The Effect of a Continuous 1-Hour Time Delay on Circadian Rhythms
Recruiting now · Not applicable
Conditions studied: Circadian Rhythms, Time Perception, Sleep
In brief
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the experience of a daily time delay can affect our internal circadian rhythm.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT07317349
- Run by
- University of Aarhus
- People needed
- 40
- Starts
- 2025-12-20
- Expected to finish
- 2027-08-30
- Last updated by the study team
- 2026-01-16
Who can join
Age: 23 and older, up to 45. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.
You may qualify if…
- Healthy adults aged 23-45 years
- Part of a heterosexual, cohabiting couple willing to participate together in a five-day in-laboratory study
- Both partners meet all inclusion criteria
- Completion of at least upper-secondary education
- Maintain a regular sleep-wake schedule
- Habitual sleep timing within a normative range (non-extreme chronotype), assessed using the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) or the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (MCTQ)
- Both partners fall within the acceptable chronotype range to ensure aligned sleep-wake patterns
- Low seasonality scores on the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ)
- Free from underlying sleep or mood disorders
You may not qualify if…
- Engages in night-shift work or maintains an irregular work or sleep schedule
- International travel involving a time-zone change of more than two hours within the past two months, or anticipated travel before study completion
- Diagnosed neurological, psychiatric, or sleep disorder (e.g., insomnia, sleep apnea, bipolar disorder)
- High risk of sleep apnea, defined as a Berlin Questionnaire score >2 (Lauritzen et al., 2018)
- Use of medications known to affect sleep, alertness, melatonin secretion, or circadian timing
- Unable or unwilling to comply with behavioral restrictions, including refraining from electronic devices displaying time cues unless clocks are removed and devices are disconnected from Wi-Fi
- Unable or unwilling to comply with consumption restrictions, including abstaining from caffeine, alcohol, and melatonin-rich foods during the study
- Extreme chronotype, defined as a habitual midsleep time outside 03:00-05:00 on the MCTQ or classification as an extreme morning or extreme evening type on the MEQ
- Daily caffeine consumption exceeding 400 mg (approximately 4-5 cups of coffee)
- Current smoker or smoking within the past six months
Where it is running
- Aarhus University, Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences — Aarhus, Denmark (enrolling)
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
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