Recruiting

TCT, TSC, SF

Sponsor:

University of Pittsburgh

Code:

NCT07346014

Conditions

Sleep Disturbance

Sleep

Depression

Suicide

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 25

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Sleep Feedback + Psychoeducation

Transdiagnostic Sleep and Circadian Intervention + Bright Light (TSC+)

Triple Chronotherapy (TCT+)

Study Details

Brief summary:

The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which delivering sleep and circadian focused interventions in addition to evidenced based psychiatric care for depression and suicide risk may contribute to decreasing suicide risk among high risk young adults. Investigators will evaluate three interventions targeting sleep in acutely suicidal college students enrolled in intensive outpatient treatment. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups:

1. Triple Chronotherapy (TCT)+ Transdiagnostic Sleep and Circadian Intervention (TSC)
2. Transdiagnostic Sleep and Circadian Intervention (TSC)
3. Sleep Feedback (SF) Participants will be followed for 6 months with primary outcome domains of suicidal thoughts and behaviors and depression evaluated by blinded clinicians at short (Days 1-4 of intervention), medium (2 months) and long (6 month) term intervals.

Conditions

Sleep Disturbance

Sleep

Depression

Suicide

Study ID

NCT07346014

Start date

Jun 18, 2026

Status verified date

Jul, 2026

Completion date

Mar, 2029

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Mar, 2029

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 25

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Enrolled or planning to enroll in treatment at COSTAR Intensive Outpatient Program
  • English language fluency and literacy sufficient to engage in study protocol
  • Suicidal ideation or suicide attempt in past month
  • Clinically significant sleep disturbance, operationalized as Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index global PSQI score >= 7, and/or delayed bedtimes (>midnight), and/or >2 hours in sleep timing variability

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Non-affective psychosis per electronic health record (EHR) review and/or baseline clinical assessment, or symptom severity or psychosocial functioning impairments that preclude participation
  • Contraindications for either sleep deprivation or bright light therapy (e.g., bipolar disorder; seizure disorder; photosensitizing medication)
  • Intellectual disability precluding comprehension of study procedures
  • Evidence of untreated obstructive sleep apnea and/or restless legs syndrome
  • Life-threatening medical condition requiring immediate treatment (such as cancer; end stage disease)
  • Pregnancy

Study Design

Enrollment

90 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Sleep Feedback + Psychoeducation

Participants receive an actigraphy watch to track their sleep and activity levels and complete a daily sleep diary; sleep feedback graphs show participants their actigraphy watch and sleep diary data on demand.

experimental: Transdiagnostic Sleep and Circadian Intervention + Bright Light (TSC+)

Participants will attend 6-8 TSC sessions of a manualized sleep intervention with a Sleep therapist, delivered in person or videoconference. Participants will also wear bright light glasses (up to 60 minutes) in the morning and blue light blocking glasses in the evening throughout the intervention.

Additionally, participants receive an actigraphy watch to track their sleep and activity levels and complete a daily sleep diary; sleep feedback graphs show participants their actigraphy watch and sleep diary data on demand.

experimental: Triple Chronotherapy + Transdiagnostic Sleep and Circadian Intervention + Bright Light (TSC+)

TCT+ Participants receive a four-day intervention, beginning with an approximately 33-hour total sleep deprivation period, followed by 3-days of sleep phase advancement and daily bright light therapy (up to sixty minutes) in the morning and blue light blocking glasses (up to one hour before bedtime) in the evening, in a sleep lab.

TSC+ Participants will also attend 6-8 TSC sessions of a manualized sleep intervention with a Sleep therapist, delivered in person or videoconference. Participants will continue to wear bright light glasses (up to sixty minutes daily) in the morning and blue light blocking glasses (up to one hour before bedtime) in the evening throughout the intervention.

SF Participants receive an actigraphy watch to track their sleep and activity levels and complete a daily sleep diary; sleep feedback graphs show participants their actigraphy watch and sleep diary data on demand.

Interventions

Sleep Feedback + Psychoeducation

Participants are provided with an actigraphy watch that is used to monitor their sleep and activity throughout the day and complete a sleep diary daily. Along with wearing the watch they also will be provided access to their actigraphy and sleep diary graphs that document their data on demand via smartphone link.

Transdiagnostic Sleep and Circadian Intervention + Bright Light (TSC+)

Behavioral: TSC+

• This intervention includes participants attending 6-8 sessions of a manualized sleep intervention with a Sleep Therapist, delivered in person or videoconference, as well as daily bright light therapy (up to one hour daily) and blue light blocking glasses (up to one hour before bedtime)

Triple Chronotherapy (TCT+)

Behavioral: TCT+

• One night of total sleep deprivation followed by three nights of sleep phase advancement in the sleep lab, daily bright light therapy (up to one hour daily) and blue light blocking glasses (up to one hour before bedtime), in a sleep lab.

Primary outcome measure

  • Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors via CSSRS [ Time Frame: (short term) Intervention Days 1-4 ]
  • Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors via CSSRS [ Time Frame: (medium term) 2 month follow up ]
  • Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors via CSSRS [ Time Frame: (long term) 6 month follow up ]
  • Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors via LIFE SI/SIB scale [ Time Frame: (medium term) 2mo follow up ]
  • Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors via LIFE SI/SIB scale [ Time Frame: (long term) 6mo follow up ]
  • Depression via KSADS Depression Rating Scale [ Time Frame: (short term) Intervention Days 1-4 ]
  • Depression via KSADS Depression Rating Scale [ Time Frame: (medium term) 2mo follow up ]
  • Depression via KSADS Depression Rating Scale [ Time Frame: (long term) 6mo follow up ]
  • Depression via LIFE PSR [ Time Frame: (medium term) 2mo follow up ]
  • Depression via LIFE PSR [ Time Frame: (long term) 6mo follow up ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Dawn Rice, MS

412-297-1947ricedm@upmc.edu

Tina Goldstein, PhD

412-246-5604goldtr@upmc.edu

Locations

Western Psychiatric Hospital/University of Pittsburgh

Recruiting

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15213

Contacts

Dawn Rice, MS

412-297-1947ricedm@upmc.edu

Tina Goldstein, MS

goldtr@upmc.edu

Principal Investigator:

Tina Goldstein, PhD

More Information

Sponsor

University of Pittsburgh

Last update posted

Jul 7, 2026

Last verified

Jul, 2026

Keywords

  • sleep disturbance
  • suicide
  • triple chronotherapy

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 2026-07-07.