CClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT02698800Updated Jul 30, 2019Results posted

Blue Blockers at Night and Insomnia Symptoms

An interventional study of Blue blocking (BB) lenses and Clear lenses in Insomnia and Sleep, sponsored by Columbia University. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-07-30.

Sponsored by Columbia University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
15
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Under entrained conditions, humans maintain a consolidated nocturnal sleep episode that coincides with environmental darkness and endogenous melatonin secretion. Various factors, such as artificial light, can compromise this temporal harmony, resulting in sleep disruption. Light is the strongest synchronizer of the circadian clock, with direct inputs via the retinohypothalamic tract to brain centers regulating sleep and circadian rhythms. Evening light exposure can suppress melatonin secretion and worsen sleep. This is critical, since most individuals routinely expose themselves to light before bedtime. The high sensitivity of the circadian system to blue wavelength light indicates that modern light sources such as light-emitting diodes (LED) may have particularly deleterious effects on sleep. It is possible to selectively filter out blue light while maintaining other visible spectra with blue-blocking (BB) lenses. Wearing BB lenses before bedtime may present a simple, affordable, and safe method to improve sleep. None have yet investigated the effects of BB lenses on subjective and objective sleep in insomnia patients, while simultaneously exploring the effects on melatonin secretion.

Read the detailed description

This study seeks to investigate the impact of BB lenses on melatonin and sleep in insomnia patients using a randomized, placebo-controlled crossover study, with the aim of developing a novel non-pharmacological approach for the treatment of insomnia. 15 individuals with insomnia will wear either BB or placebo (clear) lenses for 2 hours preceding bedtime while at home, for 1 week in a cross-over design. Sleep quality will be documented while at home, at also melatonin secretion while in the laboratory. It is predicted that compared to placebo, wearing BB lenses for 2 hours preceding bedtime will attenuate bright light associated melatonin suppression and improve sleep.

02

Conditions studied

03

In context

Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders

1,856 studies on the registry are indexed under Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders; 594 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 15 is below the median of 73 across 1,631 interventional studies indexed under Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders.

Browse Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders studies →

Lead sponsor

Columbia University is the lead sponsor of 1,103 studies on the registry; 193 are open to participants now.

Of its 172 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 142 (83%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  • Insomnia for at least 1 month based on Insomnia Symptoms Questionnaire

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • obstructive sleep apnea; narcolepsy; periodic leg movement disorder
  • currently shift worker
  • psychiatric or neurologic disorders
  • deep vein thrombosis
  • current cigarette smoker
  • currently taking beta-blockers
  • pregnant/breastfeeding
  • children less than 1 year old at home
  • excessive daily caffeine intake
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Crossover assignment
Masking
Single (Participant)
Enrollment
15 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Blue blocking (BB)

    Wearing of BB lenses.

    Device: Blue blocking (BB) lenses

  • Placebo comparator
    Clear

    Wearing of clear lenses

    Device: Clear lenses

Interventions

  • DeviceBlue blocking (BB) lenses

    Participants will wear blue blocking lenses each night for 1 week for 2 hours preceding bedtime.

  • DeviceClear lenses

    Participants will wear clear lenses each night for 1 week for 2 hours preceding bedtime.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Pittsburgh Insomnia Rating Scale-65 (PIRS65) Total Score

    Pittsburgh Insomnia Rating Scale-65; measures the self-reported severity of insomnia over the past week. Higher scores indicate worsened severity. There are 65 items, each scored on a 4-point scale from low-high on symptom severity or frequency. There is a Total score, and 3 subscales: Distress score (how bothersome the sleep impairment is), Sleep Parameters score (sleep quality), and Quality of Life score. For the total score scoring is done by summing the scores from questions 1-65. Minimum Score=0 (good); Maximum Score=195 (bad) For the distress score, scoring is done by summing the scores from questions 1-46. Minimum Score=0 (not bothered); Maximum Score=138 (severely bothered) For the sleep parameters score, scoring is done by summing the scores from questions 47-56. Minimum Score=0 (good sleep); Maximum Score=30 (disrupted sleep) For the quality of life score, scoring is done by summing the scores from questions 57-65. Minimum Score=0 (excellent); Maximum Score=27 (poor)

    Time frame: After 7 nights of BB lenses

  2. Pittsburgh Insomnia Rating Scale-65 (PIRS65) Total Score

    Pittsburgh Insomnia Rating Scale-65; measures the self-reported severity of insomnia over the past week. Higher scores indicate worsened severity. There are 65 items, each scored on a 4-point scale from low-high on symptom severity or frequency. There is a Total score, and 3 subscales: Distress score (how bothersome the sleep impairment is), Sleep Parameters score (sleep quality), and Quality of Life score. For the total score scoring is done by summing the scores from questions 1-65. Minimum Score=0 (good); Maximum Score=195 (bad) For the distress score, scoring is done by summing the scores from questions 1-46. Minimum Score=0 (not bothered); Maximum Score=138 (severely bothered) For the sleep parameters score, scoring is done by summing the scores from questions 47-56. Minimum Score=0 (good sleep); Maximum Score=30 (disrupted sleep) For the quality of life score, scoring is done by summing the scores from questions 57-65. Minimum Score=0 (excellent); Maximum Score=27 (poor)

    Time frame: After 7 nights of clear lenses

Secondary outcomes

  1. Sleep Efficiency (Time Spent Asleep Divided by Total Time in Bed) Determined With Wrist-worn Accelerometry

    Wrist-worn accelerometry gives an estimate of time spent asleep, time spent in bed, and sleep efficiency can be calculated from this. Sleep efficiency is calculated as time spent asleep divided by total time in bed. Here, we considered the mean calculated sleep efficiency over each 7-day treatment period.

    Time frame: After 7 nights of BB lenses

  2. Sleep Efficiency (Time Spent Asleep Divided by Total Time in Bed) Determined With Wrist-worn Accelerometry

    Wrist-worn accelerometry gives an estimate of time spent asleep, time spent in bed, and sleep efficiency can be calculated from this. Sleep efficiency is calculated as time spent asleep divided by total time in bed. Here, we considered the mean calculated sleep efficiency over each 7-day treatment period.

    Time frame: After 7 nights of clear lenses

07

Results

Posted Jul 30, 2019

Participant flow

Participant flow — Overall Study
MilestoneBB First (7 d), Then Clear (7 d), Separated by 4-wk WashoutClear First (7 ), Then BB (7 d), Separated by 4-wk Washout
Started78
Completed68
Not completed10

Outcome measures

PrimaryPittsburgh Insomnia Rating Scale-65 (PIRS65) Total Score

Pittsburgh Insomnia Rating Scale-65; measures the self-reported severity of insomnia over the past week. Higher scores indicate worsened severity. There are 65 items, each scored on a 4-point scale from low-high on symptom severity or frequency. There is a Total score, and 3 subscales: Distress score (how bothersome the sleep impairment is), Sleep Parameters score (sleep quality), and Quality of Life score. For the total score scoring is done by summing the scores from questions 1-65. Minimum Score=0 (good); Maximum Score=195 (bad) For the distress score, scoring is done by summing the scores from questions 1-46. Minimum Score=0 (not bothered); Maximum Score=138 (severely bothered) For the sleep parameters score, scoring is done by summing the scores from questions 47-56. Minimum Score=0 (good sleep); Maximum Score=30 (disrupted sleep) For the quality of life score, scoring is done by summing the scores from questions 57-65. Minimum Score=0 (excellent); Maximum Score=27 (poor)

Time frame:
After 7 nights of BB lenses
Reported as:
Mean · units on a scale
Pittsburgh Insomnia Rating Scale-65 (PIRS65) Total Score
units on a scaleBlue Blocking (BB)
Pittsburgh Insomnia Rating Scale-65 (PIRS65) Total Score72.64 ± 28.14
PrimaryPittsburgh Insomnia Rating Scale-65 (PIRS65) Total Score

Pittsburgh Insomnia Rating Scale-65; measures the self-reported severity of insomnia over the past week. Higher scores indicate worsened severity. There are 65 items, each scored on a 4-point scale from low-high on symptom severity or frequency. There is a Total score, and 3 subscales: Distress score (how bothersome the sleep impairment is), Sleep Parameters score (sleep quality), and Quality of Life score. For the total score scoring is done by summing the scores from questions 1-65. Minimum Score=0 (good); Maximum Score=195 (bad) For the distress score, scoring is done by summing the scores from questions 1-46. Minimum Score=0 (not bothered); Maximum Score=138 (severely bothered) For the sleep parameters score, scoring is done by summing the scores from questions 47-56. Minimum Score=0 (good sleep); Maximum Score=30 (disrupted sleep) For the quality of life score, scoring is done by summing the scores from questions 57-65. Minimum Score=0 (excellent); Maximum Score=27 (poor)

Time frame:
After 7 nights of clear lenses
Reported as:
Mean · units on a scale
Pittsburgh Insomnia Rating Scale-65 (PIRS65) Total Score
units on a scaleClear
Pittsburgh Insomnia Rating Scale-65 (PIRS65) Total Score88.93 ± 33.19
SecondarySleep Efficiency (Time Spent Asleep Divided by Total Time in Bed) Determined With Wrist-worn Accelerometry

Wrist-worn accelerometry gives an estimate of time spent asleep, time spent in bed, and sleep efficiency can be calculated from this. Sleep efficiency is calculated as time spent asleep divided by total time in bed. Here, we considered the mean calculated sleep efficiency over each 7-day treatment period.

Time frame:
After 7 nights of BB lenses
Reported as:
Mean · % of total sleep time
Sleep Efficiency (Time Spent Asleep Divided by Total Time in Bed) Determined With Wrist-worn Accelerometry
% of total sleep timeBlue Blocking (BB)
Sleep Efficiency (Time Spent Asleep Divided by Total Time in Bed) Determined With Wrist-worn Accelerometry78.35 ± 9
SecondarySleep Efficiency (Time Spent Asleep Divided by Total Time in Bed) Determined With Wrist-worn Accelerometry

Wrist-worn accelerometry gives an estimate of time spent asleep, time spent in bed, and sleep efficiency can be calculated from this. Sleep efficiency is calculated as time spent asleep divided by total time in bed. Here, we considered the mean calculated sleep efficiency over each 7-day treatment period.

Time frame:
After 7 nights of clear lenses
Reported as:
Mean · % of total sleep time
Sleep Efficiency (Time Spent Asleep Divided by Total Time in Bed) Determined With Wrist-worn Accelerometry
% of total sleep timeClear
Sleep Efficiency (Time Spent Asleep Divided by Total Time in Bed) Determined With Wrist-worn Accelerometry77.01 ± 8.67

Adverse events

Collected over 6 weeks. Non-serious events are listed at a 0% frequency threshold.

Adverse event summary by group
GroupDeathsSeriousOther
Blue Blocking (BB)0/15 (0%)0/15 (0%)0/15 (0%)
Clear0/15 (0%)0/15 (0%)0/15 (0%)

Baseline characteristics

Individuals with insomnia symptoms

Age, Categorical
Age, Categorical(Participants)Blue Blocking (BB)/Clear
<=18 years0
Between 18 and 65 years14
>=65 years0
Age, Continuous
Age, Continuous(years)Blue Blocking (BB)/Clear
Mean46.6 ± 11.5
Sex: Female, Male
Sex: Female, Male(Participants)Blue Blocking (BB)/Clear
Female8
Male6
Race/Ethnicity, Customized
Race/Ethnicity, Customized(Participants)Blue Blocking (BB)/Clear
Asian2
Black/African American6
White6
Region of Enrollment
Region of Enrollment(participants)Blue Blocking (BB)/Clear
United States14
08

Study locations

1 site
  • Columbia University Medical Center
    New York, New York 10032, United States
09

References and documents

Publications

  • Shechter A, Kim EW, St-Onge MP, Westwood AJ. Blocking nocturnal blue light for insomnia: A randomized controlled trial. J Psychiatr Res. 2018 Jan;96:196-202. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.10.015. Epub 2017 Oct 21. PubMed 29101797 ↗
  • Shechter A, Westwood AJ. A behavioral intervention for insomnia improves blood pressure. Sleep Med. 2017 Sep;37:225. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2017.07.003. Epub 2017 Jul 15. No abstract available. PubMed 28760541 ↗

Study documents

  • Protocol and statistical analysis plan · Jul 26, 2018
  • Informed consent form · Jul 26, 2018

Documents are hosted by the registry — open the source record to download them.

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

10

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jul 30, 2019, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
11

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT02698800
Lead sponsor
Columbia University
Responsible party
Ari Shechter (Assistant Professor of Medical Sciences (in Medicine), Columbia University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Mar 4, 2016
Start date
Mar 2016
Primary completion
Mar 2017
Completion
Mar 2017
Results posted
Jul 30, 2019
Last update
Jul 30, 2019

Study contacts

Ari Shechter, Ph.D.
principal investigator · Columbia University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Jul 2019. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion