Working from a biopsychosocial and contextual model of sleep, this study will pilot test a sleep-promoting intervention tailored to meet the needs of adolescents with T1D, building on successful sleep interventions in other populations, including components such as limiting caffeine, establishing a media curfew, and positive bedtime routines, while addressing the needs unique to adolescents with T1D, such as fear of hypoglycemia. The study will be conducted by a multidisciplinary team, consisting of Sarah Jaser, PhD, a pediatric psychologist, and two co-investigators, Beth Malow, MD, MS, a neurologist with specialty in sleep medicine, and Jill Simmons, MD, a pediatric endocrinologist. Sleep is a potentially modifiable risk factor that may have both a physiological and behavioral impact on diabetes outcomes. Given the strong associations between sleep and diabetes outcomes in the preliminary data, and recent evidence from sleep restriction studies indicating the impact of insufficient sleep on insulin sensitivity, behavior, and mood, there is reason to believe that a sleep-promoting intervention has the potential to improve outcomes in adolescents with T1D indirectly by improving adherence and directly through its effect on metabolic function. Therefore, the proposed study offers a novel approach to improve adherence, quality of life, and glycemic control in adolescents with T1D.
