Recruiting

Napping Durations

Sponsor:

University of Pittsburgh

Code:

NCT07217769

Conditions

Shift Work

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

No-nap

15-min nap

30-min nap

45-min nap

60-min nap

Study Details

Brief summary:

Night shift work schedules disrupt sleep and have a negative impact on cardiovascular health. Most who work in public safety occupations and in healthcare work night shifts. These workers experience abnormal blood pressure during night shifts and are at greater risk of cardiovascular disease. Napping during night shifts can help to restore blood pressure patterns to a more normal pattern and may help to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease. Naps may also have an impact on alertness and performance immediately upon waking. The overarching goal of this study is to determine which duration of a nap taken during simulated night shift work has the greatest impact blood pressure and post-nap performance.

Researchers will compare 5 nap durations to see which has the greatest impact on blood pressure patterns and post-nap psychomotor performance.

Researchers hypothesize that longer naps will lead to improved blood pressure outcomes and shorter naps will contribute to better performance after waking.

Findings will help employers and employees who work night shifts determine how best to incorporate brief naps during night shift work.

Conditions

Shift Work

Study ID

NCT07217769

Start date

May 7, 2026

Status verified date

Jun, 2026

Completion date

Aug 31, 2030

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Aug 31, 2030

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • non-pregnant adults (>18 years of age)
  • certified public safety/healthcare shift worker
  • is an active shift worker
  • resides within the Western Pennsylvania region within reasonable driving distance

Exclusion Criteria:

  • current use of medication for cardiovascular disease (e.g., hypertension)
  • prior or current diagnosis of sleep apnea, narcolepsy, restless leg syndrome, ischemic heart disease, heart failure, stroke, chronic kidney disease, chronic liver disease, rheumatologic disease requiring prescription medication, and cancer requiring treatment in past 2 years
  • undiagnosed severe sleep apnea (Apnea-Hypopnea Index >30) based on at-home test
  • Abstains from caffeine or reports adverse effects from caffeine use

Study Design

Enrollment

130 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Crossover

Primary purpose

Other

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

other: Napping order

5 x 4 x 3 x 2 = 120 possible orderings of the 5 interventions for each person.

Interventions

No-nap

No-nap opportunity offered

15-min nap

A 15-minute nap opportunity at 02:00am

30-min nap

A 30-minute nap opportunity at 02:00am

45-min nap

A 45-minute nap opportunity at 02:00am

60-min nap

A 60-minute nap opportunity at 02:00am

Primary outcome measure

  • BP dipping [ Time Frame: During simulated night shift, 12 hours ]
  • Psychomotor performance post-nap [ Time Frame: During simulated night shift, greater than or equal to 10 minutes post intervention nap ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Daniel Patterson, PhD

412-647-3078pdp3@pitt.edu

Maureen Morgan

412-647-3078mam84@pitt.edu

Locations

University of Pittsburgh

Recruiting

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15261

Contacts

Maureen Morgan

412-647-3078mam84@pitt.edu

More Information

Sponsor

University of Pittsburgh

Last update posted

Jun 3, 2026

Last verified

Jun, 2026

Keywords

  • Night shift
  • Sleep
  • Napping
  • Blood pressure
  • Psychomotor performance
  • Sleep inertia
  • Caffeine

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Pittsburgh on 2026-06-03.