Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Behavioral and Policy Sciences, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, USA.
Trials. 2024 Nov 20;25(1):782. doi: 10.1186/s13063-024-08599-4.
Eveningness chronotype-the tendency for later sleep and wake times-arises from a confluence of psychosocial, behavioral, and biological factors. With the onset and progression of puberty, many young people develop an eveningness chronotype, which remains prevalent through the transition into adulthood. Eveningness has been associated with increased risk for poorer health. While eveningness is modifiable, maintaining the necessary behavior changes can be challenging. The science on habits demonstrates that habit formation is a key mechanism for maintaining behavior change over time. Learning theory offers schedules of reinforcement that also hold promise for enhancing the maintenance of behavior change. The present study will evaluate the Habit-based Sleep Health Intervention (HABITs)-which combines the Transdiagnostic Intervention for Sleep and Circadian Dysfunction (TranS-C) with the science of habits-and a text message intervention informed by learning theory to attempt to sustainably modify the contributors to eveningness among young adults (18-30 years of age).
Participants (N = 160) will be randomly allocated to HABITs and HABITs + Texts. Both interventions include HABITs which involves three 50-min sessions followed by six 30-min sessions. Alongside the latter six sessions, HABITs + Texts will concurrently receive the text message intervention. Aims 1-3 will compare HABITs + Texts to HABITs on improvements in the outcomes of (1) utilization of sleep health behaviors and habit formation, (2) sleep and circadian functioning, and (3) functioning in five health-relevant domains, in the short (post-treatment) and longer (6-month and 12-month follow-up) term. Exploratory analysis will (1) compare HABITs and HABITs + Texts on (a) if sleep health behavior habit formation mediates the effects of intervention on improvement in outcomes and (b) if intervention effects are moderated by select variables, and (2) to evaluate if HABITs (regardless of the text message intervention) is associated with an improvement in outcomes in the short and longer term.
This study has the potential to advance knowledge on (1) the value of leveraging the science of habits and learning theory in behavior change interventions, (2) the use of a low-cost and efficient intervention for habit formation and maintenance, (3) interventions that address eveningness chronotype, and (4) processes related to behavior change during emerging adulthood.
Clinicaltrials.gov NCT05167695. Registered on December 22, 2021.
夜间型时相——即倾向于晚睡晚起——是由心理社会、行为和生物因素共同作用产生的。随着青春期的开始和发展，许多年轻人发展出夜间型时相，这种时相在进入成年期后仍然很普遍。夜间型时相与更差的健康状况风险增加有关。虽然夜间型时相是可以改变的，但维持必要的行为改变可能具有挑战性。习惯科学表明，习惯形成是随着时间的推移维持行为改变的关键机制。学习理论提供了强化时间表，也有望增强行为改变的维持。本研究将评估基于习惯的睡眠健康干预（HABITs）——结合了睡眠和昼夜节律功能障碍的跨诊断干预（TranS-C）与习惯科学——以及受学习理论启发的短信干预，以尝试可持续地改变年轻人（18-30 岁）中导致夜间型时相的因素。
参与者（N=160）将被随机分配到 HABITs 和 HABITs+Texts 组。这两种干预都包括 HABITs，它包含三个 50 分钟的课程，然后是六个 30 分钟的课程。在后者六个课程中，HABITs+Texts 将同时接受短信干预。目标 1-3 将比较 HABITs+Texts 与 HABITs 在以下方面的改善：（1）睡眠健康行为的利用和习惯形成，（2）睡眠和昼夜节律功能，以及（3）五个健康相关领域的功能，在短期（治疗后）和长期（6 个月和 12 个月随访）。探索性分析将（1）比较 HABITs 和 HABITs+Texts 在以下方面的差异：（a）睡眠健康行为习惯形成是否在干预对结果改善的影响中起中介作用，（b）干预效果是否受特定变量的调节，以及（2）评估 HABITs（无论是否有短信干预）是否与短期和长期的结果改善相关。
这项研究有可能推进以下方面的知识：（1）利用习惯科学和学习理论在行为改变干预中的价值，（2）利用低成本且高效的习惯形成和维持干预，（3）针对夜间型时相的干预，以及（4）与成年早期行为改变相关的过程。
Clinicaltrials.gov NCT05167695。于 2021 年 12 月 22 日注册。
