ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT05585515ME-SMARTUpdated Jun 2, 2023

Metabolomics-based Sleepiness Markers

An interventional study of Sleep deprivation and Sleep restriction in Sleep Deprivation, Sleepiness and Insufficient Sleep Syndrome, sponsored by University of Zurich. Completed at 1 site in Switzerland. Open to male participants aged 20 Years to 35 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2023-06-02.

Sponsored by University of Zurich · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
29
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
20 Years to 35 Years
Sex
Male
01

Study summary

Estimating that people sleep on average up to two hours less over the last decades, sleepiness and fatigue need to be considered as significant societal problems of the modern world. Jurisdiction is precise on how to deal with overtired offenders since they were not allowed to use machines or vehicles in the first place, similar to drunk individuals or consumers of illicit drugs. In contrast to alcohol or illicit drug use, however, there are no quick roadside or workplace tests as objective (analytical) biomarkers for sleepiness.

Investigators hypothesize that increasing sleep drive or impaired wakefulness can be assessed by qualitative or quantitative fluctuations of certain metabolites in biological specimens, e.g., accumulation or decrease of endogenous substances related to sleep debt. Thus, this sleep study provides the necessary biological samples of either sleep-deprived, sleep-restricted, or control subjects, which are then analysed for appropriate metabolite biomarkers utilizing an untargeted metabolomics approach. In addition to established impairment tests, a state of the art driving simulator will be employed to objectively measure driving performance under all study conditions. Participants will also rate their subjective sleepiness using validated questionnaires.

02

Conditions studied

  • Sleep Deprivation
  • Sleepiness
  • Insufficient Sleep Syndrome

Keywords

  • metabolomics
  • sleep
  • biomarker
  • impairment
03

In context

Sleep Deprivation

314 studies on the registry are indexed under Sleep Deprivation; 59 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 29 is below the median of 50 across 259 interventional studies indexed under Sleep Deprivation.

Browse Sleep Deprivation studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Zurich is the lead sponsor of 1,049 studies on the registry; 133 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
20 Years to 35 Years
Sexes eligible
Male
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • understanding and spoken command of German language
  • good health condition
  • between 18.5-24.9 kg/m2
  • habitual average sleep duration between 7-9 hours / night
  • habitual consumption of 3 or fewer caffeinated beverages / day
  • habitual consumption of 5 or fewer alcoholic beverages / week
  • good sleep quality: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score ≤ 5
  • reasonable oral hygiene (≥1 tooth brushing / day)
  • normal or corrected-to-normal vision
  • car driving license holder since at least 2 years (obtained in a country with right hand traffic) and regular driver (≥ 1 per week)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • two or more time zone crossings in the last 3 months
  • habitual napper
  • history or presence of neurological disorder, psychiatric disorder, cardiovascular disorder, dental disorder or any disorder that could pose a risk in participating or that could possibly influence study measurements
  • history or presence of a sleep disorder (screening night)
  • use of illicit drugs (urinary drug screening)
  • use of current medication (urinary drug screening) known to influence study measurements
  • extreme chronotype (reduced Morningness-Eveningness-Questionnaire score ≤7 or ≥22)
  • current smoker
  • habitual use of energy drinks (>1 / week)
  • severe skin allergies or
  • food allergies
  • hospital stay in past 6 months
  • shift worker, night worker
  • recent past (last 3 months) or present Covid-19 infection
  • fainting at the sight of blood or needles
  • participation in a clinical study less than 30 days ago or is currently participating in other clinical studies
  • simulator sickness syndrome
  • refusal to sign
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(3)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

BMI (body mass index)

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.

What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.

Hypersensitivity

An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Basic science
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Crossover assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
29 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • No intervention
    Control

    16/8 hours wake/sleep regime for 3 consecutive days at home and for consecutive 2 days in sleep laboratory

  • Experimental
    Sleep restriction

    18/6 hours wake/sleep regime for 3 consecutive days at home and one day in sleep laboratory, followed by recovery night of 8 hours sleep

    Behavioral: Sleep restriction

  • Experimental
    Sleep deprivation

    16/8 hours wake/sleep regime for 3 consecutive days at home, one night of sleep deprivation (24/0 hours) in sleep laboratory, followed by recovery night of 8 hours sleep

    Behavioral: Sleep deprivation

Interventions

  • BehavioralSleep deprivation

    Total sleep deficit of consecutive 8 hours

  • BehavioralSleep restriction

    Total sleep deficit of cumulative 8 hours

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Changes in metabolite concentrations in oral fluid quantified by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry

    Investigators will collect oral fluid samples from participants for quantification of all detectable metabolites. Investigators will analyze which metabolite concentration values undergo significant changes during sleep deficit conditions in comparison to control condition and also show effects of recovery sleep. These will serve as candidate biomarkers.

    Time frame: After arrival at study site (6pm, baseline), repeatedly during scheduled wakefulness (8am, 12pm, 4pm, 7pm, 11pm), and morning after recovery night of 8 hours of sleep (8am)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Driving performance

    Investigators will gather driving simulation results via Standardized Application for Fitness to Drive Evaluations (S.A.F.E. scale), and analyze their changes after sleep deficit in comparison to control condition. This scale has a range from 0 (best) to 10 (worst) in full steps.

    Time frame: morning after experimental night (10am)

  2. Psychomotor Vigilance Test

    The Psychomotor Vigilance Test is a gold standard reaction time test to assess vigilance and sustained attention.

    Time frame: After arrival at study site (6pm, baseline), repeatedly during scheduled wakefulness (8am, 12pm, 4pm, 7pm, 11pm), and morning after recovery night of 8 hours of sleep (8am)

  3. d2 Test of Attention

    The d2 Test of Attention is a paper and pencil test to assess selective and sustained attention and visual scanning speed.

    Time frame: After arrival at study site (6pm, baseline), repeatedly during scheduled wakefulness (8am, 12pm, 4pm, 7pm, 11pm), and morning after recovery night of 8 hours of sleep (8am)

  4. Visual attention test

    The visual attention test is a virtual reality glasses test to assess visual skills in a complex visual environment.

    Time frame: After arrival at study site (8pm, baseline), repeatedly during scheduled wakefulness (10am, 2pm, 6pm, 8pm), and morning after recovery night of 8 hours of sleep (8am)

  5. Subjective situational sleepiness

    Participants will complete the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale questionnaire.

    Time frame: After arrival at study site (6pm, baseline), repeatedly during scheduled wakefulness (8am, 12pm, 4pm, 7pm, 11pm), and morning after recovery night of 8 hours of sleep (8am)

  6. Subjective sleepiness

    Participants will complete the Stanford Sleepiness Scale questionnaire.

    Time frame: After arrival at study site (6pm, baseline), repeatedly during scheduled wakefulness (8am, 12pm, 4pm, 7pm, 11pm), and morning after recovery night of 8 hours of sleep (8am)

  7. Electroencephalographic changes

    Investigators will analyze changes in sleep and wake electroencephalographic patterns of participants by calculating sleep scores according to American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) scoring manual.

    Time frame: During scheduled sleep, driving simulation test (10am), and at two time points during scheduled wakefulness (12pm, 7pm)

  8. Behavioral markers of drowsy driving

    Investigators will examine participants after driving simulation test for behavioral abnormalities concerning orientation, coordination, speech, mood, appearance, reaction, and pupillary light reflex.

    Time frame: Once per study arm after driving simulation test (11am)

  9. Changes in metabolite concentrations in exhaled breath quantified by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry

    Investigators will collect exhaled breath samples from participants for quantification of all detectable metabolites. Investigators will analyze which metabolite concentration values undergo significant changes during sleep deficit conditions in comparison to control condition and also show effects of recovery sleep. These will serve as secondary candidate biomarkers.

    Time frame: After arrival at study site (8pm, baseline), repeatedly during scheduled wakefulness (10am, 2pm, 6pm, 8pm, 11pm), and morning after recovery night of 8 hours of sleep (8am)

  10. Changes in metabolite concentrations in finger sweat quantified by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry

    Investigators will collect finger sweat samples from participants for quantification of all detectable metabolites. Investigators will analyze which metabolite concentration values undergo significant changes during sleep deficit conditions in comparison to control condition and also show effects of recovery sleep. These will serve as secondary candidate biomarkers.

    Time frame: After arrival at study site (8pm, baseline), repeatedly during scheduled wakefulness (10am, 2pm, 6pm, 8pm, 11pm), and morning after recovery night of 8 hours of sleep (8am)

  11. Correlation of metabolic changes between blood and non-invasive specimens

    Investigators will compare metabolite concentrations in non-invasive matrices (oral fluid, finger sweat, exhaled breath, and dried blood spots) and compare those with blood sample.

    Time frame: immediately after driving simulation test (11am)

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Human Sleep Laboratory, University of Zurich
    Zürich, Zurich 8057, Switzerland
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes — Results will be published in peer-reviewed journals. Anonymized raw data will be made available upon request.

Supporting information: Study protocol, Statistical analysis plan, Analytic code

Time frame: starting after publication

Access criteria: upon request via e-mail

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Ran from Nov 2022 to primary completion in May 2023, 6 months.

Of 141 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Sleep Deprivation, half reached primary completion within 18 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 8 and three quarters within 44. This study's 6 months is below that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 150 studies reached it within 17 months; a quarter within 7 and three quarters within 37.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Oct 5, 2022
First posted
Oct 18, 2022
StartActual
Nov 1, 2022
Primary completionActual
May 18, 2023
CompletionActual
May 18, 2023
Last update
Jun 2, 2023
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jun 2, 2023, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05585515
Collaborators
Fonds für Verkehrssicherheit FVS
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Oct 18, 2022
Start date
Nov 1, 2022
Primary completion
May 18, 2023
Completion
May 18, 2023
Last update
Jun 2, 2023

Study contacts

Kristina Keller, Dr
principal investigator · University of Zurich, Zurich

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in May 2023. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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