CircaHealth Development and Evaluation

Evaluation of Circadian Health Educational Tool

This study evaluates the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of an online education course about circadian rhythms and health. Half of participants will be enrolled into the online course and the other half will receive materials on sleep hygiene as a control.

This is a pilot randomized controlled study that aims to develop CircaHealth: an online course on practices, known as circadian hygiene, that promote circadian rhythm alignment and minimize circadian rhythm misalignment. The project also will determine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of CircaHealth in improving circadian rhythm related measures in University of Miami Miller School of Medicine medical students.

The educational videos will be incorporated into a six-module online course which contains additional educational and behavior modification tools. Medical students (n = 40) will be recruited via email and randomized to receive CircaHealth or materials from the National Sleep Foundation and/or the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Sleep, mood, and circadian hygiene knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes will be assessed at baseline and four weeks post intervention. Feasibility will be determined by CircaHealth module completion rates, and acceptability will be assessed via a self-report survey. Changes in sleep quality measures between groups will determine the preliminary efficacy of CircaHealth.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Medical students, 1st through 4th year, at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine willing to participate in surveys and the CircaHealth course.