About this trial
The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of a morning exercise intervention on sleep (quality and duration), mood (positive affect, anxiety, depression, anger), stress and productivity among undergraduate students (18-23 years) evening-exercisers with poor self-reported sleep quality.
Aim 1. Compared to the control condition, evening-exercisers prescribed morning exercise will exhibit improved sleep quality (increased efficiency, decreased fragmentation) and increased sleep duration.
Aim 2. Compared to the control condition, evening-exercisers prescribed morning exercise will exhibit improved mood (increased positive affect, decreased depression, anxiety and anger).
Aim 3. Compared to the control condition, evening-exercisers prescribed morning exercise will exhibit decreased stress and increased productivity.
Eligibility criteria
This trial accepts healthy volunteersQualifiers
Healthy undergraduates (18-23 years)
Frequent evening exercisers (6pm-11pm, 3+ times per week)
Poor self-reported sleep quality
Must be willing to wear wrist actigraph 24/7 except when showering/bathing
Disqualifiers
Sleep/circadian rhythm disorders
Medications for sleep
Inability to change schedule to exercise in AM
Inability to maintain exercise frequency over next 4 weeks
Trial design
Parallel
Treatments tested in this trial
Morning Exercise
BehavioralExercise is changed from normal (6pm-11pm) exercise to morning (6am-11am) exercise.
Treatment groups
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
Sleep Quality
Determine if, compared to a control condition (maintaining usual schedule), shifting exercise from evening to morning improves sleep (quality and duration). Sleep quality includes variables such as the actigraph measured sleep period, total sleep time, sleep efficiency, and wake after sleep onset. Sleep quality and duration will be measured using wrist actigraphy, specifically the Phillips Actiwatch Spectrum Plus devices. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale will also be utilized to measure sleep quality, where scores range from 0-24 and higher scores signify more exhaustion and poorer sleep quality.
Secondary outcomes
Mood
Determine if, compared to a control condition (maintaining usual schedule), shifting exercise from evening to morning improves mood (positive affect, depression, anxiety, anger). This will be measure using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) short form questionnaires for anger, anxiety, depression, and positive affect. Each subsection has a separate score, with higher scores indicating higher levels of anger (scores range from 5-25), anxiety (scores range from 8-40), depression (scores range from 8-40), or positive affect (scores range from 15-75) for each subsection.
Stress
Determine if, compared to a control condition (maintaining usual schedule), shifting exercise from evening to morning improves stress levels. This will be measured using the Perceived Stress Scale published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior in 1983. Higher scores indicate higher stress levels with scores ranging from 0 to 56.
Productivity
Determine if, compared to a control condition (maintaining usual schedule), shifting exercise from evening to morning increases productivity. This will be measured using a 5-item questionnaire with a 4-answer scale of poor to excellent (1-4, respectively). The items ask about overall productivity, class attendance, time management, memory, and ability to maintain attention. Higher scores indicate greater productivity with scores ranging from 5 to 20.
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