, M.A. Current alcohol use is associated with sleep patterns in first-year college students. Sleep 39(6): 1321-1326, 2016.
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Huang, H., Zhu, Y., Eliot, M.N., Knopik, V.S., McGeary, J.E., Carskadon, M.A., and Hart, A.C. Combining human epigenetics and sleep studies in Caenorhabditis elegans: A cross-species approach for finding conserved genes regulating sleep. Sleep 40(6), 2017.
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Miller, M.B., Van Reen, E., Barker, D.H., Roane, B.M., Borsari, B., McGeary, J.E., Seifer, R., and Carskadon, M.A. The impact of sleep and psychiatric symptoms on alcohol consequences among young adults. Addictive Behaviors 66: 138-144, 2017.
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Shochat, T., Barker, D.H., Sharkey, K.M., Van Reen, E., Roane, B.M., and Carskadon, M.A. An approach to understanding sleep and depressed mood in adolescents: Person-centered sleep classification. Journal of Sleep Research, 2017.
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Teen Survey

Funded by NIMH, a survey of over 3,000 Rhode Island high school students provided important new information about teen sleep patterns and how they relate to mood, schoolwork, and other facets of daily life.

Wolfson, A.R. and Carskadon, M.A. Sleep schedules and daytime functioning in adolescents. Child Development 69(4):875-887, 1998.
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Acebo, C., Wolfson, A.R., and Carskadon, M.A. Relations among self-reported sleep patterns, health, and injuries in adolescents. Sleep Research 26:149, 1997.

Acebo, C. and Carskadon, M.A. Influence of irregular sleep/wake patterns on waking behavior. In Adolescent Sleep Patterns: Biological, Social, and Psychological Influences, M.A. Carskadon (Ed.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2002, pp. 220-235.
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Wolfson, A.R. Bridging the gap between research and practice: What will adolescents’ sleep-wake patterns look like in the 21st century? In Adolescent Sleep Patterns: Biological, Social, and Psychological Influences, M.A. Carskadon (Ed.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2002, pp. 198-219.
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Teen Sleep

A major component of our teen sleep project, funded by NIMH, has been to collect a week of actigraph data from as many teens as we can in specific Rhode Island high schools. Another component involves in-lab assessments. As we move to the analysis phase of this project, we have prepared some preliminary reports.

Labyak, S.E., Acebo, C., Seifer, R., and Carskadon, M.A. Adolescent sleep: preliminary report of a week of actigraphy. Sleep 22 (Supp.1):S242,1999.

Acebo, C., Sadeh, A., Seifer, R., Tzischinsky, O., Wolfson, A.R., Hafer, A., and Carskadon, M.A. Estimating sleep patterns with activity monitoring in children and adolescents: How many nights are necessary for reliable measures? Sleep 22(1):95-103, 1999.
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Carskadon, M.A., Acebo, C., and Labyak, S.E. Daytime REM sleep in adolescents. Sleep 23 (Suppl. 2):S29, 2000.
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Carskadon, M.A. and Acebo, C. Regulation of sleepiness in adolescence: Update, insights, and speculation. Sleep 25:606-616, 2002.
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Carskadon, M.A. Factors influencing sleep patterns of adolescents. Adolescent Sleep Patterns: Biological, Social, and Psychological Influences, M.A. Carskadon (Ed.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2002, pp. 4-26.

Crowley S.J., Acebo C., Fallone G., and Carskadon M.A. Estimating Dim Light Melatonin Onset (DLMO) phase in adolescents using summer or school-year sleep/wake schedules. Sleep 29(12):1632-1641, 2006.
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Actigraphy Methods

We continue to work on understanding and perfecting the actigraph methodology for our research projects involving field studies sleep. Funded by NINR and NIMH, this research allows us to reach out beyond the laboratory as we pursue our research.

Acebo C., Sadeh A., Seifer R., Tzischinsky O., Wolfson A.R., Hafer A., and Carskadon M.A. Estimating sleep patterns with activity monitoring in children and adolescents: How many nights are necessary for reliable measures? Sleep 22(1):95-103, 1999.
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Acebo C., Sadeh A., Seifer R., Tzischinsky O., Hafer A., and Carskadon M.A. Sleep/wake patterns derived from activity monitoring and maternal report for healthy 1-to-5-year-old children. Sleep 28(12):1568-1577, 2005.
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Summer Sleep Camp

The Sleep for Science version of sleep camp challenges our participants to keep interesting sleep schedules and undergo testing in the supportive environment of the laboratory, staffed by our indomitable summer apprentices. Funded by NIMH, this research has provided a means for us to begin acquiring fundamental knowledge of the interface of development, circadian timing, and sleep-wake systems.

Carskadon, M.A., Acebo, C., Richardson, G.S., and Tate, B.A. An approach to studying circadian rhythms of adolescent humans. Journal of Biological Rhythms 12(3):278-289, 1997.
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Carskadon, M.A., Labyak, S.E., Acebo, C., and Seifer, R. Intrinsic circadian period of adolescent humans measured in conditions of forced desynchrony. Neurosci. Lett. 260:129-132, 1999.
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Carskadon, M.A. and Acebo, C. Multiple sleep latency tests in adolescents during forced desynchrony. J. Sleep Research 7 (Supp. 2):40, 1998.

Carskadon, M.A., Acebo, C., and Seifer, R. Extended nights, sleep loss, and recovery sleep in adolescents. Arch. Ital. Biol. 139:301-312, 2001.
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Sleep and Development

Funded by NINR, the sleep and development project is in the data analysis and manuscript writing phase. So far, these studies have contributed to our notions of how healthy children and teens respond to a sleep restriction challenge in terms of alertness, behavior, performance, and emotions.

Mindell, J. A., Owens, J., & Carskadon, M. A. Developmental features of sleep. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 1999 Oct;8(4):695-725.
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Carskadon, M.A. When worlds collide: adolescent need for sleep versus societal demands. Phi Delta Kappan 80(5):348-349, 1999.
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Fallone, G., Acebo, C., Arnedt, J.T., Seifer, R., and Carskadon, M.A. Effects of acute sleep restriction on behavior, sustained attention, and response inhibition in children. Percept. Motor Skills 93:213-229, 2001.
Reprint available from author or publisher.

Fallone, G., Acebo, C., Seifer, R., and Carskadon, M.A. How well do children comply with imposed sleep schedules at home? Sleep 25:739-745, 2002.
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Jenni O.G. and Carskadon M.A. Spectral analysis of the sleep electroencephalogram during adolescence. Sleep 27(4):774-783, 2004.
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Jenni, O.G., Van Reen, E., and Carskadon, M.A. Regional differences of the sleep electroencephalogram in adolescents. J. Sleep Res. 14 (2): 141-147, 2005.
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Jenni, O.G., Achermann, P, and Carskadon, M.A. Homeostatic Sleep Regulation in Adolescents. Sleep 28(11): 1446-1454, 2005.
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Fallone G., Acebo, C., Seifer, R., Carskadon, M.A. Experimental Restriction of Sleep Opportunity in Children: Effects on Teacher Ratings. Sleep 28(12): 1561-1567, 2005
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Taylor, D.J., Jenni, O.G., Acebo, C., and Carskadon, M.A. Sleep tendency during extended wakefulness: insights into adolescent sleep regulation. J. Sleep Res. 14 (3): 239-244, 2005.
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Crowley, S.J., Acebo, C., Carskadon, M.A. Sleep, circadian rhythms, and delayed phase in adolescence. Sleep Medicine 8: 602-612, 2007.
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Hagenauer, M.H., Perryman, J.I., Lee, T.M., Carskadon, M.A. Adolescent changes in the homeostatic and circadian regulation of sleep. Dev. Neurosci. 31:276-284, 2009.
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Sleep and Alcohol

Another interest of our laboratory is investigating the association between sleep, circadian rhythms, and alcohol. Here are some preliminary papers that describe some of our results from this study funded by NIAAA.

Van Reen, E., Jenni, O.G., and Carskadon, M.A. Effects of Alcohol on Sleep and the Sleep Electroencephalogram in Healthy Young Women. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 30(6): 974-981, 2006.
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Rupp, T.R., Acebo, C., and Carskadon, M.A. Evening Alcohol Supresses Salivary Melatonin in Young Adults. Chronobiology International 24(3): 463-470, 2007.
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Rupp, T.L., Acebo, C., Seifer, R., and Carskadon, M.A. Effects of a Moderate Evening Alcohol Dose. II: Performance. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 31(8): 1365-1371, 2007.
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Other Surveys & Projects

We have tried to tap into a variety of important issues with pilot surveys. These include such issues as sleepy driving and the starting time of school.

Wolfson, A.R and Carskadon, M.A. A survey of factors influencing high school start times. NASSP Bulletin 89(642): 47-66, 2005.
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Miscellaneous Areas of Interest

Occasionally, we publish articles that are not research oriented or that tap research areas not within our primary research themes. These may include editorials, review chapter, or commentaries.

Wolfson, A.R. and Carskadon, M.A. Understanding adolescents’ sleep patterns and school performance: A critical appraisal. Sleep Medicine Reviews 7(6):491-506, 2003.
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Sharkey, K.M., Bearpark, H.M., Acebo, C., Millman, R.P., Cavallo, A., and Carskadon, M.A. Effects of menopausal status on sleep in midlife women. Behav. Sleep Med. 1(2):69-80, 2003.
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Carskadon, M.A. Sleep deprivation: health consequences & societal impact. Med. Clin. N.A. 88: 767-776, 2004.
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Carskadon, M.A. and Herz, R.S. Minimal Olfactory Perception During Sleep: Why Odor Alarms Will Not Work for Humans. Sleep 27(3): 402-405, 2004.
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