NCT05576090 · University of California, Los Angeles
UCLA REST Study (REsearch on Sleep Techniques)
(REST)
What this study is about
Sleep disturbance has a range of negative effects on psychosocial and biological processes important for academic and social success as well as mental and physical health among adolescents and young adults. Limited, inconsistent, and poor quality sleep lead to anxiety, depressive feelings, loneliness, and fatigue over time.
View original scientific description
Sleep disturbance has a range of negative effects on psychosocial and biological processes important for academic and social success as well as mental and physical health among adolescents and young adults. Limited, inconsistent, and poor quality sleep lead to anxiety, depressive feelings, loneliness, and fatigue over time. These symptoms, in turn, interfere with the ability to get a good night's rest. Sleep disruption can also upregulate inflammatory processes during the years of adolescence and young adulthood in ways that can create risk for the development of chronic health conditions (e.g., diabetes, depression, cardiovascular disease) in later adulthood. Sleep, however, is also a modifiable health behavior, leading many institutions to embark upon efforts to improve the sleep of their students. The challenge is to identify programs and interventions that can simultaneously improve sleep, be delivered at scale, and be easily completed by students. UCLA has developed and validated a group-based mindfulness intervention, Mindful Awareness Practices (MAPs), that has demonstrated beneficial effects on sleep in adults and may offer a promising, scalable approach for reducing sleep disturbance and improving associated psychological and biological outcomes in college students. However, this approach requires validation in this population relative to sleep education programs, which increasingly dominate the college landscape. To address this important public health problem, the investigators propose to conduct a single site, two-arm, parallel group randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of the validated, group-based, six-week MAPs intervention vs. sleep education, an active time and attention matched control condition, for first and second year undergraduate students who report poor sleep at this critical transition year. The investigators are aiming to enroll approximately 240 participants. Participants will complete questionnaires, provide blood samples for immune analysis and will be provided with wrist actigraphs to wear for 7 days, in order to collect objective measurements of sleep at pre- and post-intervention visits, and at a 3-month follow-up visit. Additional follow-up assessments will take place at 6-month, and 12-month post-intervention to evaluate persistence of effects.
Interventions
BEHAVIORAL
Mindfulness Meditation
The mindful awareness practices (MAPS) for Sleep intervention is based on an institutional program developed by the Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC) at UCLA. This intervention includes educational and behavioral content related to sleep, including the importance of regularity of sleep schedules, minimizing noise and light, and reducing caffeine use later in the day. Each session provides structured training and exercises in mindfulness, including formal meditation practices and strategies for the daily informal use of mindfulness, as well as opportunity for questions and group discussion. Home practice is a key component of MAPs and is particularly important for addressing sleep disturbance. Participants will be instructed to practice mindfulness techniques on a daily basis, beginning with five minutes and increasing to 20 minutes, with practice prior to bedtime, and to practice at night if they awake and cannot return to sleep.
BEHAVIORAL
Sleep Education
The Sleep Education intervention provides education and behavioral content based on the National Institutes of Health and National Sleep Foundation tips for better sleep (e.g., changing poor sleep habits and establishing a bedtime routine). Each session provides didactic instruction, review of behavioral techniques, and opportunity for questions. Homework includes practicing sleep hygiene and weekly reading. Key components of the intervention include information about sleep biology, characteristics of healthy and unhealthy sleep, sleep problems, stress biology and stress reduction, self-monitoring of sleep behavior, relaxation methods for improving sleep, and weekly behavioral sleep hygiene strategies.
Primary outcome measures
Change in sleep quality from baseline to post-intervention on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)
Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention; 3, 6, and 12-month follow-up
The PSQI includes 19 items, yielding seven dimensions of sleep: duration, disturbance, latency, daytime dysfunction, efficiency, quality, and sleeping medication use. Following standard procedure, we will obtain the PSQI global score by summing across all seven components. Each component has a maximum score of three points; the highest possible global score is 21. Higher PSQI global scores indicate poorer quality, with scores above 5 suggesting clinically-significant sleep disturbance. Our main analyses of the primary outcome will focus on the PSQI global score at post-intervention. Follow-up, exploratory analyses will examine whether observed effects are unique to any of the seven separate subscales of the PSQI, and whether there are intervention effects at the 3, 6, and 12-month post-intervention follow-ups.
Who can participate
This study lists these criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov. A study coordinator reviews eligibility during screening — this page does not determine whether you qualify.
Inclusion criteria
- First or second year undergraduate student at UCLA
- Ages 18-22 years old
- Must live in the residential halls on UCLA campus
- Must have a score of 8 or above on the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), indicating at least sub-threshold levels of sleep disturbance.
Exclusion criteria
- Current diagnosis of mood or anxiety disorder as determined by the PHQ-8 or by the GAD-7 if score \"15\" or more on either measure
- Presence of medical conditions or use of medications that may influence sleep or inflammation (e.g., autoimmune disorder)
- Previous or current formal instruction in mindfulness meditation (e.g., MAPs, MBSR) or current sleep education program
Where
- Los Angeles, California
Related conditions & keywords
Frequently asked questions
What is a clinical trial?
A clinical trial is a research study that tests new medical treatments, drugs, devices, or procedures to determine their safety and effectiveness. Trials are carefully designed and monitored to protect participants while advancing medical knowledge.
Is it safe to participate?
Clinical trials follow strict safety guidelines and ethical standards. Trials must be reviewed and approved, and participants are closely monitored by medical professionals throughout the study. You can withdraw at any time if you choose.
Will I be compensated?
Many clinical trials offer compensation for your time, travel expenses, and inconvenience. The specific compensation varies by study and will be discussed during the screening process. All study-related medical care is typically provided at no cost to participants.
Will I receive a placebo instead of treatment?
When effective treatment exists, participants typically receive either the standard treatment plus the study intervention, or the standard treatment plus placebo. You would not be denied effective care. Placebos are primarily used when no proven treatment is available, or in addition to standard care. Your trial consent form will clearly explain what treatments you may receive.
Can I leave a trial if I change my mind?
Absolutely. Participation in clinical trials is completely voluntary. You have the right to withdraw from the study at any time, for any reason, without penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled.
How long does a clinical trial last?
Trial duration varies widely depending on the study design and purpose. Some trials last just a few weeks, while others may continue for months or years. The study coordinator will provide specific timeline information during your screening call.
Data: ClinicalTrials.gov · synced Nov 10, 2025 · Source of record for eligibility and locations