Recruiting NCT07317349

The Effect of a Continuous 1-Hour Time Delay on Circadian Rhythms

No phase Interventional Circadian Rhythms Time Perception Sleep

For patients and families

In plain language

An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.

What is being studied: The protocol lists: Fixed daily routine, Daily time delay.
Who it may be relevant to: Registry conditions: Circadian Rhythms, Time Perception, Sleep. Basic parameters: 23 years — 45 years · All.
What needs checking: Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
Where it takes place: Denmark
Next step: Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the experience of a daily time delay can affect our internal circadian rhythm.

Behavioral Fixed daily routine
All activities occur at the same time every day
Behavioral Daily time delay
All activities will be delayed by one hour per day over a 5 day period.

Phase shift in circadian rhythm markers [Time frame: Comparing samples on days 1, 3, 5]

Secondary outcome measures (1)

Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) Median Reaction Time [Time frame: Performance will be measured at regular intervals on days 1 - 5 to track changes over the course of the study.]

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

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

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: Yes

Denmark · 1 center

NCT: NCT07317349 · 1-10-72-143-25 · 10.46540/425600108B