Cognitive Training for Student Sleep and Wellness

Running, not enrolling · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Sleep, Well-Being (Psychological Flourishing)

In brief

This randomized control trial (RCT) explores two potential stress reduction interventions: a digital mindfulness program personalized for first year college students and a problem-solving based stress management program. These interventions were chosen because they rely on evidence-based approaches to stress management: problem-solving for cognitive coping and mindfulness for attention monitoring and acceptance with a focus on concentration, clarity, and equanimity. This selection allows for the assessment of the comparative efficacy of these methods in addressing student stress and stress-related outcomes (sleep duration, mental health, and academic success). Personalization to the college student offers the potential for greater engagement and user satisfaction by tailoring the program while maintaining the empirically driven structure of a digital mindfulness program. The investigators predict greater engagement and satisfaction will lead to higher adherence, and thus more skill-building. In this small RCT, first year college students will complete one of the two intervention conditions: Equa and MyTime. This will allow for the exploration of the effects of personalized mindfulness training compared to an active control condition. This work has the potential for identifying effective, low-cost tools to help young adults manage their stress and stress-related health and may inform theory and future work on stress modification strategies for other populations. The main trials aims are: Specific Aim 1. To explore whether a personalized mindfulness intervention (Equa) leads to greater adherence, engagement and use satisfaction compared to a digital stress management program. Specific Aim 2. To explore whether a personalized mindfulness intervention leads to greater improvements in student stress and stress-related outcomes compared to a problem solving-based digital stress management program. Outcomes include perceived stress, depressive symptoms, nightly sleep duration, and grades.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT07350733

Run by

Carnegie Mellon University

People needed

200

Starts

2026-01-12

Expected to finish

2026-05-31

Last updated by the study team

2026-05-20

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Carnegie Mellon University, Notre Dame, Columbia, or Penn State undergraduate student in their 1st year of study
• 18 years of age or older
• Have a data-enabled smartphone
• Speak English
• On campus for the duration of the Spring 2026 semester

You may not qualify if…

• Under 18 years of age at time of enrollment
• Not enrolled full-time as a student

Where it is running

• University of Notre Dame — Notre Dame, Indiana, United States
• Columbia University — New York, New York, United States
• Carnegie Mellon University — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
• Pennsylvania State University — University Park, Pennsylvania, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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