Our research participants are recruited from the local region. When participants enroll in Sleep for Science studies, they become partners in our science. Two principles are critical in this partnership: honesty and accuracy. Participants must make a commitment to be honest with us and accurate in providing information, and we promise to be honest and accurate with our participants.
Below are answers to questions prospective research participants may have. Click a question to reveal the answer.
What makes somebody "eligible" for study participation?
Not everyone who applies to be a participant can be accepted. Each study has its own special limitations on who can be involved, and everyone who applies goes through a preliminary screening. We always make an effort to communicate quickly and clearly about each person’s suitability for a study, but we usually cannot say exactly why a person is not eligible for a study.
What’s a "pinch-hitter"?
Pinch hitters are very special participants for Sleep for Science in-lab studies. We love to have full beds for our projects, but sometimes people may get sick before they come for their study. When this happens, the pinch hitter who has been doing all the pre-lab stuff and is waiting on deck can step up to the plate and hit a home run! So if you are asked to be a pinch hitter, remember how important pinch hitters are!
What’s an "actigraph" or activity monitor?
Actigraphs are used in many of our Sleep for Science research projects. An actigraph is an electronic device that records levels of activity. It is about the size of a wristwatch and is worn on the non-dominant wrist throughout the day and night. The actigraph only records levels of activity; it does not record anything else. Recorded activity levels are helpful in determining when participants are awake and asleep. The actigraph should be worn as much as possible during wake and sleep, but may be removed for certain activities such as rough sports or water sports. Actigraphs are important to our research because they allow participants to go about normal daily activities without having to stay at our lab for extended periods of time.
Why do I have to keep a strict sleep schedule at home?
Some of our Sleep for Science research projects require participants to keep an assigned bedtime and waketime schedule at home. If you participate in a study with an assigned schedule, we expect you to do your best to follow it exactly. For the nights on the assigned schedule you should sleep in the same bed (no sleepovers with friends) and avoid sharing a bed with people or animals. You should be in bed, ready to sleep (e.g., no radio, TV, or phone calls) at your assigned bedtime and you should get up and out of bed at your assigned waketime. Assigned schedules always require you to avoid sleep when it’s not your scheduled sleeping time. Assigned schedules at home are important because they help synchronize the biological clock of our study participants and help ensure that participants are equally rested.
What do you do with the information I provide during a study?
Your privacy is protected in several ways during and after your study participation. First, we do not share information about your participation in the project with anyone outside of our project staff without your consent. Second, you are assigned a number that will identify your data without using your name or other personally identifying information. Third, data are usually analyzed across groups of participants, and study results are reported so that individual participants remain anonymous.
In summary, we follow the lifespan privacy policy. For the most up-to-date version, visit https://www.lifespan.org/about-lifespan/patient-privacy.
When can I find out the results of a study I was in?
Your participation in a Sleep for Science study may only last a few days, but our research projects are usually “in progress” for years at a time. This means that it may be several years before we would be able to announce results of the project(s) you participated in to the community. Look for our Snooze Newz newsletter in the mail or check under “Research and Publications” for more information as it becomes available.
