Improving Sleep Health and Circadian Timing to Support Cardiometabolic Health in Adolescents

Mitigating Cardiometabolic Risk by Improving Sleep Health and Circadian Timing in Adolescents With Overweight/Obesity

Many teenagers get too little and late timed sleep. High body weight and diabetes are increasing in teenagers as well. This study plans to learn more about whether improving sleep habits can help improve how the body regulates blood sugar and energy use in teenagers who have higher body weight. To answer this question, the investigators plan to enroll teenagers who get <7 hours of sleep on school nights and measure changes in blood sugars and energy use after two weeks of typical sleep (sleeping on their normal school schedule) and two weeks of a sleep intervention that includes spending longer time in bed at night, melatonin, and morning light.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. High school students between 14-19 years
2. Overweight/obesity (BMI >85% for age and sex)
3. Have habitually insufficient sleep, defined as ≤ 7 hours per night on school days
4. Habitually inactive (≤ 3 h of physical activity reported per week)
5. Tanner stage 4 or 5, based on breast development for girls and testicular size for boys.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Reported diagnosis of sleep disorder (e.g., insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea)
2. Medical comorbidities that impact sleep or insulin sensitivity (e.g., diabetes [based on history or screening HbA1c])
3. Regular use of medications affecting sleep or insulin sensitivity (e.g., stimulants, sleep aids, systemic steroids, insulin sensitizers, GLP-1 agonists)
4. IQ<70 or severe mental illness that may impact sleep or study participation (e.g., schizophrenia), eating disorder, or active suicidal ideation
5. Schedules that would preclude participants from adhering to the sleep schedules (e.g., night-shift employment)