Study of How Childhood Adversity and Sleep Problems Affect Blood Vessel Health in Young Adults Using Home Sleep Testing and Behavioral Sleep Therapy

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are studying how poor sleep may affect blood vessel health in young adults who experienced adverse childhood experiences ACEs. This study aims to understand how disrupted sleep contributes to inflammation, oxidative stress, and blood vessel dysfunction linked to early life stress. The project includes two parts one observational cohort study and a randomized trial testing a sleep therapy. The study includes young adults aged 18 to 29 years. Initially, participants will have their sleep measured at home using wrist devices for 7 nights and 2 nights of detailed sleep monitoring to assess sleep quality and duration. Blood vessel function will be measured using flow-mediated dilation testing, and small samples of blood vessel cells will be analyzed for inflammation and oxidative stress. About 70 participants with moderate-to-high ACEs will then be randomly assigned to either a 6-week cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia CBT-I or a waitlist control. Afterward, all participants will repeat the same sleep and blood vessel assessments. Participants will be involved for at least 7 weeks, including pre- and post-intervention assessments. They will complete sleep monitoring at home, blood vessel function testing, and blood vessel cell biopsies twice. Researchers will also measure stress levels and various markers related to inflammation and oxidative stress before and after the intervention. The study carefully monitors sleep patterns and vascular health to understand how improving sleep might influence blood vessel function in young adults with ACEs.

The Iowa ACEs and Sleep Cohort and Manipulating Sleep in Young Adults With ACEs Studies