An interventional study of Central Clock Misalignment and Peripheral Misalignment in Sleep, Metabolism Changes and Circadian Rhythm, sponsored by University of Utah. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 35 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-01-22.
Sponsored by University of Utah · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science
Sleep is an important factor for overall health. This study will see how different light exposure patterns and food intake impact a person's metabolism (how the body breaks down food) when sleeping is reduced.
Participants will attend 6 to 8 in-person visits to the study clinic, including three overnight stays. People will complete surveys and medical tests. The study will last about 4 to 6 months.
This study is a randomized in-lab, cross-over trial. Each participant will complete all three arms in either condition order #1 (A-B-C) or order #2 (A-C-B). Each arm will consist of 5 nights of experimental sleep restriction followed by a constant routine protocol for assessment of 24-h rhythms. Sleep restriction in the three arms will occur under the following conditions: (A-control condition) Sleep Restriction with Central and Peripheral Alignment; (B) Sleep Restriction with Central Clock Misalignment; and (C) Sleep Restriction with Peripheral Misalignment. Prior to enrollment participants will complete a comprehensive medical history and clinical overnight sleep disorders screening. Baseline consists of a \~2-week ambulatory real-world monitoring segment that will occur immediately prior to each in-lab sleep restriction condition. Following the 5 days of sleep restriction in each arm, participants will complete an intravenous glucose tolerance test to analyze insulin sensitivity, prior to completing the constant routine.
126 studies on the registry are indexed under Sleep Hygiene; 32 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 120 is above the median of 66 across 113 interventional studies indexed under Sleep Hygiene.
Browse Sleep Hygiene studies →University of Utah is the lead sponsor of 994 studies on the registry; 175 are open to participants now.
Of its 114 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 69 (61%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
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.
Exclusion Criteria:
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.
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.
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
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.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraception
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
(Arm "A")-Control condition with central and peripheral aligned circadian rhythms
(Arm "B")-Misalignment of the central clock by nighttime electrical light exposure and dim-light in morning hours.
Behavioral: Central Clock Misalignment
(Arm "C")-Misalignment of peripheral oscillators by shifting the majority of food intake to the nighttime hours.
Behavioral: Peripheral Misalignment
Light exposure will be dimmed during the first 4 hours of scheduled wakefulness, with bright light exposure during the nighttime hours of extended wakefulness.
Most daily calories will be given later in the day to shift eating patterns toward the nighttime hours.
Insulin Sensitivity
Insulin sensitivity will be measured by intravenous glucose tolerance tests.
Time frame: Immediately following the 5-day sleep restriction segment
Internal Circadian Misalignment (Uridine and Isobutyryl-L-carnitine)
Phase angle between DLMO and acrophase of uridine and isobutyryl-L-carnitine during constant routine.
Time frame: During the constant routine, following the 5-day sleep restriction segment
Timing of DLMO and DLMOff
The phase angle between dim-light melatonin offset (DLMOff) scheduled waketime using hourly saliva samples collected during a constant routine.
Time frame: During the constant routine, following the 5-day sleep restriction segment
Hunger and Satiety Visual Analog Scales
Self-reported ratings of hunger, satiety, and prospective food intake will be quantified by 100mm visual analog scales ranging from 0 to 100. For each scale, 0 represents low hunger, satiety, or prospective food intake, with 100 representing the highest hunger, satiety, or prospective food intake.
Time frame: During the constant routine, following the 5-day sleep restriction segment
Started Dec 2025 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for May 2030, 53 months after the start.
Of 75 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Sleep Hygiene, half reached primary completion within 8 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 3 and three quarters within 18. This study's planned 53 months is above that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 79 studies reached it within 8 months; a quarter within 4 and three quarters within 18.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
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