Recruiting

Peanuts

Sponsor:

William & Mary

Code:

NCT07930325

Conditions

Stress

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 40

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Peanuts

Pretzels

Study Details

Brief summary:

Study Summary: Peanuts, Stress, Sleep, and Cognitive Function

Stress can affect how one thinks, concentrates, and performs everyday mental tasks. Diet may be one factor that influences cognitive function and the body's response to stress, but more research is needed to understand whether specific foods can support brain health and mental well-being.

This study will investigate whether eating peanuts daily for eight weeks influences cognitive function, stress, and sleep in young adults who experience higher levels of daily stress. Researchers are particularly interested in understanding whether regular peanut consumption may influence how the brain responds to challenging tasks and how individuals perform on measures of cognitive function.

Throughout the study, participants will complete assessments of their cognitive function, stress, and well-being. They will wear a wrist-worn device to monitor sleep patterns, heart rate, and daily activity and use a mobile app to complete daily brief questions on their current well-being. During study visits, participants will wear a comfortable, noninvasive device on their forehead that measures changes in blood flow in the brain while they complete tasks designed to assess cognitive function and responses to stress. Saliva samples will also be collected to measure biological markers associated with the body's stress response.

By examining brain activity alongside measures of cognition, sleep, and stress, researchers hope to better understand the relationship between peanut consumption and brain health. This research may help clarify whether incorporating peanuts into the daily diet could influence cognitive performance and other aspects of mental well-being.

Conditions

Stress

Study ID

NCT07930325

Start date

Oct 5, 2026

Status verified date

Nov, 2026

Completion date

Dec 18, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec 18, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 40

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criterion:

  • 18-40 years of age
  • DASS-21 stress score of mild, moderate, severe, or extremely severe (greater than or equal to a score of 14).
  • Comfortable wearing an fNIRS device for approximately 10 minutes at each visit
  • Comfortable wearing a biosensor watch on their wrist during the 8 week study
  • Comfortable answering questions about their mental health and sleep
  • Comfortable downloading two apps to their phone (m-Path and Polar Flow)
  • Daily access to a smart phone with internet access

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals will be excluded if they report allergies/intolerances to: peanuts, wheat, coconut, tree nuts, milk, soy, corn oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, soybean oil, or palm oil.
  • Current high peanut consumption (> 1 ounce of peanuts/day or >2 tbsps of peanut butter/day)
  • A primary sleep disorder
  • Untreated or unstable psychiatric condition.
  • Malabsorptive or gastrointestinal condition that alters absorption of nutrients such as but not limited to: Chron's, Ulcerative Colitis, or short-gut syndrome.

Study Design

Enrollment

100 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Peanuts

56 g of redskin unsalted peanuts

placebo comparator: Pretzels

56 g of sourdough pretzels

Interventions

Peanuts

56 g of redskin unsalted peanuts

Pretzels

56 g of sourdough unsalted pretzels

Primary outcome measure

  • Prefrontal Cortex Recruitment [ Time Frame: Baseline and 8 Weeks ]
  • Sleep Architecture [ Time Frame: Nightly for 8 weeks ]
  • Perceived Stress [ Time Frame: Daily for 8 weeks ]
  • Cognitive Performance During the Digit Span Task [ Time Frame: Baseline and Week 8 ]
  • Perceived Fatigue [ Time Frame: Daily for 8 weeks ]
  • Perceived Stress [ Time Frame: Baseline, Week 4, and Week 8 ]
  • Acute stress responses 1 [ Time Frame: Baseline and Week 8 ]
  • Acute stress responses 2 [ Time Frame: Baseline and 8 Weeks ]
  • Heart rate variability [ Time Frame: Daily for 8 weeks ]
  • Cognitive Performance During the Spatial Recall Task [ Time Frame: Baseline and Week 8 ]
  • Cognitive Performance During the Symbol Digit Substitution Task [ Time Frame: Baseline and Week 8 ]
  • Cognitive Performance During the Trail Making Task [ Time Frame: Baseline and Week 8 ]
  • Fatigue and Sleepiness [ Time Frame: Baseline, Week 4, and Week 8 ]
  • Mental Health [ Time Frame: Baseline, Week 4, and Week 8 ]
  • Perceived Sleep Quality [ Time Frame: TOTAL < 5 associated with good sleep quality TOTAL > 5 associated with poor sleep quality ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Stephanie Caligiuri, PhD

7572215833scaligiuri@wm.edu

Locations

Department of Health Sciences

Recruiting

Williamsburg, Virginia, United States, 23185

Contacts

Stephanie Caligiuri, PhD

7572215833scaligiuri@wm.edu

More Information

Sponsor

William & Mary

Last update posted

Nov 12, 2026

Last verified

Nov, 2026

Keywords

  • Stress
  • Brain
  • Cognition
  • Peanuts
  • Nutrition

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-11-13. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by William & Mary on 2026-11-12. Recruitment status is synced daily from ClinicalTrials.gov and may not reflect the sponsor's current status. Confirm during your call.