Topic
After some deliberation, our group settled on studying sleep habits as our intended habit to change. Given that sleep is a habit that everyone has, we felt that there were many avenues to explore in this topic.
Target Group
We chose college students (roughly 18–24 years old) as our target user group because research shows this group frequently experiences irregular sleep schedules and insufficient sleep, making them especially relevant for a study on shifting bedtime earlier. Studies repeatedly report that a large portion of university students regularly get less than the recommended 7–9 hours of sleep and have inconsistent sleep-wake patterns that can negatively affect daytime alertness and academic performance. For example, up to 70% of college students report obtaining fewer than eight hours of sleep nightly and many also experience daytime sleepiness and irregular schedules linked to academic demands and lifestyle factors (NIH).
Screener
Our screener is designed to identify college-aged participants who struggle with going to bed early or at a time they’ve set and would benefit from a behavior-change intervention focused on improving sleep timing. Age and occupation are included first to confirm that respondents fall within the target group of young adults who are in college—a population consistently shown to have some of the shortest sleep durations of any age group. Our questions focus on common indicators of poor sleep hygiene: difficulty waking up, trouble maintaining a consistent schedule, and regularly sleeping under eight hours. These items help us identify individuals whose sleep challenges stem from habits rather than medical conditions. Questions about sleep trackers and sleep medication provide insight into whether participants are already actively trying to change their sleep behaviors, and whether medication use might complicate or obscure the behavioral patterns we hope to study. Finally, asking about travel frequency and sleep-related disorders helps us rule out external or clinical factors that could affect sleep independently of daily habits. Together, these questions ensure that our participant pool reflects individuals with mild, behavior-based sleep issues that can realistically be improved through an intervention centered on shifting bedtime earlier: Screener Questions
Eligibility Criteria (who is included/excluded):
Include participants who:
- Are college students between 18–24 years old (the demographic shown to have the most irregular sleep patterns and shortest sleep duration).
- Report difficulty waking up, inconsistent sleep schedules, or regularly sleeping fewer than 8 hours.
- Do not frequently travel across time zones.
- Do not use prescription sleep medication.
- Do not have diagnosed sleep disorders.
- Have mild sleep issues influenced mainly by habits, not medical conditions.
Exclude participants who:
- Are not enrolled in college.
- Fall outside the target age range.
- Are diagnosed with sleep disorders (e.g., insomnia, sleep apnea).
- Regularly take sleep-related medication to manage clinical symptoms.
- Travel across multiple time zones often enough to disrupt sleep patterns.
Design 5-Day Diary Study Log
To get better insight into a person’s sleeping habits, we created a 5-day sleep diary log that tracks when a person goes to sleep, when they wake, and how long they nap (if they do in a day). The diary study was formed as an Excel sheet and also contains an additional sheet for people to reflect on their time logging afterward. While there were many other factors we would have liked to track (i.e. morning grogginess, time spent on phone before bed, etc.), we also came to empathize with the fact that we want our participants to have a simple of a time as possible in tracking their sleep. Please see attached link for our template: Sleep Diary Template
Data Collection Plan
Additionally, to pre-plan our own logistics for conducting this study, we decided to maintain the following procedures to guarantee the best data and participant experience. Please see attached link for our plan: Data Collection Plan
Study Materials
In addition to our other materials, we have prewritten an introduction document (detailing the study’s purpose and expectations), a discussion guide (detailing the type of sleep log we would like to be submitted), and introductory and closing emails expressing our gratitude to our participants. Please see the attached link for materials. The google document linked has 4 tabs on the left hand side to all the materials: Study Materials
