RecruitingACTRN12621000839808

The Impact of Light and Odor on Alertness in Management of Sleep Inertia

The effect of bright light and odor on cognitive performance in management of sleep inertia

Sponsor

Naval Postgraduate School

Enrollment

24 participants

Start Date

Jan 15, 2021

Study Type

Interventional

Conditions

Sleep Inertia

Summary

The current study will evaluate the impact of sleep inertia on cognitive performance and subjective sleepiness/fatigue, measuring overall impairment and time course, during the first hour after waking at 400h and 1600h, relative to background performance and active control group, across days of sleep restriction. Further, this study will aim to determine the effectiveness of reactive countermeasures (light and odor) to reduce the impact of sleep inertia on cognitive performance and subjective sleepiness/fatigue. It is hypothesised that the impact of sleep inertia on cognitive performance will be greatest upon waking and will dissipate over the first hour of wake. Due to the cumulative effect of sleep restriction, performance will be successively worse upon waking from day one to four and return to a lower baseline each day.

Eligibility

Sex: Both males and femalesMin Age: 18 YearssMax Age: 40 Yearss

Plain Language Summary

Simplified for easier understanding

That groggy, disoriented feeling you get right after being woken up — especially when it is still dark or you haven't had enough sleep — is called sleep inertia. It can seriously impair thinking and reaction time, which is a concern for workers who need to perform demanding tasks immediately after waking (like emergency responders or shift workers). This study is investigating how much sleep inertia impairs performance and whether simple countermeasures — bright light and particular scents — can quickly snap the brain back to alertness. Healthy young adults will stay in a controlled sleep environment for several days while experiencing sleep restriction. They will be woken at unusual times and their cognitive performance will be tested over the first hour. Some participants will be exposed to bright light or a specific odour immediately after waking, and researchers will compare how quickly they recover mental sharpness compared to those without those aids. You may be eligible if you are aged 18–40, are in good general health, sleep a normal 6–9 hours per night, and do not have any cardiovascular, neurological, respiratory, or psychiatric conditions. People who use nicotine, heavy alcohol, illicit drugs, or who have a BMI over 30 are not eligible.

This summary was AI-generated to explain the trial in plain language. It is not medical advice. Always discuss eligibility with your doctor before enrolling in a clinical trial.

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Interventions

Trained research assistants will deliver and monitor participant adherence to the protocol at all times during the 7 day in-laboratory visit which will be overseen by the chief investigators of the study. 24 participants will be randomised to one of 3 conditions: Odor, Bright light or Control (no intervention). Following an acclimatization sleep of 7 hours, participants will have sleep restricted to 5hr/day (4hr night sleep and a 1hr afternoon nap) for 4 experimental days (intervention days), followed by an 8hr recovery sleep period. Immediately upon wakening from each sleep, participants will be provided an intervention (odor: inhale proprietary odor: peppermint and cinnamon oil, light:seated in front of light box (approx 50 cm away at 1000lux), control:no intervention) for approximately 5 minutes (Total exposure across the experiment 8 times) followed by a 1hr cognitive behavioural test battery to examine the impact of sleep inertia (SI) on performance and the effectiveness of differing countermeasures. An additional cognitive performance test battery (approx 90min) will be conducted at approximately 4h intervals on each day. During sleep periods, polysomnography (involving attachment of electrodes to the scalp, face, chin and chest) will be used to measure sleep stages and heart rate.

Locations(1)

SA, Australia

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ACTRN12621000839808

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